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.
As someone who does not have personal experience or expertise, I can suggest one generic thing: prepare and bring documentation and organize it so that you can grab the chunk of it you need during the interview. I feel like clearly presenting evidence and your case + some examples where you clearly qualify per the law, in writing, is at least valuable if/when you need to appeal.
And for me, at least, writing up a document helps me have clarity of thought even if I don't show the document to anyone or if nobody but me cares about the document. The process will make me realize that there are things I would've otherwise forgotten, or things that I should emphasize more than others, or an angle that I should take that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.
Also, I do know that, like others have said, the process is means tested and the first round(s) can be capricious, so it may help to think of it as a "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" kind of thing. A rejection would suck no matter what, but it sucks even more if you aren't in a situation to handle it. Basically, give yourself permission to have a couple bad days / days focused on things that make you happy. And prepared to blame the right things, if that's where your mind goes: means-tested liberal horseshit and unacceptable working conditions. Easier said than done, I know, but it's about all the solidarity I can give over the internet, ha. You're not alone in this, people go through it all the time and they, just like you, deserve the support.
Thanks for the good advice. It's actually one of the things I think is going to screw me: the lack of documentation on a lot of this stuff. I feel totally unprepared and am scrambling to find even the most basic documentation they're requesting. A lot of it was actually lost when I had to evacuate due to fire, but also having AvPD means I have a big problem keeping track of things like that.
And yeah, I completely expect to be denied. It's a flat given. The lawyer I spoke to said it will probably take a couple of years of repeating this process before I see any results. If I see any results. I'm not dreading the rejection itself at all really, I'm dreading having to do this meeting, and knowing I'm going to fuck it up, knowing I'm not going to know what to say, forget everything, etc. So that's excellent advice to write it out. I will work on that. Wish I had more than just a day to do it. But that really is my own goddamn fault. I hardcore procrastinate on everything that looks daunting (which is an aspect of the "avoidance" part of AvPD).
As well as the advice, your solidarity and kindness are deeply appreciated.