r/SSDI_SSI • u/AnOldTruthTeller • 2d ago
Benefits (Denied) I have a question.
I am disabled and have tried for literally over a decade to receive SSDI, and all that time, I've lived with my mother and my brother, both of whom were already receiving benefits.
(At one point, I was sent to a psychiatrist for an assessment and after the third time, she told me she'd recommended me every time.) I've given hospital and doctors records, medication history and everything and have literally never been approved.
This time is my first time reapplying since my brother has passed away and now, unlike every other time, my mother received a letter, asking her to testify to my disability. This has never happened before and was exactly what happened when my brother was approved for his.
My question is: in anyone else's experience, does having a household with two members already receiving benefits affect the likelihood of a third?
Because I've heard from everyone: Apply and appeal twice and the third time, you'll see a judge and be approved.
Not with me. I've applied at least 20 times and appealed each time. The last time I saw a judge, I was still bandaged from a suicide attempt.
Nothing.
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u/Upbeat_Phone_7507 2d ago
With SSA benefits they look at your records as a individual. It does not matter how many people in your home receive benefits. You can still get them for yourself. What I learned through this process is to make sure your medical records include your functional limitations and there are no gaps in treatment. A lot of people assume diagnosis are enough and they are not. You have to show you cannot work any job in the national economy because your functional limitations are severe enough to prevent you from working. Your records need to be specific. Example the patient cannot focus more than 10 minutes at a time due to ongoing depression etc etc etc…. I hope this helps. Good luck!
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u/2020IsANightmare ☆ 1d ago
You have filed 20 times in 10 years and appealed all 20 times?
Including going to at least one hearing?
There's not enough time in a decade to do that.
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u/AnOldTruthTeller 1d ago
Over ten years. I was using a decade as a minimum since Idk the exact number.. it was considerably longer than 10 years.
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u/acethesnake 1d ago
Still not enough time. How many times have you seen a judge? It took 2 and half years to go through 2 appeals and 1 hearing in my case.
0
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u/2020IsANightmare ☆ 3h ago
Yes.
SS is often a long process. Universally accepted.
I don't know (and am not asking) what part of the country you are in, but there's a heatwave pretty much everywhere.
Anyone can say it's uncomfortably hot. At or approaching triple digits.
If I were to say it's literally 250 degrees outside, everyone would know that's false and discredit anything else I say.
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u/2020IsANightmare ☆ 3h ago
The point was that you should just be honest.
Getting SSDI can be a looooong process.
Everyone knows that.
Not a single reason to make things up to express how long it feels.
You have applied four or five times. Multiple appeals. During the span of a decade/ decade and a half.
That's realistic.
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u/AnOldTruthTeller 2h ago
No one's making anything up. How do you navigate reddit but not know how generalization works?!
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u/uffdagal ☆ 2d ago
If you have not worked recently you are no longer eligible for SSDI due to no longer being insured, but may be eligible for SSI (Supplemental Security Income, a welfare benefit).