Disability process

Sorry you're going through such a rough patch. Unfortunately, I read that it has been common for people to apply for disability from depression caused by lay offs and unemployment ending. I think it's the first time a lot of white collar's are filing.

In addition to depression have you been treated for ptsd? And it sounds like you might need different doctors. Your pdoc thinks it's fine for you to work, and your medical Dr won't listen to your issues. If you send those records I'm guessing there's a good chance SS will hear their opinions, and you definitely don't want that. Maybe you should get a second opinion. Hang in there. You're in my thoughts. Tnt

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

Erma Bombeck

I have been going through appeals for years and still nothing, although some good news for me is that I just got a call from my lawyer's office telling me that I have a hearing scheduled for August 15th.

What papers (records) did you have when you first applied and how old are you?

Agreed about the lawyer business. They don't do anything that you can't do yourself. I didn't hire a lawyer and was approved with my first application. I was shocked. Actually, I cried when I read the word "disabled" in the paperwork. I didn't want to be/be labeled disabled.

Why do you ask?

Well because all of that plays a part in how fast your approved or not approved. Only a few people have responded so far and as you can see I am laying it all out so I can gauge some sort of comparison. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Well I first applied for SSD in October 2010, although with that I believe that about a year ago my lawyer sent me a letter in the mail saying that it was likely that we had pretty much run out of ways to get that for me. I think that what we are now trying to appeal is SSI for me which I believe I first applied for in late 2012.

I could be wrong, but attending school might count against you for disability. It may show you have the capacity to regularly drive, schedule, and partake in a classroom. I just know if a person is on unemployment or working they will be denied bc it shows they're willing and able to get a job. There was a member on here who was denied bc she regularly attended AA mtgs and something else maybe church or volunteering.

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

Erma Bombeck

While I think in some cases the lawyer wont do anything you can't do yourself....it was not the case with me. I think the lawyers help was necessary for getting my SSI and even with the attorney doing most of the paper-work, gathering medical records and putting together my case in such a way my condition could accurately be explained to the judge, I had a very hard time with the stress and at one point was considering hospitalization because I thought I might hurt myself because I couldn't take the stress/waiting.

So what I gather here is I should just apply for disability now even without a diagnosis or paper records. I should get an attorney to assist me with the process.

Is SSD the disability and SSI the retirement?

I would have absolutly no idea how to get through the sheer volume of paperwork, SS stating they never got the fax over and over, signing all the releases for Dr's paperwork which often can not be released directly to the patient talk about stupid, and endless red tape. SS will not in most all cases work with you.

Good Luck

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

Erma Bombeck

I did some of my own paperwork because I figured I would do certain things better than the clerks at the law office. I believe I figured right, and that's why I got approved very quickly. I did that big long 13 page thing, talking about what my daily activities are and what happened on my jobs. I did an ace of a job on that.

However, some things are done better by the clerks in the law office. I agree totally with thickntired about rounding up medical records. I had a very long history of treatment. I had records in several different states. There were pdocs, regular docs, therapists, hospitals, and so on. I would not have wanted to take on the job of contacting all of them. Plus, like thick says, some things they won't send to patients. Plus, they can be slow to respond. If they get a request from a lawyer, I do believe they take it more seriously. Plus, the big law firms have a division of clerks who are experts at bugging medical providers to get the records needed. That, alone, is good enough reason to have a law firm represent you.

No. First you need a diagnosis AND a history of being treated for that diagnosis. If you don't have a diagnosis and a history of being on medication, there is no lawyer that will even take on your case. You couldn't even hire a lawyer, if you were a billionaire, because it is against the law for an attorney to bill you directly for working on getting you disability. All they can do is take a portion of your back payments when the disability is granted. (In my case, the lawyers didn't get a penny because there were no back payments, due to me getting approved right away. The law firm is okay with that. It doesn't happen often.)

There is SSDI and SSI.

SSDI is Social Security Disability Insurance. To get it, you have to have a work history of a certain length. It is basically getting your regular social security early in life because you have a medical condition that prevents you from holding a job. You continue getting it for as long as you are disabled.

SSI is Supplemental Security Income. That is given to extremely poor people. To get it you have to be either elderly (over 65,) or unable to work due to medical disability. Here are the people who get it: 1) Elderly poor people who never worked or who haven't worked long enough to get regular social security. 2) People who can't work, due to medical disability, and who never worked, or who haven't worked long enough to get SSDI. 3) People who already collect regular social security or SSDI and get such a small check that they are considered poor enough to qualify for additional income from the Social Security Administration.

When you apply to the Social Security Administration because you believe you are disabled, they will automatically consider you to be applying for both SSDI and SSI.

Besides SSDI and SSI, there is regular old Social Security that people who are not disabled get when they retire at the usual age.

You have a decent case, but you have a huge problem because you have not established the right "paper trail" of treatment. It is obvious to me that you are seriously depressed. People with less mental impairment than you get approved for disability all the time. But you will get turned down because you haven't laid the foundation. You need to see a psychiatrist. Social Security pays much more attention to a psychiatrist than to a psychologist. They won't consider you to have a mental illness, if they don't see where you have been on psych medication. If you feel depressed, as you obviously do, then you have a right to be tried on an antidepressant mediation. Your regular doctor can order that. If it does't clear up your depression, you have a right to ask to see a psychiatrist.

If you've been fired from 40 jobs, it is very likely that your psychiatric condition is complicated and involves much more than depression. You need a shrink to figure all that out. The regular doctor can't and won't. The pdoc may eventually give you a bunch of psych diagnoses. Social Security won't care much about your application, until you've been given treatment for your psych issues and it turns out that the treatment doesn't fix you up to where you can work and hold a job.

Having physical problems will help your claim. Get the back problem diagnosed.

Stick with the psychologist, too. That psychologist doesn't think that your whole problem is that you worked for a bunch of jerks. Like you say, "there must be more to it." Social Security doesn't approve claims based on somebody losing jobs due to working for jerks. You have to convince them that you lost jobs because you have a lot of trouble coping in the workplace due to you being both physically and mentally unwell. That doesn't make you a bad person. The smarter you are, the harder it is to get approved, so it doesn't help you for your psychologist to be evaluating you as smart.

Go ahead and call some of those disability law firms that you see on TV. They'll probably tell you to call them back after you get processed in by the psychologist and get on some psych medication. Tell the law firm about your back and knees. If your are very over-weight, that will help your claim.

Good luck.

Rose76- if that is the case than I may stand a better chance to get SSI.

RTerroni,

It is not any easier to get SSI, than to get SSDI. If you are not yet 65, you can only get SSI if you are disabled. That means you would have to be just as disabled to get SSI, as you would need to be to get SSDI.

There is one sense in which you might be right. If you haven't worked long enough to qualify for SSDI, then you would be limited to just SSI. There is no work requirement for getting SSI. It is based on how poor you are. But you do have to be either elderly, or disabled.

Well I am very poor, and really have no steady income.

That alone will not get you anything. Social security will only help you, if you are disabled. You need a good paper trail of having been diagnosed with some kind of illness, physical and/or mental and of getting treated for it.