Disablility Question-Please Read!

Hello all -here's the Facts, please let me know what you think.

1) I am almost 20 years old, I'm married and have 2 Daughters
      (Stay at home mother, Never had a job)

2) I suffer from Panic Attacks,Social Anxiety, Depression

3) I Have been on 2 SSRI's (anti-depressants) and neither worked i had terrible side effects/adverse reactions so im holding off for a while before i try another


I honestly feel I can not work. I have filled out applications at times where my husband was financially stressed outfor example: around xmas time and stuff, but when i do, I do want to work and make money but it's the scariest thing in the world for me since i have panic attacks and social phobia, I'm like a prisioner in my own body and live in soo much FEAR. I do experience physical symptoms like shortness of breath, muscle twitches, heart palpatations, chills/hot flushes, and all that but i am physically able to care for my 2 kids on a daily basis, and cook and clean so Do you honestly think i could wind up getting Disability check?

-amy

[Mark TX]

I have no idea whether you'd qualify for disability.  I was under the impression that you had to have been working first, and then lost your job, in order to qualify... but I simply don't know for certain.  And if your husband is working, then I presume they look at the 'household' income before making a determination.  But again, I'm only assuming.

I think before I went the disability route, I'd pursue every avenue I could to get back on track first.  Because once you place yourself on disability, then I imagine there's little incentive to take yourself off of it.  Human nature... nothing against you personally.

You're quite young, and have your whole life ahead of you.  Planning for a life on disability doesn't sound nearly as appealing to me as the idea of starting up a little eBay business in your spare time (might save you daycare money, too.)  I do some eBaying and probably can make as much money piddling around with that as I could ever get from a government disability check, which from my understanding isn't much.  Plus I get satisfaction and enjoyment out of running a little home business.  So it's rewarding and therapeutic for me.

Regarding the medications, I'd be curious why you've been prescribed two different drugs that seem not to have helped you.  That's another thing I'd think hard about, if the drugs don't make you feel better, how long will you take them?  It took me far to long to come to that simple realization.

Good luck!

mark

[IrishAmy]

thanx mark

[suzi-q]

I doubt immensely that you will qualify for disablity...and excuse me for saying this, I don't think you deserve it.  I suffer with many symptoms as you as well as many people on this site.  The way to deal with your symptoms is by desenstizing yourself.  Put yourself slowly in social situations until they become second nature.  YOU ARE WAY TO YOUNG TO HAVE TO BE A PRISONER IN YOUR HOUSE!  There is a whole world out there that you should be experiencing with yourself and your family!  DON'T GIVE INTO IT!  BE PROACTIVE!  Many people on this site have been talking about the book by Claire Weekes...try reading one and get moving!  Wouldn't you rather do what YOU want to do instead of what your ANXIETY DICTATES????

[Barbarella]

Suzi,

I could not have said it any better!  

Irish Amy,

You "feel" that you cannot work.  How about giving it a try?  I worked while having severe panic attacks, and my co-workers never knew about it.  Read what suziq advised you to do.  She is right on!

[gramby13]

no way. you do not deserve it at all. i have worked all my life and am unable to get disability and i have had MAJOR health issues....23 surgeries in less than three years.  i have had parts of my shoulder bone removed, bone spurs that have shattered, cyst that have been removed (that showed cancer) have severe never damage in my entire right side and do not qualify! when you have an actual physical disability and dont qualify i dont think mental will go anywhere either - just to add  i have been on antidepressants for years due to medical issues driving me over the edge - meant nothing to social security

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

no you cant get it , panic and anxiety is not a disabitly , its you whos making your self disable, your yoiung get up and start living your life stop telling yourself you cant work, you have two small children dont let them see you like this ,dont pass this down to them, enjoy life love your babies and live for them as well as yourself.i was 19 when i started having mine , for 3 years i did nothing but wait for it to take me out than i got smart and mad and said not living like this anymore . theres nothing wrong with me its just my body and what its doing will not kill me. i went dr got meds and now am 48 and can say i raise two well balance boys  and have a great life, dont get me wrong this year i had 3 months of hell and pretty much not wanting to go do things but i made myself, its not fair to my hubby to tie him down to a house because am having anxiety, so i didnt i got up everyday and did , didnt want to but did and today am great . pull your self out you can do it , but only you can do it . i wish you all the luck and will be glad to talk it you want to. barbara

[Barbarella]

Good advise about "don't let them see you like this".  I kept my panic attacks from our kids until they were almost out of high school because I was afraid it would "rub off on them".  When out and I had a panic attack I ran to the bathroom telling the kids "I have diarrhea again, I must/ve eat something wrong again, or maybe IBS".  They believed me.  So did my co-workers.  The reason I didn't tell my co-workers because there was and is still so little understanding about this condition.  I was not ashamed, but at the same time didn't feel like I had to "educate" them just to be called a "nut case" once I turned my back as they did another employee.

