It was a harrowing and stressful experience to say the least. I got my approval and then I still had to wait 5 months for their waiting period before I could start to collect benefits.
Its not like you can draw unemployment if you're seeking SSDI to help you either. At least with New York state, you have to certify that you are actively looking for work and that you are capable to work during the period you are attempting to claim unemployment. That obviously conflicts with SSDI because if you applied for SSDI, you're not able to work. If I wouldn't have been lucky enough to have been receiving disability payments from the department of veterans affairs, my family would have been totally screwed for the 7 months that it took for me to get my SSDI approved and the waiting period.
Good luck on your SSDI claim. Hopefully you'll get the decision you need quickly. Once it comes, the relief and reduction in stress is unimaginable.
I don't know anything about your personal situation, but so long as you have medical evidence and documentation out the wazoo that substantiates your claim that you can't work you shouldn't have a problem. In my case, I claimed a psychiatric condition and I had years of very regular psych appointments and documented issues at work and documented issues with my family to point out my continually worsening condition including many extended stretched of hospitalizations in various psych wards. Documentation is key!!
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