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Have A Disability "mental Health Exam" Tomorrow...

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It's first thing in the morning. I've planned to be up by 5 am so I can get there early.

Was ok until now. Now freaking out about it. I mean, this is my future at stake. And I don't like showcasing or talking about my "disabilities". I don't even call them disabilities to myself... I just say, "that's screwed up me".

Can you give any pointers? Maybe let me know if they make/let you talk or just ask you yes or no questions?

I'm in the midst of compiling a list of my "ailments", with the help of family, but now I that I think about it I don't even know if I'll be given the chance to talk?

I've been googling it and getting mixed reviews so anything that can calm me down so I have a chance of getting maybe just a bit of sleep tonight would be so much appreciated :)
 
Guessing for Social Security? I have been through it and I totally get your "anxiety"..."they" do not make these things comfortable or easy at all. I think it varies depending on the dr. I do not have any great words of wisdom...just wanted you to know that you are not alone.
 
This may not help, but I went through the SSI process for my disabled child many years ago.

We were sent to a specialist and she was very nice but formal. She asked me questions about what treatments we had tried, what we were currently doing to help him(what therapies and programs we were connected to) the frequency etc. Since it was for a speech/MR type disability, she tested him formally using the appropriate testing. Which he had done many times by our private OT/SPT.

They reminded me that it wasn't up the them whether SS accepted her testing. They had the final say. She thanked me for coming and advocating for my child

We were the lucky, he was approved with the first try. Just do your best, honest and answer what you can. Why type of Dr are they sending you to?
 
I had to see a somewhat local psychologist for my SS application who I actually saw for about three sessions several years prior. (She really didn't have any openings at that time, just saw me a few times because my priest was friends with her and asked her to see me for some basic immediate "damage control.") She was very different at this appt., way more formal and not compassionate, just evaluative. Just sayin', it's probably not going to be fun and don't look for any support. Save that for your therapist. She asked me to recite the alphabet backwards, which I did manage to do with a bit of difficulty, and some other weird things I don't remember now. I think I blocked them out, because it was pretty disturbing to experience someone in a helping profession who I previously had a good opinion of not helping, but instead trying to assess whether I really was disabled according to SS rules. It's a really good idea to have a list of your symptoms along. I don't know if this person will ask you questions or just go through some kind of weird testing. But do have your notes with you, just in case.

Whatever you do, do not stress yourself out to try to make yourself appear more capable than you are. I know that's my tendency and the tendency of many of us here, but that won't help your case. Even if you can somehow manage to appear normal for 40 minutes or so, that doesn't mean you can handle a full-time job anymore. I know how incredibly painful it is to go through this process. At the same time, I so understand mourning your loss of ability to work but also desperately needing the benefit. It really sucks. If you get turned down, welcome to the club. In my experience, practically everyone except veterans gets turned down the first time. If that happens, find an attorney who specializes in disability appeals and that should help it through with much less stress. They don't take anything unless you win, then they just take a small percentage of your back wages. You can get through this.
 
If you don't have one already, I suggest making a plan to get an attorney to help. They legally can not take payment from you, but only from back payment if you win, and they get paid directly by social security.

This is not actually to stress you out, but to help you know that whatever happens, a good legal advocate can likely use it all in your favor.

If you do have an attorney already, the same applies. Whatever happens, they will likely use it for your benefit.

Be as honest as you can be, emphasize where you struggle, and leave the rest up to a current or future trained advocate to sort out.

I hope it goes well and works out in your favor quickly.
 
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