Hi there and Happy New Year to you all!

I have a question and hopefully, someone has a distinct answer. I was speaking with a woman who cleans my elderly cousin's house the other day. She knows about my MDD and my history with my mental illness. She asked, "well do you get a check?" I told her I never have and had never considered it before. But I've heard the stats from the mental health orgs: Depression is the leading cause of disability in the country. Costs the nation billions in lost labor every year, etc etc.

So here's what I want to know; if I did get on disability for a short time, would this mess me up for getting employment in the future. in other words, can employers see that and decide to pass on me for someone who has not been disabled. My lack of gainful employment is what's causing the majority of my problems over the past 4 years. So I need to know from someone who has lived it. Has anyone been on disability and then successfully gotten back into the professional, white-collar world?

Thanks