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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by m3 on January 31, 2002, at 13:07:10
Hi all,
I have gone into a serious mood slide and I'm finding it harder and harder to get myself to go to work, much less get anything done there. I am thinking about asking for some time off. Here's the question: has anyone here asked about/applied for/received short-term disability benefits for head problems? (this question might not apply outside the US) My dx is Major Depression, moderate (I think) and I've been in treatment for two years.
Of course, the other question would be whether it would be better or worse to be at home than at work. I guess I'd better take that one up with my shrink, but if anyone wants to share thoughts about that they're welcome. :)
m3, who likes dr. bob's latest photoshop trick. solarize!
Posted by susan C on January 31, 2002, at 13:57:17
In reply to short-term disability for major depression?, posted by m3 on January 31, 2002, at 13:07:10
hi,
do a hunt on "disability" here in the search window, and you will find 170+. I wrote some things not too long ago, as I have traveled this road. You may find them helpful. Please feel free to ask more questions. you can contact me through the email.
Sounds like bringing the subject up with your pdoc is a good start.mouse at hand
Posted by m3 on January 31, 2002, at 14:01:58
In reply to Re: short-term disability for major depression?, posted by susan C on January 31, 2002, at 13:57:17
hi mouse,I remembered to try the search right after posting. Hm, experienced Net user forgetting basic PSB/newsgroup protocol -- maybe I should add that to my list of symptoms :}
m3
Posted by mist on January 31, 2002, at 21:33:09
In reply to short-term disability for major depression?, posted by m3 on January 31, 2002, at 13:07:10
m3,
In the January 2nd archives you'll find answers to some questions I had asked about disability, under a thread called "Is disasbility enough to live on?" People here gave me great information. I don't know if it would specifically answer your questions about short term disability though.
I decided not to pursue disability because I started taking something which helped my depression and I'd rather work if at all possible. I assume I would be eligible for retroactive disability but the application process sounds too challenging to take on at the same time as a job search.
As for taking a leave, maybe knowing it's just a short term leave would help. I quit my job partly due to being depressed, thinking the change would help me, and I kind of went into a slump. I became more depressed and it became harder to do anything. Don't know if that would happen to you but that was my experience.
Good luck. -mist
> Hi all,
>
> I have gone into a serious mood slide and I'm finding it harder and harder to get myself to go to work, much less get anything done there. I am thinking about asking for some time off. Here's the question: has anyone here asked about/applied for/received short-term disability benefits for head problems? (this question might not apply outside the US) My dx is Major Depression, moderate (I think) and I've been in treatment for two years.
>
> Of course, the other question would be whether it would be better or worse to be at home than at work. I guess I'd better take that one up with my shrink, but if anyone wants to share thoughts about that they're welcome. :)
>
> m3, who likes dr. bob's latest photoshop trick. solarize!
Posted by White Rabbit on February 1, 2002, at 4:49:37
In reply to Re: short-term disability for major depression?, posted by mist on January 31, 2002, at 21:33:09
I am on a sort of short-term disability myself without government aid. I quit my full-time job because I could no longer handle the stress. I'm in the medical profession and was doing all sorts of unprofessional things - being rude to (rude) patients, making the kind of mistakes that a beginner would make (after 20 years on the job), helping myself to drugs from the drug cabinet, being habitually late to work, fighting with the nurses and changing their orders. I took medical leave for two weeks' stay in a mental hospital.This is something for you to consider. When I returned, everyone treated me differently, as if I could go postal at any time...even the doctors, who should have known better. There was one amusing incident; I had a red pen in my pocket that leaked on my white scrub shirt. I tried to wash it out without much success. It was a very obvious stain, so I decided to cover it with White-Out as a temporary measure. The night before, I had been to a professional hockey game that our team was losing up until the last period, and then the other team choked. The crowd was so delighted that they stood up and started singing, "Hey, hey,hey...goodbye!"
