That’s a good idea I could take short term disability
It was pretty easy for me to get on SSI benefits, although the full application process was somewhat of a hassle. I didn’t need a lawyer: I just filled out the forms, gave them my medical history, and put them in touch with my psychiatrist (IIRC) and I got approved. I had had 6 or 7 prior hospitalizations though (including a couple that lasted 1+ month) and I’m pretty sure my psychiatrist clearly agreed I was disabled. I also accidentally messed up my forms (in ink) when I was filling them out, which may have made me seem legitimately cognitively impaired.
1 Like
For me it was super easy and I don’t know why. I think maybe its the way I ended up hospitalized. I had called the police and asked them to arrest me, and they took me to the psychologist on campus who I luckily told everything too, because before that I hadn’t been talking to people because the voices forbid me from doing so for the most part. I was at a point where I was about to kill myself by jumping off the cliff nearby if I didn’t get arrested because the voices had told me to basically. I was only hospitalized once, and then when I came home I told my family my diagnosis and stayed on the meds because the voices told me to. I was then given a psychiatrist and psychologist by my dad and my dad basically filled out the paperwork and my psychiatrist and psychologist filled out paperwork for me too. At the time that I got it I was at my absolute lowest and really thought I would never get a job ever. They gave it to me the first time my dad applied for me, no lawyers or anything. So far i’ve only had one job, and it was after the SSI was given to me, and I don’t think they took it seriously cuz I was working for my dad instead of someone else. At my first review, i told them everything I was doing, with school and work, and they said that they were going to have another review in about another 3 years, saying that I was greatly improved but not fully recovered. I’m so thankful for the SSI cuz I don’t know if I would be able to afford the meds that are making it possible for me to do everything I’ve done since then. I think the next review should be around this December or next December. I hope it is next december and not this december because I’ll be graduation in December 2019 and won’t need it anymore.
1 Like
i tried to get Disability after I was hospitalized but my pdoc wasn’t having it. all I needed was a doctor to sign my papers but no one would.
it’s probably for the best because I’m pretty high functioning for the most part as long as I get to do what I want. I’m slightly impaired mentally but the fighter in me is stronger.
1 Like
Thanks for sharing your stories. I’m to my breaking point can’t seem to get stabilized on any meds. Starting invega tonight. Ding ding …
Someone did it for me, I didn’t know about it. Cried when I got my first check, like my life was over, and it actually kinda was. I managed things badly since.
2 Likes
It’s really about following rules. Like being able to turn in properly filled out paperwork on time and having documented proof that you’re truly and permanently disabled.
1 Like
My doctors and social workers filled out all my paperwork for me. I didn’t have to do a thing. I got my first check exactly three months later. My son, who was also sz, had his paperwork filled out by a very good disability lawyer in our home town. She was the best in our state. He got his first check exactly three months later also.
1 Like
It took me about 8 months. My pdoc that diagnosed me wouldnt give me it without a person to manage my money, which i wasnt okay with. He wanted this only because he thought i was a meth head (im not even a little). I finally got him to send the papers in to disability for approval after i stopped seeing him and it took about 5 months to get approved.
From what i hear it can be a lot harder, luckily i had welfare until disability, so that was okay. It really wasnt bad!
Also i had about 6-8 psych ward visits by the time i was approved so that may or may not have effected it, idk.
1 Like
I went into my first psyche ward at age 19. Soon diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic in 1980. My first experience with SSDI was kind of weird. I was living in a group home and someone told me to apply for SSI and SSDI. I was extremely psychotic and unmedicated and the group home was downtown in a city of about 700,000 at the time.
I was at my worst but the counselors told me where the Social Security office was and then they sent me there alone. I was about about 50 times shyer than I am now and I had never lived in a big city before; the city I grew up in had a population of 23,000 or something and the big city was a little intimidating and overwhelming. But I walked a mile or two down there having only being in that area once or twice in my life. I had no idea what I was doing. I found the office and some worker gave me the forms and I started filling them out there. Then the biggest question on the form was “what is your disability?”. I didn’t want to say schizophrenia so I wrote “emotional problems”. Needless to say, I was denied and the Social Security people got in touch with my family and told them “emotional problems” was not what got people SSDI. But I think to this day how crazy those counselors were to send me down there in my condition, alone, with no help.
Epilogue: I filed again with “schizophrenia” and was denied again. Then my family hired a lawyer and we appealed. A court date was set up. My lawyer said he couldn’t tell me how to answer the judges questions but just be honest. The hearing was held in a small room with just a judge, my family and my lawyer. I barely had to talk, it lasted about less than half an hour and I won. In a month or two I got a retroactive check and paid my lawyer half of it for his fee.
1 Like
I don’t even know how I got SSI but I have to thank my father for this. I know I was denied the first time and then he hired a lawyer and then I got approved. Don’t know how long I’ve had SSI but probably 4 or 5 years.
1 Like
It took me a few applications/times to get disability pension.
I was applying for years.
I once applied filling myself in as Aspergers because my mum thinks that is what I have and refuses the schizophrenia diagnosis I have been given by over seven psychiatrist.
When I told them about my schizophrenic diagnosis and symptoms years later interstate I was finally n thankfully granted Disability pension.
I had psychosis really bad managing to not be hospitalised.
I am thankful for it cause it helps me a lot.
I have enough to do and manage own n pets dishes , feeding etc
When I was forsed by employment agency and government to do a course I was not well enough to do I broke down and ended up in hospital.
I knew I was not well enough but did my best but it was not good enough and shortly after I was psychotic.
I think I know myself and triggers and what helps etc
I hope to serve my new community and enriched them with my existence despite being on pension and not working and I do assist a great man.
1 Like
I assist my great man.
1 Like
It can even be just holding a ladder so if a fall happens a ambulance could be called.
Anyway I am very thankful for my pension.
I was very lonely and isolated and dealing with centrelink was very stressful and difficult and I had to get help from the woman who raised me sometimes in dealing with them because I did not
I had difficulties
They were on the phone for hours for me.
1 Like
I initially applied, was denied, and went back to work. It quickly became apparent I really, really couldn’t work, so I tried for disability again. I was denied the first time, but I had a list of about seven things that I’d been going to specialists for 1-5 years for (depending on the condition). Consequently, I had a lot of documentation. I got a lawyer after my denial, and he helped me gather all of my paperwork. Normally at a hearing, a professional discusses your conditions, then they discuss what work you might be able to do within the limitations of those conditions. For me, they didn’t even finish listing my conditions before the judge said he’d heard enough, and I knew we’d been approved.
The easiest thing to get approved was my student loan discharge. My pdoc wrote “hallucinations” on the form, and that seemed to do it. My only fear is that I get the discharge letter for the taxes this year, and I am scared of owing taxes on it. I had A LOT of debt.
2 Likes
I had great documentation and only spent 10 minutes in front of the judge and he found me fully favorable.
I will had just as an FYI that if something happens to your job and you go on state unemployment benefits the social security will still consider you able to work even if you’ve been on them six months. It’s a toughie. My best wishes for you. 
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 95 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.