Advice Existing Until SSI?

I am terrified. I am finally breaking down and going for disability. I just cannot do it anymore. I way on two three month leaves and one a bit longer in two years time- and barely functioning at work at times. I got layed off for all of this, although I cannot prove it. I have been trying to hone my skills and job hunt, but it is so hard to concentrate and I have another "crash" every couple of months often lasting weeks.

Here is the biggest part of the problem. I cannot live on the emergency assistance I receive as it only covers half of my rent, and nothing else. I have nowhere to go. My boyfriend cannot do it on his own, as he is on unemployment, as well from a corporate layoff. He is looking like hell for a job, and I still am, despite.

My understanding is that I am not allowed to work at all right now- not even part time, but this could go on for months or more? Even if I had to get a new really crappy job every two months (and destroy what had been an excellent resume and what might be left of my mental health), I may have to do something to survive... Neither of us has family, or anywhere to go. It might really kill me, but I do not know what else to do.

Does anyone have any knowledge or advice? I am so scared and I do not know what to do.

Hi,

You need to talk with one of your Doctor's and a paper trail of about 3 years back on medical. I used a lawyer, but the main thing was I had a Dr who diagnosed me bipolar years ago. PM me with any questions! I'm sorry you're both in a tight spot. This is a terrible time with the recession. I was laid off 2x's!

Peace & Hugs,

TnT

There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.

Erma Bombeck

I endorse the idea of establishing a good record - a paper trail. I do know of someone who applied and got approved while actually working. What weighed in was a history of great difficulty, and SSA didn't think the job would last too long.

I recently got approved for SSDI. Based on my experience, I highly recommend using a law firm. (I used one of those nationwide firms.) I had medical records scattered all over in multiple states. I think the most valuable thing the law firm did for my claim was to get my medical records gathered up and sent in to SSA.

There is a lot of paperwork that SSA sends to you to fill out. I strongly advise that you educate yourself through the Internet and through a good book on the process. I got approved in just 3 months, and I believe it was because I understood what I needed to set forth in filling out the paperwork. Had I delegated that to one of the clerks, or paralegals, at the law firm, I don't think it would have been done as well. I can't emphasize enough how much educating yourself will help. There is great stuff on line for free . . . like videos given by lawyers.

The economic landscape is much harder to survive in than it used to be. That corporate layoff must have been a hard blow. Sorry you are in such a tough spot.

You don't have to destroy your resume; make it look like you did it intentionally; start a blog documenting your experiences; have you read Nickel and Dimed? http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/nickelanddimed.htm A sociologist deliberately took every sh*$ job she could find for "research" and wrote the book.

Figure out something you would like to learn or something that you have always been interested in and go volunteer/find a job in that field/area to learn more.

I believe the process/qualifications vary from state to state. I was qualified for Disability in 90 days, on the first try (I know of people with documented physical disabilities that have been denied numerous times); I hear when one has mental disabilities---in my case barely able to remember the simplest things, etc. (I was given a Psychological Exam through the SSI, and I guess I "passed."), it's easier to be approved because when one is mentally impaired/disabled they can't hold down a job as easily as someone who maybe just can't stand for long period of time... does that make sense?

Having a long job record helps a lot--I changed jobs a lot over one year's period, though as long as you've been employed for many years cumulatively, your chances of your claim being accepted are higher.

I applied for the "initial/general" info on the Social Security website, then they sent me a bunch of paperwork to fill out, then the Psych exam, etc. I don't know if this is available for many states/regions, but the Mental Health Center here recommended a Disabilities Advocate---someone who is not a lawyer, but who, if you're denied benefits, will advise and "advocate" on your behalf.....if they get your next attempt to go through (which happens 90% of time), they only get 25% of your total monetary amount/backpay (which is considerably cheaper than using a lawyer). Thankfully, my claim went through without needing the guy's services, but he was exceptionally helpful during the process anyway, providing info/answers, free of charge (lots of emailing, he was very forthcoming). I was so grateful to be referred to him; I hope you can find someone like that....it takes some of the load of the process off you.

