Poll Have You Ever Used Disability? (Or Other Social Services?)

Have You Ever Used Disability? (Or Other Social Services?)

  • Yes

    Votes: 4 21.1%
  • Yes - But Not For PTSD

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes - And I’ve Used Other Social Services

    Votes: 5 26.3%
  • No

    Votes: 7 36.8%
  • No - But I Have Used Other Social Services

    Votes: 2 10.5%
  • Other

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • Total voters
    19

Friday

VIP Member
I was just mentioning in another thread that I’ve never used disability, as the way my PTSD works it comes on too fast to be able to apply, much less handle the process; meanwhile by the time I’m well enough to be able to apply I can make more money/rebuild my life faster working. So it’s never really been a viable option for me.

It’s been years since I’ve gotten a “Must be nice!” reply when this topic comes up, but they have happened, so to clarify in advance? When I say it “comes/goes too fast” I mean that unless I’ve built in safety nets to catch me, or am just plain lucky; I end up losing everything, and have spent years homeless/jobless as a result. It’s not that things don’t get bad enough, for long enough. They have before, and may very well, again. It’s that the transition is so abrupt.

Have you used any form of disability or social services available in your country?
Which ones?
Have they helped?
What’s your experience been?
Things you’ve learned, wish you knew when, or would do differently?
Other thoughts?


Thanks!
 
Have you used any form of disability or social services available in your country?
i feel more used than user. i have yet to request social services, but my psychotic breaks keep resulting in new services and pensions, whether i want them, or knot.
Which ones?
1) veteran's administration, granted soon after my honorable discharge in 1973. still going
2) family welfare, granted with the premature birth of my eldest son in 1980. i wiggled my way out of that one before the end of 1981.
3) SSI retirement, granted in 2018
4) not sure the names of the programs, etc., but an MFL (mind f*ck load) of bureaucrats, etc., came with the inheritance of my 3 orphans in 2019.

Have they helped?
sometimes they have helped tremendously. other times they help as much as filing my year end taxes. i carried my ptsd (civilian shell shock in 1973) into the army with me, but the va has been my strongest and most consistent psychotherapy source.
What’s your experience been?
intense. bureaucratic rules sure are persnickety, but some of the bureaucrats have the healing hearts of angels.
Things you’ve learned, wish you knew when, or would do differently?
depends on which day you ask.
Other thoughts?
my working class pride still feels dinged over accepting "government dole," but ? ? ? my strongest thought is that it is a complex equation. every case is unique.
 
Have you used any form of disability or social services available in your country? Which ones?

Unemployment for several months (in 2 countries). I might have been eligible for disability temporarily but I didn't know that and would not have been able to afford the drs visits for the signup process anyway.

Have they helped?


It really does help to know that it might be an option in the future if my PTSD gets worse again. I've met people who are not as affected as me who get disability in the country I now live in. I am not eligible for that here because I'm a foreigner and I feel like it makes my life harder but it might push me to recover more than those people. Because not recovering will threaten my survival.

What’s your experience been?


Unemployment payments helped massively for the 2 months I had them. Kept me from homelessness and prostitution. Helped my physical health condition because I could buy food.

Things you’ve learned, wish you knew when, or would do differently?


Don't worry about the stigma of these things, apply for them because they will really help.

Other thoughts


In the country I come from you can't stay on disability payments for a long time-but now I work with people who receive them long term in a different country and I can see how people get stuck on them because they're scared about losing them and having to go through the long process of applying again. It's a real fear but I do think people stay sick longer in this case. Maybe I would have done that too if it was an option for me but I think its a hidden blessing that I can't.
 
I've been on some kind of benefit payment for most of the past 2 decades. Not purely for ptsd, and not purely for any other reason.

Unsure if the benefit I've been receiving equates to 'disability' in the US or not

I've only recently begun getting a higher level of payment Here call PIP - used to be called disability living allowance.

So, unsure how to answer some of the questions

Have you used any form of disability or social services available in your country?

been recieving benefits. Used to get free dental treatment. I've never accessed help from the thing we call social services, though it's been suggested to me recently there might be some help I can get from em. I'll look into em - before deciding if I'm happy to go ahead or not.

What’s your experience been?
The benefits system does tend to treat you like scum, and they make you jump through unbelievable hoops at times, but without the benefits I doubt I'd still be alive.

Things you’ve learned, wish you knew when, or would do differently?

Been told I shoulda been getting benefits and help from social services decades ago. Might have been good to know. I was stuck in feeling undeserving.

Other thoughts?

I'm wary of going ahead seeking help from social services until I've at least read up more on other people's experiences with them.

And at the level of spoons I tend to have, that could take years.
 
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I am on income assistance, not disability. You need to have a medical doctor sign the forms (even though my disability is better diagnosed and assessed by a psychologist, apparently that's not good enough even though they are also doctors) and there are no medical doctors where I live.

