[keefsgirl13]

Hi! I'm new to this and would like some advice. Background first: I was 20 when I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I was put on and taken off several medications over the next few years. I worked several jobs including 8 years for one company (different departments) and I have an associates degree that I completed before having a severe episode of anxiety and depression that also led to agoraphobia being diagnosed. Needless to say I couldn't support myself and got a job, I had several different jobs between 2009 and now the longest being a little over a year. Since May of this year I have been on medical leave from this company because of the agoraphobia, anxiety and depression.

I want to apply for ssdi (I have enough credits over the years) but due to my work history, mostly they are temp jobs no insurance I have not been able to keep up with treatment instead losing one temp position to take another. I was making too much hourly to qualify for insurance but barely making rent and bills. I am trying for state assistance now but am unsure if my original therapist will take that insurance and am unsure where that would put me with applying with a new doctor who is not aware of my situation. Any advice that you can give me on the application process and how I can help my situation so I don't wait several years to get what I should have done back in 2009.

[kaliope]

I really don't know much about the process except it is more successful if you use an attorney. I worked once with a phd that did the evals for ssdi and he told me that you had to be out of work for a year to qualify. that was ten years ago. don't know if the criteria has changed or not.

[JoeS21]

Consider using the first day you were unemployed as the "date you [most recently] became disabled." This way you will probably get back-pay going all the way back to May.

Make sure you think through each question carefully on your application - so you don't seem more capable than you really are. For example, if they ask if you have trouble cutting your hair. Don't just mark, "no," because it feels like the millionth question on their list. Think about your very worst episode and whether or not you would have difficulty cutting your hair at that time. If so, explain.

Some people find it easier to sit with a therapist and discuss the application question by question. This way you really think through the answers and the answers might not be as toxic as they can be when you're filling this out alone, if that's a problem for you.

Think hard about ALL the reasons why you have a "spotty" treatment record. You will probably list all the reasons, but either put the best ones in bold or explain the best ones first. An attorney can help you select the best reasons and help formulate your final answer to that question.

It may or may not make sense to go back to a doctor or therapist you saw last time your symptoms were really bad. This way that person will have at least a partial history of you and can vouch for your current condition.

[Rose76]

It sounds like you are still fairly young, which is going to make it harder for you to get SSDI. The fact that you did have a job for 8 years at the same place is in your favor. It shows that something significant happened to you psychologically that impacted your ability to stay employed. Try to get back under the care of a pdoc. SSA won't look at you otherwise.

Care to talk about what triggered your decompensation?

[keefsgirl13]

Originally Posted by Rose76

It sounds like you are still fairly young, which is going to make it harder for you to get SSDI. The fact that you did have a job for 8 years at the same place is in your favor. It shows that something significant happened to you psychologically that impacted your ability to stay employed. Try to get back under the care of a pdoc. SSA won't look at you otherwise.

Care to talk about what triggered your decompensation?

I know that my age is going to make it difficult it almost makes me wish I could have applied when I was twenty and first diagnosed through hospitalization.
My most recent decompensation was triggered by multiple things the final straw being an assault. It was the final stage in a long line of ups and downs lately and made my agoraphobia go from moderate to severe.

[keefsgirl13]

Wish me luck my state assistance (medical card) phone interview is tomorrow. Crossing my fingers that I did not mess up on the application.

[Rose76]

Good luck. Sometimes it is easier to get state aid
, if you have already applied for SSDI.

[jesusplay]

22, ssdi, initial claim took 7 months, less than a year of records.