I'll be honest; I found the filing process for SSI long and very tedious. I definitely needed help filling everything out, as at the time I was on a med with a very sedative effect.

If you have any more questions, feel free to message me. As everyone else has said, doing your homework, reading as much as you can helps to prepare you for the process.

Good luck!

I loved that book!! You should check out Affluenza

http://www.amazon.com/Affluenza-All-...ords=affluenza

There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.

Erma Bombeck

This may be widely understood, but, in case it is not, here is something to know about using a law firm: If the claim gets approved on the first try - as mine did - the law firm doesn't make a nickle. And they're okay with that. They make money on volume of cases, and they expect that some percentage of their clients will get approved early in the process.

I will say that they do not make a "heavy lift" effort early on. It's just not worth their while. Like - in my case - I never actually talked to an actual lawyer. I'll bet not one of the partners ever heard of me. All the work was done by paralegals and clerks . . . mostly clerks. I saw on stuff the SSA sent me that the clerks had been a little sloppy about some things - like not even putting my address exactly correctly. That's why I did the rest of the paperwork, myself . . . to make sure that a real effort went into it. (I was facing possible homelessness.) I had to be willing to say some unflattering things about myself. I accepted that and told about my failures in the workplace.

They do want to know about every single job you've held in the past 15 years. By the way, that information is available to them, as you would likely guess. They are looking for a series of failures, or a very good reason why you could not now successfully do what you were successful at in the past.

Here is a link I would recommend as worth checking out:

thedisabilitydigest.com

The founder of this site, or whatever you call the main person responsible, is named Brian Therrien.

It was from listening to videos and audios on this site that I figured out how to fill out the paperwork. I didn't buy anything from the site. I did buy a book at a bookstore.

That site receives revenue from advertising for lawyers. At the same time, there is no "hard sell" coming at you, if you subscribe to it. I would listen to audios offered by this website, while cleaning up around the house. Those were free. Little by little, I got to feeling like I understood much better what this process entailed.

Rose, if I may ask..what is your dx? I applied for SSI two months ago and was told I'd have an answer within 120 days.

I used an advocate type agency that I found online, and they were awesome. They took care of everything, just sending me paperwork to sign etc. It was great because at the time I was an absolute mess and could not have done it on my own. I probably still could not do it on my own. I also was granted disability as soon as I was eligible which I think is a total of 5 months not working. It is a long haul with no money, I was fortunate that hubs was working and we made it through somehow. the agency only took 20% of my first payment which ended up being a few hundred dollars. It was totally worth it to have their help.

ellipsisdream - My diagnosis has been Major Depressive Disorder with Anxiety. My primary doctor told me to focus on that. I thought he was wrong.

I also have spinal problems, and a bad knee and an arthritic foot. In filling out the 15 page thing about how my ailments affected my working ability, I wove in ALL the problems that I was having. SSA sent me for x-rays of my back, knee, and right foot. The x - rays did demonstrate that I had damage in each of those areas. Then I was sent to an MD for an orthopedic eval. It was shortly afterwards that I heard of getting approved. The x-rays actually showed that my back was in worse shape than either my doctor or I even knew.

There is no way for me to know whether my psych diagnosis alone would have got me approved. Maybe it would have. My gut feeling is that the process would have dragged on longer, if not for my physical problems being factored in. I am 59 y.o. I believe that got factored in also.

My treatment for depression goes back to age 25. I'm sure that helped. I have a long paper trail of treatment for depression. I have been on medications continuously from that age till now. In recent years, a great many different meds were tried without a good outcome. The paralegals I talked to at different firms, before I chose one, seemed to be most interested in the fact that I was on a lot of meds. They would write down every med. Also, I'ld been seem by a number of doctors over the years.

If approved, your checks start 5 months after the date of the onset of you're being disabled. My law firm and I selected mid-February as the onset of me becoming disabled from working. We used the date that I had been sent home from my job as not being able to perform well. So that meant we had to skip Mar, april, may, june & july. I was eligible to get benefits in August. However, you get paid the month after you are eligible. So my first check was in September.

Hope I've made a bit clearer how the process works.