Basically the title. But for context:

I have AvPD, Avoidant Personality Disorder. I know I'm not the only hexbear who suffers from this, as it's been discussed here and mentioned a few times. It's pretty severe in my case, enough that the psychologist I am able to see (at a low-income clinic that accepts my state's version of medicaid) has been strongly suggesting that I apply for disability. And without going into detail, I don't know how I'm going to survive in the looming, relatively near future without aid. (I'm already on SNAP aka foodstamps and really struggling). So I applied for SSI. I have my first means-testing meeting this week. It will just be over the phone, but they say to have at least 2 hours of time for the interrogation. I'm deeply dreading it, and figured it couldn't hurt to see if anyone here maybe had some advice. I know I will be denied at first, that denial on the first attempt is a given for literally everyone since they want to weed out people who "aren't serious" about needing help. I know I'll have to reapply and appeal probably a few times and even then it's not exactly likely, especially since I'm applying with a psychological problem rather than physical. I do have some physical problems too, but they are secondary.

So... is there anything a person should know going in? Does anyone have experiences with the process that they'd care to share? Or hell, even just thoughts on how fucked up the whole thing is.

  • crime [she/her, any]
    ·
    3 years ago

    I don't have any advice or experience with this, but sending love and solidarity to you, comrade :stalin-heart:

    I hope it goes well and that the dehumanizing aspects of it are minimal and easy to cope with. Sorry that this fucked up, rotten country is making you jump through so many shitty hoops to get some amount of the support you need.

    • AncomCosmonaut [he/him,any]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Thank you so much, comrade. It genuinely does mean a lot to me. I don't mean to get all cornball, but I don't have many people left in my life anymore, so your compassion, empathy, and solidarity really are taken to heart and appreciated. Those are things that are becoming increasingly hard to come by. I'm always happy when I see it expressed here, like a little oasis where the toxic individualism and atomization are still fought against. So yeah... thank you.