I was approved for disability seven years ago and I'm now undergoing a CDR. However, I haven't sought treatment during the past year, so there aren't any recent medical records.

Should I start seeking treatment immediately or wait to see if Social Security requests that I go for a consultative exam?

They received my forms a few days ago, and they don't have any updated information to go on except for what I told them about my condition. My original diagnosis was delusional disorder, but I also have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

I was on Seroquel for a few months while I was in the process of qualifying, but it just made everything worse. I stopped taking it after I learned it causes diabetes and various other health problems. I immediately felt better.

Obviously I need to get a more recent evaluation. Would it be a good idea to schedule an appointment and then let Social Security know that I've started to seek treatment? It might be a few weeks before they make a decision, so I could be seeking treatment during that time and then they'd have something to go on and maybe I wouldn't have to go for the consultative exam.

I realize now that I should have sought treatment during the past year in order to help bolster my case, but since I didn't, I was wondering what the best approach would be at this point.

If they stop my payments, I'm going to appeal. But I was thinking, I might be able to prevent that by starting treatment with a psychiatrist now. Or would it be better to see a psychologist?

I've been reluctant to see a psychiatrist because I don't like being on psychiatric drugs. But I might start taking them again if it could help me retain my benefits.

If you need medical treatment you should seek it. You should take medication because it controls the negative symptoms of an illness. Neither should be done for the purpose of proving that you have a severe disabling condition or for purposes of retaining disability benefits. There should be a medical need and apparently you do not believe you have a medical need.

If you do not need medical treatment, you probably should be looking for work instead. You can appeal a decision to cease benefits and drag out payment continuation and hire an attorney and look for a doctor now and argue that you know your condition better than any medical professional, but it really sounds to me like you should be able to hold a job now.

There are people with diagnosable conditions that can't get medical treatment or needed medications because they don't have health insurance. And you have either Medicare or Medicaid and you don't need it.

Going back to work would aggravate my condition because I'd just be subjected to mobbing again. For more information, do a search for mobbing or workplace bullying.

The anxiety, stress and depression I experience are the result of being targeted by gang stalkers at work and everywhere I go -- even in my own home. What little improvement there's been in my condition has been as a result of receiving disability payments and not having to work with people who are involved in the conspiracy to drive me to suicide.

Taking medication doesn't make the gang stalkers go away, and neither does psychotherapy. For more information, search for gang stalking and the hidden evil.

I'm finding this a little hard to believe as someone who works in the mental health field. If you own the diagnosis of delusional disorder, then you would therefore accept that you need to take medications and would want to speak to someone to control the distressing delusions. I say distressing, because you've said that it would drive you to suicide.
Delusions do not go away because you're not at work, you would continue to have symptoms even while at home.
And if you are claiming that you being targeted by gangs everywhere is not a delusion then you would not own the diagnosis of delusional disorder and therefore would think you are fine to be working.

I do wish you the best, but please do not seek out treatment for the reasons of staying on SSDI. There are many people out there that need it and do not have it. If you thought you needed treatment, then you would have sought it and kept it for the past 7 years. SSDI is for disabled people, not people getting mobbed at work. You resolve mobbing by moving, the witness protection program as appropriate, getting a new job, and calling the police. It is not a disability to be mobbed or stalked.

Social Security Disability is a program who have medically identifiable, severe, diagnoses that totally prevent a person from performing any kind of work activity. It is not a program that pays benefits to people who self-diagnose and who believe they cannot hold jobs. It only pays money to people who have proven by medical evidence that they are so impaired physically or mentally that there it is impossible to work. The program requires medical evidence by medical professionals. Your opinion is simply not enough.

I realize that you think you cannot work but you are not on a program that makes its decisions based on your opinion. If all it took to be entitled to a disability check was a personal belief that a person cannot work, then there would be a huge increase in the number of people getting benefits.

I could read every article in the world about workplace bullying and/or mobbing or gang stalking or PTSD but none of that proves that 1. you have it or 2. that it is a severe problem for you or 3. that it prevents you from working.

Perhaps you do have some anxiety, fear, or paranoia. Perhaps it is founded on reality or perhaps it is unreasonable. Those conditions can be diagnosed and treated with medical treatment. There are people who overcome or learn to deal with or learn how to chemically manage those problems. There are those who don't. Without ongoing medical treatment, no one knows what might work for you. Ongoing medical treatment could demonstrate that your opinion is valid. All that is known is that you don't want medical treatment and that you believe you cannot hold a job. And your opinion is simply not going to be enough to continue to get benefits from SSDI.

I am going back to my original suggestion. If you need medical treatment and/or medication because you have a severe medical problem, then you should, by all means, get the care you need. If not, look for work in a lonely occupation; there are many occupations that don't involve large involvement with people. Work with animals; nighttime janitorial; night watchman.

Seek medical care if you need it and take medication that improves your ability to function.

First of all, I don't need to be lectured on the Social Security disability program, especially on a web site that claims to be a "support" group for people suffering from disabling mental conditions. I paid into the program for 25 years, so I've earned the benefits I've received, and I'm not taking away anyone else's benefits away by accepting mine.

Besides, Social Security has more than enough money to pay all the claims it's expected to receive for at least the next 20 years.

It's doubtful that I could have survived these past seven years without it. No one should have to work with people who are trying to kill them, including me.
If there's a treatment or medication that could help me cope with the symptoms I experience, I'd be more than happy to try it.

The problem is, since 2004, I've been targeted by a an illegal covert operation sponsored by intelligence agencies of the U.S. government designed to slander me, destroy my career and all my relationships and drive me to suicide. Thousands of people all over this country are also being targeted, and our ordeal is well-documented by the hidden evil and many other web sites and groups, including Freedom From Covert Harassment and Surveillance.

I can assure you, there's nothing delusional about the suffering we experience.

One aspect of this vicious and cruel psychological assault is emotional abuse in the workplace, which is described on the web site, mobbing-usa. I left the workplace for my own safety. It wouldn't be safe for me to return to work now, because if I do, I'll just be subjected to mobbing all over again and surrounded by people who are trying to kill me.

Plus, I've been blacklisted from employment in the newspaper business, so it's doubtful that I'd be able to find anything better than a minimum-wage job that wouldn't even pay enough to support myself. And I would only be allowed to work in an environment where sufficient harassment could be inflicted on me in the opinion of the gangsters responsible for this atrocity.

I know, because I worked in the newspaper business as a reporter and editor for 25 years before I was targeted for doing my job by exposing corruption in government. After that, the only jobs I was allowed to have were minimum-wage jobs where I was surrounded by gang stalkers all day long and subjected to constant harassment.

My original diagnosis when I applied for disability in 2005 was delusional disorder, but I think a more accurate diagnosis would be post-traumatic stress disorder. The stress, anxiety and depression I experience every single day are the result of the life-threatening trauma of being targeted, not because I'm imagining things that aren't really happening. I don't "own" the diagnosis of delusional disorder, that was a label placed on me by my psychiatrist seven years ago.

Although there's been no improvement in my medical condition during these last seven years, I haven't sought treatment because therapy exacerbates my symptoms by forcing me to relive the trauma. The expense involved in seeking treatment is another prohibitive factor.

Since I'm followed around by gang stalkers everywhere I go, I've found the best solution for me is to avoid contact with the outside world to the greatest extent possible. Being on disability has allowed me to pursue solitary activities and interests that help take my mind off the traumatic experiences I've been through during these last nine years. Taking away my disability payments would put my life in grave danger.

I understand Social Security needs medical evidence, and that's why I'm going to seek a re-evaluation if necessary to bolster my claim.

Dr. James Hillard, professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University, wrote an article about workplace mobbing in the April 2009 edition of Current Psychiatry. You can find it online.

Dr. Hillard tells about diagnosing one of his patients, who was a victim of mobbing, as suffering from PTSD. Following are a few excerpts from the article:

The term “workplace mobbing” was coined by Leymann, an occupational psychologist who investigated the psychology of workers who had suffered severe trauma. He observed that some of the most severe reactions were among workers who had been the target of “an impassioned collective campaign by coworkers to exclude, punish, or humiliate” them.

Victims of workplace mobbing frequently suffer from PTSD and depression.

In mobbing targets with PTSD, Leymann notes that the “mental effects were fully comparable with PTSD from war or prison camp experiences.” Some patients may develop alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders. Family relationships routinely suffer.

Leymann estimated that 15 percent of suicides in Sweden could be directly attributed to workplace mobbing. Although no other researcher has reported such a dramatic proportion, others have reported increased risk of suicidal behavior among mobbing victims.

In serious cases, the victim is unable to re-enter the workforce and suffers serious, long-lasting mental or physical disability.

Consider the possibility that seemingly paranoid individuals could be the target of mobbing at work, and don’t underestimate the psychological stress of being mobbed. Other forms of workplace harassment can be extremely stressful but do not have the “paranoidogenic” potential of mobbing. Patients may be so distressed that it is difficult to figure out what is going on in their work environment.

Mobbing is a serious stressor that can lead to psychiatric and medical morbidity and even suicide. Major depressive disorder—often with suicidal ideation—is frequently associated with being mobbed.

A diagnosis of PTSD can be missed if the mobbing victim does not seem to have been subjected to a severe enough stress to meet PTSD criteria.

Those are just some of the reasons why I believe I'm justified in seeking to retain my disability payments. In light of the circumstances, I don't think it's asking too much.

Hi palomine

Sorry you feel you are being misunderstood here....it must be very hard to try to cope with what you are dealing with, especially when the meds make you feel bad. It may really be worth going into therapy though to help you deal with things.

I just wanted to clarify that this is the NeuroTalk section, dealing primarily with neurological health, rather than mental health, and so other members here may not be as aware of disabling mental health conditions as they would be on our main forums at PsychCentral, where the focus is primarily mental health. You will find much understanding and support there, as well as possible advice in finding the kind of treatment that would be best suited to your situation.

Here's the link (you will need to register a separate account there)
http://forums.psychcentral.com/

Dear Chemar,

That was probably the most tactful comment imaginable. You are very good with words. Extremely professional response. Impressive.

Hi Palomine,

Taking the correct medication or finding the right psychotherapist can indeed help those with delusional disorder.

Even if you don't believe that at this time, please trust me that the Social Security Administration believes that and that's part of the reason they expect you to continue to require professional care for a disability unless you are improved and no longer disabled.

I would make an appointment to see your metal health professional as soon as possible, for your own wellbeing and to help you if you believe that you are still disabled and want to keep your SSDI/SSI benefits. Don't wait until the SSA contacts you again.

Social Security RETIREMENT has more than enough money for a while.

Social Security DISABILITY does NOT. It is due to run out of funds in 2016.

If you are receiving SSDI/SSI for a dx of delusional disorder and truly do not have that dx, then you are not entitled to benefits based on that dx. Being a victim of mobbing isn't a disability and wouldn't qualify someone for SSDI/SSI. Having PTSD after being a victim of mobbing could well make someone disabled and entitled to SSDI/SSI, but from what you have reported, that is not a dx that a mental health professional has found that you have (yet).

Again, I strongly recommend making an appointment with a mental health professional asap. You need a professional to determine what dx and treatment best fits you so that you, your doc, and the SSA are all on the same page.

Best wishes in dealing with all of this.