I want to begin the process of applying my daughter for SSDI. She is 28 and currently does not believe that she is ill at all. She does not work and hasn’t for four years, since her diagnosis. She doesn’t see doctors and had been keeping her so under control with sarcosine and vitamins. She was doing super good with sarcosine, but recently prayed that she was healed and quit taking that the sarcosine a year ago (which made her want to stay home 100% of the time and quit all of her vitamins last month and then she went into nearly immediate psychosis and has been like that for a month. After having the crisis team out 4 times, she is finally in the hospital. She is a literal professional in personal presentation and was able to keep from having a 51/50 for four weeks. She says she is not sick, but she really needs the funds from SSDI as it would help with her care expenses of living at home, or even if she gets well enough to live on her own then she would have it. I personally think that she will quit any meds that are given to her in the hospital the day she is released and perhaps she will restart with sarcosine because she will hopefully see how it was the one thing helping be social and have an active life.
The question is what can be done for an uncooperative person that doesn’t want SSDI and thinks they can go out and in a minute get a job when clearly they cannot.
Sometimes the social worker at the hospital will help a patient start the application while they are inpatient.
This is true. I found out too soon before my son’s release. They did not offer information about this service - I heard about it at NAMI. Probably the sooner you can start the “nagging” process (that’s what it seems like when you are trying to advocate for a severe mentally ill adult), the better. Hang in there…
Hang in there 
️I’m praying for you
My advice is to start at the beginning. Go to the website and follow whatever steps there are to get started. I’ve found that with a lot of these govt programs you have to follow their guidelines–however annoying-/to get approval. And be persistent.
CAlso, I would sell the idea of SSI as a back up plan, to your daughter. Tell her she can still work part-time, but this will secure her an income in case she can’t go back to work right away.
I think I told my sz ex that, and he signed up after years of being able to get professional jobs, but not keep them due to his paranoia and other problems.
I was encouraged to sign him up after reading Dr Torrey’s manual. He suggests that it’s an important step to getting them to qualify for other benefits down the road, i.e. Food stamps, Medicaid
Hello Kellyshayne,
What you are experiencing with your daughter is very common with MI loved ones.
Anosognosia, also called “lack of insight,” is a symptom of severe mental illness experienced by some that impairs a person’s ability to understand and perceive his or her illness.
Maybe an outside professional can help your daughter with SSDI. In California there is usually someone on staff at our clinics or health care offices, they may be able to point you in the right direction. Of course you can start the process on the website as well.
My son did not want to apply for ssi and ssdi initially. I finally convinced him to let me “try” on his behalf so he would have medical insurance. After it was all approved and processed, they did need to actually see him in person to finalize. I was apprehensive, but he cooperated and did accompany me to the Social security office to sign the final paperwork.
His 3 year review paperwork showed up last week, the good news is that he doesn’t have to go in person. He just has to sign in front of a witness to approve the starting of the review process and mail that to SS.
On the first page of the signature paperwork is a giant stop sign telling them STOP you DON’T have to come in to the office to sign this paper.
I filled out the paperwork for my son. It took a second request till it went through. Look into it.
serenity, I did fill out the information part, but not the signature part - were you able to get your son’s review paperwork processed without his signature releasing doctor’s information?
No, he signed it. Keep trying to explain that she needs some kind of money coming in to help out.
All good suggestions. If your daughter has health insurance, some medical facilities have social workers. I o gained, and filled out the paperwork for my daughter. She did not want anything at the beginning. Before we could get it signed, my husband, her father passed away, which put an entirely new face on the issue.
Good luck.
This continues to be a problem, but may not be for much longer. My daughter has been in the hospail for the first half of March and again currently. Since she doesn’t think she is ill, she is making plans to attend college, but the illness keeps getting in the way. She was just admitted as gravely ill and I am asking for public conservatorship at first so the state will get the the ssdi for her without her permission or needed signature. She refuses to sign anything she views as a lie. After the state has her for a few months I will be able to ask to take over the conservatorship.
I pray all goes well and the judge agrees so that I don’t have to get her readmitted again. Each time it is worse than the time before and this last time was running around naked for days. If she returns home she said she is going to move out to the wilderness.
I am praying for good outcomes.
Serenity have you heard the results of your son’s re- evaluation yet?
My prayers are with you and your daughter. Here the NAMI folks do advise getting guardianship or conservatorship if your child won’t agree to apply for ssi or ssdi (if applicable)
It’s so very difficult when they think they are fine.
My daughter is also 28 years old. She is a college grad and started to hear voices as far as I know about 5-6 years ago. She was medicated for depression. Zoloft. 2 years ago she was hospitalized for suicidal ideation three separate times within a 6 month period for approximately 2-3 weeks each time. The third time was due to a psychotic break where the negative voices told her to step in front of a semi on the freeway so that she would not be a burden on anyone. She was told she was bi-polar. Now she lives in public housing and cannot write an intelligent sentence. She has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. We have had no release of information (HIPPA laws), and for two months we never heard from her. Two weeks ago she told her mother and I that her big plan for the summer is to drive to Miami (from Washington State) by herself and 500$.
How can we get her on SSI?.
She is disabled. Two years ago she wanted to go to graduate school. She is an oil painter, very talented and has quit that too. She isolates herself, has no friends. We are in grief and mourning the lose of who she was, in the midst of accepting who she is. IWe support her now, thats why at age 66 Im still working in construction. Retirement is a thing of the past. Mourning what might have been. Thanks for your help. This is my first post on this sight.
I’m so sorry about your current situation. It is so tough to watch the life of someone we love come tumbling down.
If your daughter will agree to it, she can allow you to become her representative with Social Security without you being guardian. This would then allow you to do paperwork and interact with Social Security on her behalf. The form to do this is here:
If she worked after or during school and had enough credits you apply for ssdi. If she doesn’t have enough work credits you apply for ssi. If she does qualify for ssdi and the amount is small, she may qualify for ssi also. With ssi she would qualify for Medicaid (in most states) and after two years (from disability onset - if I remember right) she qualifies for Medicare. With Medicare and Medicaid, Medicaid will pay for the Medicare premiums and many copays.
Hello Trusting. I’m so sorry that you’ve had to join our club. We all get the heartbreak. Our children had dreams, and we had dreams for them.
Stay and read and get support. Somehow, you and your family will carry on. We all will.
Thank you for your prayers