It costs $40 for a walk-in clinic to even look at the form, with no guarantee they will sign it. I make $380 and over $200 goes to meds. So I only survive because I live with my mom. If something happens to her I will lose everything we have, the cats, etc. and be homeless. I have no friends or family to rely on to help and I won't have any ability to lift myself out of that circumstance.

I don't have any ability to deal with bureaucracy or jobs or anything else. Can't make appointments or use the phone or write emails or even keep myself dressed and fed. The idea that it is benefits that's keeping me "sick longer" and not schizoid (the disorder with the highest percentage of homelessness and poor prognosis), psychosis, PTSD, CRPS etc is idiotic.

When my mom stops being able to care for me (my money is used to pay for my medication and she buys food and stuff, which I barely eat) either I can be on income assistance or I can be a criminal (humans need food and water to live) or I can be dead. Those are my options.

The longest I have been able to keep a job is two years because I took six phone calls per day, lol. People always try to use this as some form of gotcha on why I can't just work. OK bro, find me a job in 2024 where I do nothing but six or less phone calls a day, most of which went unanswered. Because I didn't even get those jobs on my own, I don't have the ability to apply and go through all that shit when I have a wall to stare at all day.

It's stupid, the way our society is so insistent that everyone needs to earn the right to be alive by breaking their back in the mines or whatever the f*ck. Money is illogical and has destroyed our civilization. Listen to climate scientists when they tell us we are on the verge of an extinction-level event. You cannot have a culture based on everyone being productive without eugenics. Nothing grows infinitely. The resources on this planet are finite and we are running out.

So I refuse to feel like shit because I can't participate in society like a non-disabled person. I am grateful for my existence now but nothing lasts forever. Eventually I will just wind up committing suicide because I can't justify living in constant suffering. At least 1/3 of Canadians are fine with MAID if the only issue is homelessness, lol. Yay. And around here most homeless are involved in organized crime and I simply will not go back to that lifestyle.
 
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Have you used any form of disability or social services available in your country?
Yep, for the past 5 years, though not for my mental health, all my documentation is about my physical illness. I am very 'lucky' that because my disability is lifelong and progressive, I have had a relatively easy ride in being able to access the income compared to the vast majority of people's experiences.

Which ones?
Income based ESA, as I was employed, this is in the process of being changed nationally to universal credit. And PIP enhanced, which I'm on a 'light touch' 10 year review for. Again, I'm very fortunate, this is unusual and for most people they have to go through the vile assessment process every few years.

PIP is broken down until two elements, care and mobility. Because I can't weightbare I virtually automatically qualify for both. Technically ESA is an out of work sickness benefit and PIP is a disability benefit that anyone can qualify for if they meet the criteria, it's not means tested. The reality is, if you work, it is very hard to get PIP as the 'evidence' of you working is used against you as to why you need assistance with care/ mobility. PIP is a list of questions with multiple choice options where each ones earns 'points'. They are narrow and don't really take into account the sheer depth and breadth of disability.

Have they helped?
I'd be dead without them. I became disabled in my 20's, I had no savings or plans about a 'just in case', I was still paying off my student loan.

What’s your experience been?
The assessments are had going, the forms are large and invasive and then you have to travel to your nearest assessment centre (since COVID they are using virtual assessment alot more) to then basically repeat all the information again in person. All of the assessors are health care professionals but often don't have the skills to match your disability/ need. My first assessment, baring in mind I was unable to use my legs, the assessor asked if I could do a starjump... Ermm, mate if I could do a starjump do you think I'd be in this thing.

Things you’ve learned, wish you knew when, or would do differently?
I was very naive about the process, I worked in healthcare so thought I had a decent enough understanding, but actually going though it was something else. There remains to be a great deal of stigma attached to not working, being a 'benefit scrounger' and I doubt that narrative will change any time soon
 
I'm in the UK and I voted 'other' because I haven't ever claimed disability benefit as such, and I work full time (though I run my own business, so I can decide what that looks like!) But I have claimed an Access to Work grant through DWP (I claimed for ADHD)

I thought I'd mention it here for anyone in the UK as I don't think many people know about it.

It's a grant, not a benefit, so it's not means tested (you can still claim even if you earn a decent amount/have savings etc) and I think you can potentially claim it alongside other benefits if you quality for other benefits. You have to be working (or, I think, about to start a job) And you have to have a physical or mental health that means you need support to do your job or get to and from work. It's basically money to help provide things that will help you do your job and stay in work (could be something to help with travelling to work, office furniture, computer software, coaching, a support worker which is like a PA/VA etc...) The support you get depends on what your condition/disability is and how it impacts you at work and what challenges you face/what help you need. If you are employed, your employer would pay for those things and then get reimbursed by DWP. If you are self-employed/director of limited company etc, you can still do it. So, I have paid for things and then claimed and been reimbursed by DWP directly.

Anyway - I don't want to derail this thread as I think this is related but not necessarily bang on topic.

But, if you're in the UK, working, and have a condition/disability that impacts your ability to do your job, do look it up - there's really clear info about eligibility and how to apply etc on the gov.uk website.
 