[Mark TX]

In my opinion... we can all give our thoughts and advice, but I'd caution against making flat out statements that we don't really know about or rushing to judgment about cases based on very limited information.  Personally, the disability route is not one I'd like to go down.  I'm not sure what level of incapacitation is required to merit disability.  That's really a judgment call.  Do you need to be in a wheelchair to 'deserve' it?  Do you need to be missing a limb?  What are the criteria to 'deserve' disability?  And who makes that call?  In regards to a mental illness, how severe or debilitating must it be before someone qualifies?

I don't believe there's any blanket rule that says anxiety does not qualify for disability.  I've checked a number of sites and they all seem to be consistent.   For social security claims... the nature of your medical condition isn't what matters... what matters is proving your ability or inability to work.

"The Social Security Administration's disability evaluation system does not focus on a claimant's diagnosis, but, rather, on the functional limitations a claimant has.  In other words, the name of the condition is not the chief consideration.  How the condition 'affects and limits' the individual is the primary concern.  So yes, disability benefits can be won on the basis of nearly any condition provided the condition is sufficiently limiting."

Now, my anxiety is not sufficiently limiting at the moment that I'd consider myself particularly limited.  But several years ago it was so bad that I could barely leave my house to go down to the local market for milk.  At the time, there is no way I could have held a steady job.  Fortunately I didn't need to.  Some in this forum suggesting she must fight through this sound to me a bit like a few of my friends who told me to 'get over it.'  That used to tick me off more than anything in the world.  No one would tell a cancer patient to 'get over it.'  No one would tell an epileptic to 'get over it.'  So I hope none of us fall into that trap... especially when we may be feeling a little better ourselves.  It's easy for me now to tell myself to just 'get over it' if I start having some mild anxiety... but I remember very well that overwhelming feeling of being trapped in my house and not being able to 'get over it.'  Not for some time, anyway.  And plenty of hard work and recovery.

My opinion is still the same.  I think most options other than disability are preferable.  Not only for our own immediate peace of mind... but for moving toward a more manageable life.  But I certainly would never suggest that anxiety is not debilitating.  It is.

mark

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

no am not saying get over it , its not that easy and i to have been where i didnt want to leave my house, am saying push on , dont give up and think of ways to stay where you are ,better yourself, move foward not backwards or in limbo. i dont think anyone on here has said get over it ,i think they have all gave very good advice to help her out, shes young and if she gives up now than her life will not be a fun or enjoyable one. she can work through it just like all of us have . were pulling for you and here for you . barbara

[Mark TX]

By the way... I just thought about a story my brother told me after visiting some of his wife's relatives.  She's got an uncle, I believe, who was a top-notch surgeon.  He's no longer working, he filed a 'personal disability' claim with his insurance.  I suppose if you're a doctor, you think about these things in advance.  In any event, his disability is, indeed, anxiety.  He could no longer perform surgery.  Now, he could probably deliver pizzas, or get a new degree and get another high-paying job.  But he cannot perform life-and-death surgeries.  If you are an airline pilot, a formal diagnosis of anxiety requiring medication will ground you permanenty.  My last psychiatrist told me he was treating several airline pilots who refused to take medication because they'd lose their jobs.  So if you've been supporting your family for 20 years as a surgeon or a pilot... and suddenly find yourself dealing with uncrontollable panic... that can be very debilitating indeed.

Not to say that these folks can't find work elsewhere.  But it will certainly disrupt their entire lives... something to think about.

Fortunately the doctor I mentioned was smart enough to take on private disability insurance for just such a contingency.  And now he travels around the world on his sail-boat.  Nice life!  No one claimed this was fair.  We are all faced with different circumstances.  Luck and/or planning does come into play for many of us.

mark

[Mark TX]

I understand no one hear said 'get over it.'

