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Most people know what disability entails. They understand that any company for which they might work has disability insurance, and they can file a claim if their doctor determines they cannot work there anymore. All kinds of conditions can lead to filing a disability claim.
There are also short-term and long-term claims. A short-term claim probably means you can go back to work at some point, while a long-term one indicates you cannot go back to work anytime soon, or perhaps ever.
If you have to file either of these claim types, it would be safe to say your life and lifestyle will change. Let’s talk more about that now.
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The Disability Claim Process
One way your life will change is that you’ll need to think about the disability claim filing process in the immediate future. For instance, maybe you’ll have to look into steps for filing a long-term disability claim. This process can be a bit complex, so you may need to enlist someone’s help who knows how to do it.
The claims process will go through, one way or another, and you’ll either get the disability payments you feel you deserve or not. Getting that money will certainly help you out tremendously since you won’t be in such a pinch to pay for things like rent, your mortgage, food bills, utilities, and so forth.
However, keep in mind that even if you get long-term disability insurance, that may only be a temporary reprieve. The insurance company that’s paying your claim will always want to know whether your condition is any better as time passes. They will want to see if you can go back to work or whether they’ll need to keep paying you for years to come.
What Will You Do with Yourself?
The next thing about which you’ll need to think is what to do with yourself once you’ve set up your claim payments. You now have enough money coming in to support yourself, but you’re no longer working. What will you do with your days?
Maybe you didn’t like your job much, and it was just a way to make money. However, perhaps you loved your career, and you had a real aptitude for it. Maybe your job was a big part of your identity.
If you can no longer tell someone who asks what you do for a living, you might not feel so good about yourself anymore. You may need to think about something else you can do to occupy your time. That might be something that makes money, or it may be something that satisfies you artistically.
Getting on Disability May Not Be Much Fun
Disability, whether short or long-term, can be necessary for some people to support themselves and their families. At the same time, you may wonder what you can do with all the downtime you have.
You can always do things like read books or watch TV or movies, but you might feel bored with that after a while. Your life might not feel like it has as much meaning as it used to when you went to work several days out of every week.
You might decide to take up something of which you’re currently physically capable. That might be writing blogs, painting, sculpting, or sewing. Maybe you’re able to take up golf or bowling.
Whatever it is you do, it should entertain you and take up some of this new free time you have, but it should also not violate the terms through which you continue to receive disability payments. Remember that the insurance company will keep checking up on you to ensure you’re not bilking them out of their money.
Find a New Equilibrium
The time after you go on short or long-term disability is when you will need to adjust your life in various ways. The old system can no longer work, and if you were someone who enjoyed the routine or relied on it, it might be challenging learning a new way to live.
You need to support your family and yourself, but you also need to figure out something to do so you can feel self-worth. Without that, you may experience depression. It is easy to get down on yourself if you can’t do the job you used to be able to do.
In time, you should find a new way to spend your days, and hopefully, you will be content with that.