Have you used any form of disability or social services available in your country?
Yes
Which ones?
I used state disability (FMLA)
Have they helped?
Yes
What’s your experience been?
Pay out is too slow. I had to constantly call or drive to the nearest office to bug them to move my paperwork through to get paid.
Things you’ve learned, wish you knew when, or would do differently?
Other thoughts?
I had my GP (general practitioner) fill out the note for work and the state disability online. I didn't want my psychiatrist to fill it out and then work would know why I was taking off. It worked great.

 
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I’ve been on Medicaid which was super painful to get on and maintain, but amazing in that it gave me access to medical care and therapy. I was lucky to live in a state with really good doctors and medical institutions that took it. But it also meant I had to stay poor, which was its own stressor. Moving forward I’d rather make more money and self finance therapy/medical stuff than deal with Medicare. But at the time it was important and helpful.

I don’t know if unemployment counts, but it was helpful too. But I was crawling out of my skin to start working again and not have to jump through all the hoops.
 
LOL well I know you've followed my CF of a story but maybe it will help others if I use the cliff notes 😃
Have you used any form of disability or social services available in your country?
Which ones?
First was Long Term Disability thru my work - covered me for the first year? or maybe 2 - it all runs together in my head
Now I have social security (not SSDI because I was shunted straight to getting into SS early) and the VA
Have they helped?
Very much so. Now that it's sorted out I make enough to live on. Not like a great income, but enough to cover my bills and mortgage, and maybe a vaca here and there. Plus these days I'm really glad I don't have to deal with trying to working.
What’s your experience been?
LTD was super easy - they had a company that handled everything, including my social sec application.
Social security was a 2 year wait and I needed a lawyer to get approved (came with the company ^^). The medical exam was really demeaning - guy obviously thought I was trying to game the system. Psyche doc was awesome - but he was also a veteran so we had common ground and he understood how I got broken in the first place

VA was a Cluster. f*ck.
took me 5 years to get approved and the ENTIRE process was a nightmare.
Things you’ve learned, wish you knew when, or would do differently?
Stick it out because you get back pay. It took years to get both, but they did backdate my payment to the day I originally applied so that was a nice chunk of cash when I finally got it. I think I would still do it again, even as bad as it was just for the ability here, at the other end, to be mostly financially stable and not having to juggle a job.
Other thoughts?
Id say if you are looking into it go for it. Prepare yourself for a long, ugly fight and get your t on board to help you for the days when you feel like a number instead of a person. It was worth it in the end.
 
Have you used any form of disability or social services available in your country?
Which ones?
I have used sickness allowance paid by national insurance (one year), therapy co-paid by national insurance (now on my second year, 3 years is the maximum) temporary disability pension (2,5 years) paid by my pension company and assisted housing paid by local municipality for nine months. Ptsd is my only diagnosis. I'm located in Finland. I'm still on disability, and it's re-evaluated twice a year.
Have they helped?
What’s your experience been?
Things you’ve learned, wish you knew when, or would do differently?
Other thoughts?


Thanks!
Assisted housing meant a coach came into my house and we worked on things I found difficult. I had problems leaving the house and taking a bus, because I was afraid of teenagers after an assault. Also, I didn't clean my house. The third goal was to start going to social group for two days a week.
I found my first coach too pushy and a bit judgemental, so I switched and got a talkative guy who was much easier to work with.
First three months we met twice a week and after that once a week for two hours. We mostly sat on a bus and chatted. After six months, I managed to establish a sufficient cleaning routine twice a month and was able to take a bus whenever I needed. I failed at the third goal, got suicidal because the environment at the group was too much.
I think assisted housing works if one has clear goals to work towards, but it's also a chemistry thing. I didn't like my first coach and was on defensive when he tried to advise me. I'm happy I had this social service, being able (even though not always willing) to leave my house and use a bus normally is very important because I don't drive anymore.

I haven't been able to work since 2021. My trauma background is well documented and the sort which makes people feel compassion, and my pdoc is good at writing statements. I think both reasons are why I haven't had difficulties with the system. My pdoc writes a statement, it goes to national insurance / my work pension company and there an insurance pdcoc reads it and decides whether I fit the criteria or not. I don't ever meet the person who decides my fate.
Here, one must have lost 60% of their working ability to get disability pension. 40% loss gets you a 50% disability pension. After one has been on temporary disability for two years, the work insurance company must appraise whether to make it permanent. My disability is temporary because I'm still in therapy -> insurance company can hope I'll get well enough to work. I personally don't believe it will happen.

Getting re-evaluated twice a year causes a lot of stress for me and I find it very triggering. I'm afraid they will decide I'm well enough to work when I know I'm not. Still, I'm grateful for the money because I couldn't survive without it. There is a strong social stigma attached to disability pensions, and I don't tell people I'm on it. I say I'm a carer for disabled family member, which is also true.

If I was able to work a bit and wanted to, I could earn up to 40% of my pension monthly. Any more than that, and they will re-evaluate whether you are still disabled or not. My attempts to work have not been successful, but the scheme works for people who can do gigs or a few hours there and then.
 

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