But I was struck by one poster who made a distinction between an 'actual physical disability' versus a mental condition.  That's the sort of thinking I'm referring to.  The idea that somehow a mental illness is second-tier compared to an 'actual' illness.  And many who see mental illnesses as something less than physical illnesses suggest we simply 'get over it.'  No one on here has used that term.  But I imagine most of us have HEARD that on more than one occasion.  And I think most who've heard it understand how frustrating that can be.

That's where I was coming from.  Hope that clears up any confusion.

mark

[Barbarella]

Its not that easy to get disability.  There are doctors who are in cahooz with the insurance companies and try their best NOT to give that person disability.  People have to see several doctors at times.  In mental illness several shrinks.  Hell, some shrinks in 2007 don't even want to understand about anxiety and panic attacks and are quick to prescribe a "downer" so the patient is out of his/her hair and office.  Now imagine trying to get disability.  

What I had an issue with is because she said "she doesn't think she can go to work" she didn't even give it a try.  I had severe panic attacks and agorophobia yet I went to work full time.  I know everybody is different, but at least give it a try if you can work, and then go from there.  I was scared to death of working with this condition, but I toughed it out, and thanks to Dr. Weeks I'm now 95% panic free, 100% cured of my agorophobia no therapist, shrink or meds coud do for me.  If they can't help then you need to help yourself and started reading what other shrinks have got to say about this condition, shrinks like Dr. Weeks who give a damn about people like us and are not quick to prescribe meds so they can get the kickbacks.

[IrishAmy]

I'd caution against making flat out statements that we don't really know about or rushing to judgment about cases based on very limited information.
I was struck by one poster who made a distinction between an 'actual physical disability' versus a mental condition.  That's the sort of thinking I'm referring to.  The idea that somehow a mental illness is second-tier compared to an 'actual' illness.  And many who see mental illnesses as something less than physical illnesses suggest we simply 'get over it.'  No one on here has used that term.  But I imagine most of us have HEARD that on more than one occasion.  And I think most who've heard it understand how frustrating that can be.

"The Social Security Administration's disability evaluation system does not focus on a claimant's diagnosis, but, rather, on the functional limitations a claimant has.  In other words, the name of the condition is not the chief consideration.  How the condition 'affects and limits' the individual is the primary concern.  So yes, disability benefits can be won on the basis of nearly any condition provided the condition is sufficiently limiting."


-I felt as though most of you were "attacking me" in a "nice" way because really, your'e pissed off because you know you can't get it. Simple as that. But eh, thanks for the replies anyways. You were all a Great Help!
Mark TX- you seem like a very intelligent mature person and i want to thank you personally for standing up for the truth and not hating on me because i thought about getting disability some day

[suzi-q]

If you are physically able to care for two children (which is the hardest job in the world, and I commend you for doing so) then I feel that you are able to do whatever you want to with your life.  I am not judging you or attacking you.  I think that you need to be more proactive on getting your anxiety under control instead of giving up on yourself. I have 20 years on you and I speak as a person who has come a long way with the battle of anxiety and depression.  I just don't want you to say, "that's it, anxiety contols me and I have to give in to it."  It makes me angry to think this condition can do that to a young woman.  You have two beautiful children who are going to need you to take them to sports events, PTA meetings, recitals...give in to the anxiety and you will miss all of these things.  I just want to see you take a more proactive roll and say I WILL RECOVER AND LIVE MY LIFE. and not even THINK about the posiblity of disability at this time.  I truly wish you the best.

[OneScaredBuckeye]

I don't know if you deserve disability or not.  That's not my call to make and I'm not going to make it.  Only you and your doctor know that.  However, I have had some experience with Social Security Disabilty.  If you can take care of two small children, cook, clean, drive, etc., they will tell you you are not disabled.

I believe along the same lines as Mark TX and I think his post was terrific.  Anxiety and depression can be totally disabling, but in your case, they seem not to be.  To be disabled for Social Security, you would have to not even be able to manage a telemarketing job that you could do from your own home.  If you can manage that, Social Security would say you are not disabled.

I'm sorry, but I don't think there's any chance you could get a disability check.  I hope you'll see a doctor for the anxiety, though.  It can affect the quality of your children's lives and your marriage as well as your own.  Good luck to you.