I can relate to your rants Direkat! I was DX with PTSD in 2008 as a result of having a stalker...that I was unable to get rid of. Probably should have had this dx decades earlier, but we all omit major history in our therapy. This June will be 10 years since I have been able to work-->substantially enough to support myself. My 1st disability application was filed in 2009 & I appealed all the way to the SSA Appeals Council. Took over 3 years. Administrative Law Judge ignored my medical records. 2nd application filed within 60 days of final denial also appealed all the way to SSA Appeals Council and took over 3 years. I had legal representation at each federal hearing. Hired a new law firm and filed a lawsuit against the SSA on May 5, 2016. US 6th District CT remanded my case back to ALJ on April 10, 2017 and I got a hearing date December 14, 2017. DENIED decision was signed Dec 22, 2017......had to be a national record for fastest decision. Filed an appeal on Jan 17, 2018 once again to SSA Appeals Council. Medical records have been ignored all 3 hearings in same federal office.

I became homeless 1 year, 33 days ago. I do not have means to support myself during this lengthy appeals process. Yet, I am still fighting. I requested a congressional inquiry of the SSA Appeals Council the week before last. I don't think it'll help, but I did the same for each application I filed. I just need to feel like I've done everything in my power to survive.

I have skill sets. I just can't manage my emotional fragility anymore. I no longer have a family. My parents & siblings and many "friends" consider mental illness a "CHOICE".... similar to drug addiction & alcoholism. I am developing more problems as a result of this long drawn out process of applying for disability, being denied, humiliated for having a mental illness. I paid a lot of money into social security for many decades and I am treated with sarcasm, condescension, and demeaning emotional projection by federal judges who, being much smarter than trained professionals in the fields of psychiatry/psychology, are entitled to dismiss mental illness as a condition for social security disability. REPEATEDLY!! This particular federal office has a notorious reputation for denying mental illness claims AND there's nothing I can do about it!

I haven't been "living" in years. I'm still alive, but I'm not living. I'm not sure I remember how to live anymore.

Thanks for the rant thread Direkat. Ignore those who don't believe in you. Embrace those who do and NEVER give up for believing in YOU! I'm grateful I found this site and the many members who choose to share/vent/encourage and support each other.