So I was standing in an exam room, painting the stain on my shirt with White-Out and singing softly to myself, "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye." I looked up and saw one of the doctors staring at me with horror. I don't think he noticed the stain on my shirt, just that I was painting my clothes with White-Out and singing to myself. It was my first day back at work from the mental hospital and I know he thought I had gone completely over the edge. He hurried away before I could explain myself. Thank God I had not lost my sense of humor - I still love that story.So, if you do take leave for mental reasons, be prepared for others to walk on eggshells around you, once you return to work. They just won't know what to think. In this day and age, the stigma around mental illness or emotional problems should not carry the weight that it does, but it exists. All I can say is, don't visibly react to such ignorance. Don't complain and don't explain. Soon enough, there will be some juicy gossip involving others, and your adventure will be forgotten.
I still had to quit my job - because of the stress in my personal life, I couldn't handle my responsibilities at work. I'm lucky enough to be married to someone who can make enough money to support us and provide medical benefits for me, although we had to be careful to cut back on our expenses. I've been working for an agency which hires out temporary medical workers, but the work is sporadic. It's often spooky for me to have to enter a new place, meet new people, familiarize myself with new equipment and paperwork and the specific routine of the office BUT...if I don't like a place, I don't have to go back. Finding a job like that is like grabbing the gold ring on the carousel.
Anyway, one warning: at the hospital I became acquainted with another patient who has been on complete mental disability for 10 years. I can't describe what a frightening mess this person is.
The government pays for his housing, food, all his living expenses. He has no good friends, no real family, no job, no routine, no hobbies. He is beholden to nothing and nobody. He has a caseworker that shows up once in awhile and bugs him to find employment, but nothing ever happens, and that is usually the extent of his social interaction. When he can't stand being so lonely anymore, he checks himself back into the mental hospital. I've never met such a miserable specimen, and of course, his lifestyle is financed by our taxes. I know that if he had a reason to get up in the morning, he would be much happier. There's nothing wrong with him physically, he's of average intelligence and has no serious mental diagnosis beyond depression. But he figures, why should he go back to work - after 10 years - if he doesn't have to?Don't fall into that trap. A mind is a terrible thing to waste and such a lifestyle just screams for government reform.
W.R.
Posted by OldSchool on February 1, 2002, at 20:12:33
In reply to short-term disability for major depression?, posted by m3 on January 31, 2002, at 13:07:10
> Hi all,
>
> I have gone into a serious mood slide and I'm finding it harder and harder to get myself to go to work, much less get anything done there. I am thinking about asking for some time off. Here's the question: has anyone here asked about/applied for/received short-term disability benefits for head problems? (this question might not apply outside the US) My dx is Major Depression, moderate (I think) and I've been in treatment for two years.
>
> Of course, the other question would be whether it would be better or worse to be at home than at work. I guess I'd better take that one up with my shrink, but if anyone wants to share thoughts about that they're welcome. :)
>
> m3, who likes dr. bob's latest photoshop trick. solarize!
I can tell you that if you try to get social security disability, you have zero chance of getting it. Generally SS disability isnt given for "moderate depression." To get SS disability for depression you have to have severe clinical depression, usually of the melancholia subtype (severe sleeping problems, cognition problems, losing weight, etc.) And be refractorily depressed, ie; meds dont work for you. And the SS disability board likes to see ECT on your record if you applying for SS disability. They want to see youve tried ECT.Finally, even if you are refractorily depressed
and you are all messed up physically from it (cant sleep good, cognitively messed up from it, etc.) you still wont get approved until you hire an attorney who specializes in SS disability law. It generally takes about two years, three or four repeated disability applications and an attorney to get approved for SS disability for depression.And even then its hard as hell to get.
As for short term disability using your company's private disability insurance, I dont know much about that.
Posted by jane d on February 2, 2002, at 11:51:16
In reply to short-term disability for major depression?, posted by m3 on January 31, 2002, at 13:07:10
M3,
I'll leave the advice on whether you can get disability to those who have experienced it. I do think that you should do whatever you can to continue working. If you absolutely can't avoid disability than of couse you make the best of it but I've found that not working makes me worse. Working provides a structure to my day that I can't give myself and contact with other people which I would choose not to have. And once I am are out of the job market, having left because I felt I couldn't handle working, I find it much harder to go back than it would have been to just continue slogging along. I'm sure that there are exceptions where it would be better to leave. Horrible jobs that make you worse or cases where messing up could keep you from being employed in the future, for instance by putting a professional license in jeopardy. You'll need to decide for yourself which group you're in.
