CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Merry (Snowed in) Christmas

For those who read my blogs on a regular basis, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  I am snowed in over the weekend, and the accumulation of snow is expected to be over 10 inches.  Now, in many parts north and in the mid-west, I am told that such minimal amount of snow fails to constitute a “snow storm”, and many laugh at how we react here in the D.C.-Maryland Metropolitan area.  Everything is relative, and in my area, anything over an inch is responded to with panic and a rush to the grocery stores to stockpile our kitchen and cupboards. 

Such relative comparisons remind me of how pain and medical disabilities are often misunderstood by one another; that while “pain” is a subjective phenomenon, no matter how hard we try, we are often unable to convey the sensation that we experience.  The difference, of course, is that while there is an objective basis in determining the extent of snowfall, there is no such measure for pain. But how we react to pain is often an individual experience, one which we should not be quick to judge.  Unfortunately, agencies are often quick to judge, and therein lies the problem.  Hopefully, the snow here will let up soon, and I will be back in my office on Monday.

Merry Christmas

Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Service Disability Retirement: Psychiatric Disabilities & the Holidays

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years & the Holidays; psychiatric disabilities of Major Depression, Anxiety, panic attacks, and many others; the mixture of the two often create an admixture of conflicting emotions, enhancing and exacerbating the psychiatric disabilities.

Unfortunately, the “Holidays” are a time when stresses and anxieties are further exacerbated; we are all meant to be “happy” and in the “holiday spirit”, when in fact the gathering of friends, family and gift-giving exponentially emphasizes the medical conditions which people suffer from, especially psychiatric conditions.

For Federal and Postal employees considering filing for Federal Disability Retirement under FERS or CSRS, the “Holidays” should be a time of rest and reflection; to determine the course for the future; whether the future holds continuation of a long and productive career, and will it continue until the time of regular retirement, or is this the time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement.

The “long-term view” must be taken; not to make a hasty decision because of the exacerbating circumstances of the Holidays; rather, to see beyond the holidays, and make the proper decision based upon an “objective perspective” of the “now”, as well as of the future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire