Severe depression, anxiety and panic disorder made it impossible for me to hold down a job. I have had several work attempts since my last steady job and I ended up having to leave each of those jobs because of the above mentioned conditions. I had enough work credits to quailfy for SSDI but was turned down for SSI due to my wife's income.

According to the SSA website:

"Benefits usually continue until you are able to work again on a regular basis."

So whatever it is that is keeping you from working--depression, anxiety, and panic--needs to be treated. So if they evaluate your case in a few years and you are off all medications for those conditions and not seeing a doctor regularly, they will think that you are "better" or have it under control, and will stop your SSDI benefits. So, while you can switch medications and go off some, you should remain on some medications for those specific conditions OR be getting some sort of therapy/doctor's care.

There is a recent post by someone who has a mental disorder (bipolar, I believe) and they haven't seen a doctor lately and are not taking medicine for their condition, and it was decided that they no longer needed benefits. So, if you need them and you are unable to work, you must continue treatment, whether that is therapy, medications, or something else.

If you stop treatment or start working full time, they will take your benefits away. The recent poster I was talking about was not getting doctor's care or taking medicine, and was only working part time, and still had them taken away. The minute you prove to them that you are capable of working or functioning "normally", they will remove your benefits.

The alternative would be to continue the benefits to someone capable of working and functioning normally?

Actually, SSDI continues through the trial work period (9 months) and benefits can be reinstated during the extended period of eligibility (36 months) and expedited reinstatement can occur within another period (60 months?) so it is not true that the minute you start working that benefits stop.

SSI is reduced by any income so going to work will reduce SSI benefits, but there are more earned income exclusions than unearned income exclusions so SSI can continue checks for a long time and Medicaid can continue indefinitely under section 1619b of SSI even when the income is too high for payment as long as the person doesn't have medical recovery, like a paraplegic and needs and uses Medicaid.

And to prove that you are functioning normally generally takes several month of obtaining allegations of current functioning, gathering existing medical evidence, or obtaining independent medical exams, again much more than a minute of review.

Neither SSI nor SSDI were designed as a lifetime check for a person who had a medical problem at one time that no longer stops them from functioning normally. 20, 30 years ago, a heart attack meant stopping work and staying home waiting to die. Now it means triple bypass, change in lifestyle and the right medication and return to work.