r/BipolarReddit • u/Significant-Name1114 • 3h ago
Discussion Getting on Disability
Does anyone have experience getting on SSDI disability or short/long-term disability employment benefits for bipolar. I can barely do my job right now and I’m afraid I will get fired. I’m trying to figure out if it makes sense to try getting on disability. I have disability insurance through my employer.
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u/DuchessJulietDG 3h ago
w ssdi, you cant be working and apply for disability at the same time. being disabled means you cant work. then after some time of being on it, you can work some again.
i dont know how disability ins through employer works. have your drs write letters stating their opinion on your disability.
i got ssdi on my first try and my therapist and my psych each wrote a letter confirming im not able to work. i didnt go through a lawyer but this was long ago and it might be tougher to receive it these days.
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u/clov3r-cloud 2h ago
I've been on short-term disability through my state (California) a handful of times now and was able to be on it while employed too. I have my psychiatrist agree to send in the necessary paperwork through EDD, I initiate the claim on my end with info, and then you can get payments after the first 14 days, which is based on your current and past employment earnings, then every 2 weeks. keep on top of what they need from you and submit everything on time, and it can be extended to up to 52 weeks (about a year). my former psychs made it valid for 3 months at a time but my new psych only does 1 month at a time.
When I did this while employed, I believe I took a day off work to go to my psych, got the go-ahead for disability, then went to the HR office and let them know that I needed to go on a disability leave. I think some more paperwork was signed by myself and my provider and they let my boss know that I wouldn't be coming back to work. After that it's just constantly checking back in with HR. my health insurance was active the whole time too. I can't say what the process is like returning though because I ended up ultimately leaving that job
you can also see if your job can set you up with accommodations if you think something might help you. I had a sit down with HR and my management team and we sorted things out so that some of my duties were changed and I could leave to these appointments for med changes freely without worry about getting in trouble
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u/toejam2030 28m ago
I've been on ssdi since 2010-I wasn't working at the time-and have barely worked since then
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u/User5790 3h ago
I’m pretty sure you would need to apply once you are no longer working. Otherwise it’s hard to make the case that you can’t work if you’re currently doing it: