Hey, I wanted to take a moment to share something with you—not because I’m looking for pity, but because maybe someone out there needs to know they’re not alone. Today, I got a letter in the mail that shook me to my core. Social Security has officially removed me from disability benefits after nearly six years of receiving SSDI. Just like that, gone.
Let me back up a little. I first applied for Social Security Disability Insurance in 2016. It took me three years—three long, stressful, paperwork-filled years—to finally get approved in 2019. And I’ve been on SSDI ever since, because I am disabled. My lungs are shot, and I have a foot injury that makes standing or walking unbearable. The medical documentation is there. It’s always been there.
But after going through the continuing disability review process, they now say I’m “no longer disabled.” I can barely breathe. I can’t walk far. Even their doctors couldn’t get a full pulmonary function test because my lungs are so bad. Still, someone decided I’m suddenly able to work. It makes no sense.
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It’s hard to describe what it feels like to get that kind of news. It’s not just anger—it’s fear. I live alone. I don’t have family who can step in. My benefits were the only thing helping me survive. I was barely getting by with them. Now, with no income and no healthcare, I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen to me. I’m scared I’ll die—not because of my illness directly, but because I can’t get the care I need without that monthly check.
I did file an appeal. I also submitted a request to continue receiving benefits during the process. I’m gathering my documents again, and this time I’m hand-delivering them to the Social Security office. But I’ll be honest with you—it’s exhausting. I don’t have the energy or strength I once did. I paid into this system for years, believing it would be there for me if I ever needed it. And now that I do, I feel abandoned.
There are so many people like me caught in this cycle—fighting the very agency that’s supposed to protect us. The system is cold. You’re a file, not a person. And trying to prove you’re still sick when you’re already hanging by a thread? It’s soul-crushing.
I just needed to get this off my chest. Maybe you’ve been through something similar, or maybe you’re going through it right now. If so, don’t give up. Appeal. Fight. And if you can, get help from a disability attorney or someone who knows the system. That support can make all the difference.