By the way if you've been in treatment for 2 years and are now getting worse it may be time to look at a different treatment.
Good luck.
Jane
Posted by m3 on February 4, 2002, at 10:03:57
In reply to Re: short-term disability for major depression? » m3, posted by jane d on February 2, 2002, at 11:51:16
> Working provides a structure to my day that I can't give myself
> and contact with other people which I would choose not to have.
I think you're right about structure--that's part of why I'm hesitant to ask for leave, even though it *seems* relatively easy to get through my co. Ironically, I think I might actually get more social contact with people if I took some time off and did volunteer work, as I have a long commute and a solitary job.> I find it much harder to go back than it would have been to just continue slogging along.
Another important point...> I'm sure that there are exceptions where it would be better to leave. [snip] You'll need to decide for yourself which group you're in.
...but this is part of my concern too. Prof. licenses and continuity aren't really a concern for me, and I find that coming to work seems to make me feel worse, especially because of the commute. Alas, I think I just need to quit my job and find another that is closer and more team-oriented, but if I quit I will be an unemployed techie in the Bay Area, and the first time I did that was hard enough. Sigh.> By the way if you've been in treatment for 2 years and are now getting worse it may be time to look at a different treatment.
Yes, I'm trying new medication regimens and now I'm going to talk therapy twice a week. I've only been with this therapist for nine months, so I don't think it's time to give up on her yet. :}Thanks for your response -- it's really good to get other people's perspectives about this.
M3
Posted by Mags on February 6, 2002, at 11:54:43
In reply to Re: short-term disability for major depression? » jane d, posted by m3 on February 4, 2002, at 10:03:57
Hi there,
I admire those that work through their illness! Either due to having to for income reasons or no other option, or perhaps they are stronger than I am...
I am currently on short term disability from work. My company provides this benefit for up to two years if you can no longer do the job you were doing, then long term kicks in. (Then you have to be unable to work at ANY job). My pdoc said I would have no problem getting it. He filled out all the forms and as he said it was no problem. Mind you, at the time I was in the hospital due to a breakdown (could'nt stop crying) and suicideal ideation. That was last September.
I am still treatment resistant and still off work. I am very social phobic right now and most meds I try initially make it impossible to drive. My job was in a Public Relations outreach position were I had to talk to groups of up to 300 people and drive frequently. I just can't do it....
I feel lucky to have such a plan. Although work structure would be good there are many days I can't get out of bed and my memory and word finding capability is very bad ( not so good for a public speaker!)....so I keep waiting for meds that work....I force myself to go to outreach programs at the hospital. This helps make me get dressed showered etc. plus I have a loving husband and four kids to keep me from giving in...they get me up in the morning. I want to avoid them but they won't let me o;)
Good luck with your situation!
Mags
> > Working provides a structure to my day that I can't give myself
> > and contact with other people which I would choose not to have.
> I think you're right about structure--that's part of why I'm hesitant to ask for leave, even though it *seems* relatively easy to get through my co. Ironically, I think I might actually get more social contact with people if I took some time off and did volunteer work, as I have a long commute and a solitary job.
>
> > I find it much harder to go back than it would have been to just continue slogging along.
> Another important point...
>
> > I'm sure that there are exceptions where it would be better to leave. [snip] You'll need to decide for yourself which group you're in.
> ...but this is part of my concern too. Prof. licenses and continuity aren't really a concern for me, and I find that coming to work seems to make me feel worse, especially because of the commute. Alas, I think I just need to quit my job and find another that is closer and more team-oriented, but if I quit I will be an unemployed techie in the Bay Area, and the first time I did that was hard enough. Sigh.
>
> > By the way if you've been in treatment for 2 years and are now getting worse it may be time to look at a different treatment.
> Yes, I'm trying new medication regimens and now I'm going to talk therapy twice a week. I've only been with this therapist for nine months, so I don't think it's time to give up on her yet. :}
>
> Thanks for your response -- it's really good to get other people's perspectives about this.
>
> M3
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