Social security doesn't necessarily require you to have been off work for years. I'd been off 5 months when I applied and was approved in 11 weeks. You need documentation from healthcare providers about your disabilities and how that affects work. It helps to have a work history with a lot of problems/breaks in your working. You have to document why you can't work and they review medical records to see if that matches. Sometimes it is fast and sometimes it takes a couple of years.