Blog: Conversations In My Head
Chica, of Conversations in My Head, has a great site discussing her ups and downs (no pun intended) dealing with bi-polar disorder.
My symptoms are constant and unpredictable. There are stretches of time where I find myself uninterested in hobbies, the kids, days where I want to sleep all day and days when I can’t sleep. There are days when I’m on top of the world, where I organize and reorganize the cabinets in my home, only to crash into an irritable and anxiety ridden state. Bipolar affects the way I live and how I breathe. Unlike regular mood swings, my mood …
Are you disabled enough for Social Security?
The Bipolar Blog has a great series of posts on applying for Social Security benefits. The first article presents this situation:
My wife feels disabled. She used to teach junior high school Spanish full time for over $60,000 per year. She can no longer work as a full-time teacher, because the stress triggers mania. Believe me, she tried several times to return to teaching, and each time she experienced a serious breakdown.
She did receive some disability payments from the Social Security Administration for several months when she was completely unable to work. Now she’s working as …
Living with Social Phobia
Touching video about what it is like to live with social anxiety / social phobia.
VA impairment ratings and Social Security disability cases
CT Blue talks about the often unspoken cost of war: veterans coming home with disabilities.
According to a new report from the Pentagon “1 in 5 American servicemen and women who have been in Iraq are coming back with brain injuries.” The same report says that “17 percent of the soldiers returning to war could have a traumatic brain injury”.
A lot of vets who apply for veteran’s benefits also apply for social security disability. If the VA makes a finding that a vet is 100% disabled, that finding is not binding on social security.
Although the VA’s rating is not binding on Social Security, …
Living With Depression
The Pink Report has an revealing article on the gradual descent into depression:
Depression isn’t just feeling sad, or discouraged. It is a deeply penetrating darkness. Every fibre of my body feels hopeless. Nothing brings a smile to my face– not my children, not the sun, not a windfall of money, not even Jude Law. I will never feel happy. I have no positive attributes, I am nothing special.
Read the complete article here. Oops, looks like the blog is not there anymore.
Please note, I am not advocating the “multi-vitamins” which the author says helped her. However, the author does not appear to be trying to sell these and provides a truly compelling portrait of depression.
MS and Social Security Disability
Bob Kraft’s P.I.S.S.D. site discusses the difficulties faced by individuals with MS when trying to obtain Social Security disability benefits:
MS can be hard for doctors to diagnose. Its symptoms can include fatigue, pain, cognitive problems like memory loss, weakness, blurred vision, dizziness, and bladder or bowel problems. A person with Multiple Sclerosis will often look just fine. That is why, in the context of a Social Security Disability hearing, it is so important to have an attorney to represent you and demonstrate to the ALJ all objective and subjective evidence that should be put forward. Objective evidence of MS will include MRIs of the Brain and Spine, observations of your treating …
Surviving a Social Security Audit for Children’s SSI Benefits
California Blogging has a story about surviving a four year Social Security Audit(!)
During the audit they inspect every account, every dime I make and spend. I am allowed some money from some sources. Services from other government or social programs are not counted against Zachary. Even though it’s immaterial it’s still audited. Child support is counted against Zachary and people wonder why I don’t really go after his dad? During the audit if you are missing a receipt for anything, your worker will make up an amount higher than the average number you have shown.
You can read the entire story on story on California …
