I have recently found out I have qualified for SS disability. I'm happy, but I also have started feeling a bit strange about it. I have hurts and pain and hardships in completing tasks. They fully vetted me. I didn't cheat or anything I think I feel guilty. Is there anyone else out there on disability?
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There is nothing shameful about receiving benefits you are qualified for. Your bad feelings may stem from being disabled, and not being able to do the things you used to do.
I am adding you to my prayers! Being on disability is nothing to be ashamed of. It is hard for people to ask for help sometimes and sometimes we all need a helping hand in the long or short run. I for one am grateful there is a way out there that can help people who truly need it. That is a blessing to me!
Having a disability means you are not able to do some things, but you are MOST ABLE to do lots of other things and that is the important thing to remember. Find all of those things you are able to do and do them!
I know people on disability who volunteer and read to children at the library, teach chess classes as part of a free community program, belong to church organizations and are active in sewing and quilting projects, etc. Some can't walk, some have speech issues or vision issues...but they all have lots to offer in other ways.
The whole disability process is very hard and stressful...since you waded through it successfully, maybe you could offer support to others going through the process. I know from personal experience the FAMILIES of people who are going through this process often stress about it more than the person going through the process...maybe you can find a calling helping those folks.
Wishing you all the best! I am sure you have many ABILITIES...so I will send up prayers that they help buoy your spirits and your heart!
I believe your feelings are a very good sign for you as you may be feeling guilty because you may picture people with more "physical" disabilities as being the ones who are disabled and you may not outwardly look "disabled".
Thank you everyone. Yes Im going to volunteer. I'm also going to as a sub at my job. I work 5 hours a week now which is plenty for a shift. I also hope to have a Bible study in my home.
I am receiving SSD, and I believe I understand why you are feeling guilty. Many people think that if you are receiving benefits that you are cheating the government, in for a free ride, lying to get the money, a bum, etc. Believe me, I've heard that, and more. These people are saying things like this out of ignorance.
If people don't see a blatant disability, they don't understand how chronic pain and mental problems can prevent a person from working. They also don't understand that, if it were possible, people receiving benefits would work. Their belief that a person can just "get over it" is because they've never known anyone who will have a life of pain like us. If anyone accuses you of any of those kinds of things like I mentioned above you can choose to try to educate them. If they won't listen, turn the other cheek. Some people simply won't listen.
As for what to do with the rest of your life now that you are no longer able to work, the choice is yours. Don't overextend yourself. If you're able to join in on groups that interest you, do that. You seem to be active on here, so if your pain is best managed by staying still, join in a variety of forums. (Don't overdo it, though, becoming a hermit is never in anyone's best interest). And of course, see your doctor at regular intervals.
Please remember you have no reason for feeling guilty for receiving benefits. I've met someone who is receiving benefits who shouldn't. THAT person should be feeling guilty. (Sadly, she thought it was funny. I didn't know how to turn someone in back when I met her, otherwise she'd be in prison).
Best wishes.
The point of living in a civilised society is that its members both help each other out in their time of need and have different skillsets that benefit the whole, and that in order for all society to benefit from everyone's skillsets, society invests in everyone's basic needs so they can free up their time to pursue what they are actually good at
the worst fallacy of the entire free market/commodity system we live under is that only one very narrow skillset is valued: that of selling stuff for profit - and any function that supports that end goal. Valuing only this tiny and non-essential skillset undervalues the real skills needed in terms of creating a society where everyone is as healthy and productive as possible.
In fact many of the reasons that people are disabled to begin with stem from that commmodity/free market ideology and its resultant vices - toxic food, toxic societies, toxic conditions for workers who become injured/damaged by their jobs, underfunded infrastructure, underfunded education, broken human relationships, etc. Add to that the current economic realities that make it hard for a fully able person to find remunerative work - let alone the ill - and it becomes quite inappropriate to feel any sort of guilt about being in the position of requesting help. In fact, there are people in the sociopolitical arena thinking about implementing a Universal Basic Income, through an understanding that due to the ravages of the 2008 recession and the exporting of jobs overseas, etc etc etc, few people can afford to live, let alone purchase the commodities which are the only thing that hold the economy together. For a primer on Universal Basic Income go here:
phys.org/
www.newyorker.com/
www.yang2020.com/
and here is an article on where it has been implemented, or tried out:
theintercept.com/
www.wired.co.uk/
This is not Socialism because under Socialism the 'people' own the means of production. Under UBI there is still private property and private enterprise but there is a stipend given to citizens so that there is more parity in terms of resources and the economy circulates
All this to say, the rules are changing in a changing world and there no longer needs to be a reason to feel 'less than' for not participating in the labour force especially if one has a very good reason (IE lack of health)
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