Questioned about receiving SSDI (on-line)

[confused]

I applied for SSDI for the third time and after reconsideration they've approved my claim : ) . I haven't recieved the confirmation yet, but a lady from social security told me they were approving my claim and it would take about 2 weeks to process.

I have questions so I posted them at various forums. The people who responded here were great. One person told me social security sends a pamphlet explaining it. I'm waiting for that to see if it answers my questions.

I went into a chatroom that was a link from the NAMI website. A woman there first congratulated me for getting SSDI. Then she started prodding me about what my husband does for a living. She decided he must make enough to support us and that we should cut back on expenses so I don't need disability. That it's only for people who are starving. There is SSI that is needs based, but SSDI has to do with if you are unable to work and have enough work credits. She knows nothing about me.

Then at another site I frequent a man said "Why don't you get a job". I do plan on going back to work when I'm able, but if I was able to work now I wouldn't have qualified for SSDI.

It bothered me because I had to jump through so many hoops to get accepted. I hired a company to help me fill out the forms and they charged 25% of the back-pay. That's over $4000. Then it boiled down to what my pdoc wrote. He charged me $50 to fill out the forms, otherwise he would just send my records.

I guess it's a controversial subject.

[LunaRufina]

Yeah. It is controversial with some people. And it sucks. I feel like people are really judgmental about it. About why you are receiving it and how much and how long you've received it, if you

[december_brigette]

Hi Confused,

when I was "awarded" SSDI - I told everyone on CB. I was granted it on my first attempt.

The majority of people were very supportive. except for one member who said "you are too young to retire."

WTF???? and this person is a member of CB. I no longer talk to that member.

db

[Kablume]

There is a board I go to sometimes times, http://www.healthboards.com/boards/index.php, and they have a topic for disabilities. So you're generally safe and the people are supportive. It is a mixed group with mental and physical disabilities. A lot of the people that have physical end up with depression.

But for the ones that are rude and crass, don't give them the time of day, or as I like to say, space in your head. Tell them you work for the government. Hell, they're paying you every month!

[confused]

There is a board I go to sometimes times, http://www.healthboards.com/boards/index.php, and they have a topic for disabilities. So you're generally safe and the people are supportive. It is a mixed group with mental and physical disabilities. A lot of the people that have physical end up with depression.

But for the ones that are rude and crass, don't give them the time of day, or as I like to say, space in your head. Tell them you work for the government. Hell, they're paying you every month!

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

I like that, "space in your head", so fitting

[scatty]

Hey, you paid into the system, that is why you are getting SSDI. Even if you never worked and got SSI instead doesn't give anybody the right to judge you. My dh just got approved (having a dely in the retro pay right now but eventually it will be worked out.) He was denied until his last appeal where he got a lawyer cuz I told him he would never get approved without one (I kinda had a feeling about it.) He is physically disabled, which led to depression & anxiety. He has walked with a cane since the injury when he was 28. People always ask him "Do you really need that?" wink wink like he's a fraud. I see people who drag their canes behind them who are obviously faking and I want to grab the cane and beat them with it. His hand is always sore and his other hip is giving out because he has to rely on the cane on a daily basis. It took him 3 years to get approved & it depressed his mind and his spirit in the process. Sorry for the rant, but some people will think you don't really need it, some will be jealous cuz they were unjustly denied, some will be sympathetic. Try not to let it get to you.

[Loon-A-TiK]

like december, i was "awarded" SSDI on my first try. my pdoc didn't charge me to fill out forms and i didn't have any outside help in doing anything. i just sat down at the kitchen table one day and did the forms.

i think they must have some kind of quota or something. so many of us must be allowed to pass the first or second time and so on, just so they don't look TOO bad, even though they are. in their attempt to keep out fakes, they deny people like my mom who is BP1 and has MS and lupus.

people always ask me what i do for a living, and i tell them i get disability because i'm crazy. they usually stop right there because since i'm crazy, they don't want to mess with me my schizophrenic cousin was even treated like a second class citizen, like she was faking it or something, when she got SSDI.

i think people online feel safe in judging and giving negative opinions to people who get SSI/SSDI.

don't listen to that garbage. whether your husband makes money or not has nothing to do with YOU being disabled and YOU needing disability. YOU cannot work, and that has a huge impact on your retirement and all kinds of things. you're very lucky your hubby makes some money- i'm unmarried and have to live on my own on $906/month.

that lady from NAMI was just full of it. SSDI is an earned benefit. SSI is a program for people who haven't worked. if you don't get enough in SSDI to make their minimum amount, then they make up the difference in SSI, like what my best friend gets.

but it really is none of their concern if you're a millionaire or whatever. you earned your right to your money and the law gives y ou this money. you also would not have gone through all that crap to get that little amount of money unless you needed it.

so tell them you are a proud SSDI slacker.

[Velvet Elvis]

There is a lot of bias against people with "invisible" disabilities, ie, there is a presupposition is that a disabled person in a wheelchair is more disabled than a disabled person who is not. People can't see MI so they have to take you at your word when you say you're disabled and can't work. They can't judge the effect for themselves.

I think It's also symptomatic of a culture that places moral weight on economic success. If capitalism and the entrepreneurial spirit are what makes America great then not being able to work must be in some way evil, or at least the result of a moral failing. That's the closest that I can come to pinning it down. I don't know which is worse, pity or scorn. They both make me want to knock somebody's teeth out.

[olmedina]

now, i guess i'll have to tell 'em

that i've got no cerebellum...

[Dweii]

we just oppose the welfare state, period, and would rather that a private source of aid be available for you instead.

And that private source would be?

I receive something similar to SSDI (from the state). I like knowing that when I hopefully get a job, I'll be able to "pay back" to the state by taxes.

[Guest]

I try to look at it like this, I have worked before, and put into the pot, and so I am taking out what I contributed. I intend to work again, in fact I would LOVE to go back to work, but my last two attempts have ended with my in the hospital, so I need a doctor to okay me to go back, because I will push myself too soon. Also, I have no problem with the idea of my past and futures taxes supporting other people with any kind of disabilities, so if others are worthy, why am I not too? It's no one's business whether you deserve it, but the government.

[december_brigette]

Hi,

I'd too love to know where private funding would come from????

olmedina - it sounds like you are working, are able to hold down a job. what about those of us who cant? those of us the government agrees - we cant work.

what are we supposed to do?

SSDI is not enough to live on. i also get alimony and i still dont have enough money to rent my own apartment. much less pay for utlities.

add in my future baby...and im looking at 80% of my monthly income going to medical insurance & copays.

so...what do i do? live on the streets? thank god my parents let me live with them almost rent-free (i do pay what i can).

purplexed,

december

[Loon-A-TiK]

there are some things that the gov just has to fund. it doesn't mean that we live in a "welfare state" because there is a sytem for disabled people to get a bit of spare change.

i think it is too idealist to think that private donations could pay us disabled people what we get from the gov. who would decide who gets the money? how would it be distributed?

think of programs like the space program. no one would have funded that initially. nasa had to be gov funded and run, and look at all the benefit we've all gotten out of the science of space exploration.

nope, private charity or whatever wouldn't solve our ssdi issues. the gov doesn't either. we make so little compared to what it costs to live. like december, so much of my money goes for the basics. i was forced to get a job, even though working consistently lands me in the hospital, because my ssdi isn't enough to support myself. i don't live this extravagent lifestyle either! my rent is 525 and with utilities comes to around 600. then i have to eat and buy gas (now $3/gal in my area) and with the gov taking out their garnishment for back student loan payments when i was paying my loans (bastards), i only get 770/month. clearly this isn't enough to pay for my life.

[tiredoftherapy21]

I was wondering is mental disability and ssdi the same??

sorry I am just confused..and I really need to get on mental disability, nOT A WANT, an need, bc well I have finally admitted to myself that thereis no way I can hold down a job with the mental problems I have, and it took awhile to admit that...bc Iam not one who likes to take money from anyone, not even my own husband lol.

how did you guys get on ssdi so quickly??

[Kablume]

Ist- to get SSDI you have had to pay into the system so where is the welfare in receiving your social security back. And 2nd- My Pdoc said he would not sign me back to work for any reason. I really don't want to piss off this guy I have been seeing for 9 years.

[confused]

I was wondering is mental disability and ssdi the same??

sorry I am just confused..and I really need to get on mental disability, nOT A WANT, an need, bc well I have finally admitted to myself that thereis no way I can hold down a job with the mental problems I have, and it took awhile to admit that...bc Iam not one who likes to take money from anyone, not even my own husband lol.

how did you guys get on ssdi so quickly??

social security disability insurance (SSDI) and supplemental security income (SSI) are both for any type of disability including mental.

http://www.ssa.gov/d&s1.htm

I didn't get on it quickly. I had a psychotic break in 2003 and this is my third time applying. They rejected this claim initially, too, but they changed their mind on reconsideration. I think what my pdoc wrote is what got me approved. They are saying I wasn't disabled until 2005. It's been almost a year since I applied this time and I'm still dealing with social security. They claim I'm receiving money I'm not. I've sent them proof and now I'm waiting for them to respond. It's really frustrating.

[december_brigette]

tired....

the process is NOT fast for social security. it was a year between the time i completed the application and sent it in and the time they decided i could not work and should get ssdi.

so for a year i pretty much had to rely on a little "maintenance" from my then separated husband. i had to move in with parents and they gave me a roof & food. parents paid for my medical expenses...and when i got ssdi, i paid them back.

db