how many of you americans won (or lost) a disability case?

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rainbow yarn
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:46 pm

how many of you americans won (or lost) a disability case?

Postby rainbow yarn » Fri Aug 31, 2018 11:29 pm

for depression and anxiety mainly? i'm at the hearing stage (which means i've been rejected twice already), it's on tuesday, and it seems like the chances aren't good for anxiety/depression from what i've seen on the internet (especially as i've never gone inpatient) , so I'd like a little feedback maybe. i'm going for the SSI but it maybe similar for SSDI. Any pointers too would be appreciated. Like I aint gonna wear makeup bc I know I will be crying all over the place. Have already got an attorney.

Diann Bernardo
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2018 10:15 am

Re: how many of you americans won (or lost) a disability case?

Postby Diann Bernardo » Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:55 am

Rainbow Yarn,

I hope that your attorney is very educated about your specific type of Depression. If not, please be assertive about helping him/her learn about it.. I only hope that you get a fair hearing and that you win. Though I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, I won a Disability case for a physical injury caused by a brutal sexual assault years ago. Easier to verify than a mental condition.

Good Luck!

Big Di

wired
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2019 11:43 am

Re: how many of you americans won (or lost) a disability case?

Postby wired » Sat Sep 14, 2019 1:20 pm

I'm on disability for panic disorder/biological depression but I'm in Europe. I guess it would depend on the symptoms but knowing from experience how utterly debilitating depression or anxiety can be, you should be able to get the benefits, especially if it's really bad. They just can't expect you to work suffering from this if you really can't. Simple as that. The question is, how bad is it? Are you regularly seeing a psychiatrist? Do you need to take medications? Can you leave the house and comfortably socialize without medications? Can you do groceries without meds and without help? These are all things that will need to be considered. It is in your best interest to answer these questions honestly. You shouldn't lie and tell them you aren't able to cook if you can, just to make it seem bad. Depression is bad enough as it is. If you are completely honest with them and if you have any type of suicidal ideation or disabling social phobia it would be very, very irresponisble of your government to deny your claim.

Spleefy
Posts: 240
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:54 am

Re: how many of you americans won (or lost) a disability case?

Postby Spleefy » Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:56 am

I’m in Australia, and you cannot get the disability support pension for depression. Doctors will just tell you to “get a job and be proactive”, I’m not kidding! I had several doctors tell me this!

Things may be different now, though, since I was living with depression, but I doubt it.

I was put onto Youth Allowance, and Newstart when I reached 25. The requirements for this, however, is to look for employment. They completely dismissed the fact that I was severely depressed, suicidal, and had the complete inability to function like a “normal” person.

I had depression for so many years, sought help from a psychiatrist, therapist, doctors, psychologist, youth workers… you name it!

I did my best, whilst depressed, to be as functional and a productive member of society as much as I could within my own capabilities. Was this enough for the government? Nope! I was treated as though I did not even have depression. I tried to do a course (accounting) to be productive and put myself in a better position for employment at a later date. But because I had depression, my study load was not to their requirements and thus I was smacked with a $15,000 debt with the government in which I was forced to pay back over the years in full.

Years later, I did another course (naturopathy). During this period, my study load fell short once again according to Centrelink. I knew it didn't, however, because I was working my butt off, studying religiously--doing nothing but--just to keep up with the study load whilst depressed.

But, you can guess what happened. Yep, I got smacked with another debt! I contended it and went through the tribunal and won the case. The tribunal said that I was doing enough to meet the full-time study load. So I was fortunate that I did not have to repay this debt.

This one time, years ago, I went to Centrelink to claim for Youth Allowance. The Centrelink representative asked me: “how long do you think the depression will last for?” Really?

When I moved to a semi-rural area, I actually received a 2 year government payment to support me financially. The requirement during this time was to see a representative of an employment agency, organized by Centrelink, during this period to talk about the depression. She was not a trained counsellor, so I don’t know how that works.

Anyway, it did help a lot because, at least for 2 years, I didn’t have the financial stress and had enough to eat finally. So in this way, I could at least focus on overcoming depression. Why they didn’t organize this support years ago when I had depression and lived in the city, I will never know.

However, after those two years, I was put straight back into the mainstream channel of Newstart and expected to find employment or educational pursuits (which would then mean you can claim Austudy for the duration of the course provided it was a full-time study load).

I have been through the ringer with all this.

That is when I had a gut full and decided I needed to cure myself of depression otherwise I would just be on the streets. And I was sick and tired of not having enough to eat because of a lack of money.

Good luck with it all. It is a very stressful and disheartening process. I hope you don't go through what I did over the years just to get some financial assistance until you can be in a better position to independently support yourself.

Prycejosh1987
Posts: 424
Joined: Sun May 31, 2020 10:54 am
Location: Birmingham UK

Re: how many of you americans won (or lost) a disability case?

Postby Prycejosh1987 » Wed Aug 12, 2020 12:35 pm

rainbow yarn wrote:for depression and anxiety mainly? i'm at the hearing stage (which means i've been rejected twice already), it's on tuesday, and it seems like the chances aren't good for anxiety/depression from what i've seen on the internet (especially as i've never gone inpatient) , so I'd like a little feedback maybe. i'm going for the SSI but it maybe similar for SSDI. Any pointers too would be appreciated. Like I aint gonna wear makeup bc I know I will be crying all over the place. Have already got an attorney.

I am not an american i apply for free bus pass. Twice it was granted to me, the third time it wasnt granted despite showing proof or medication and a doctors note etc. I still apply and persist in applying, it is the only thing that we can do in failure or rejection.


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