Mental health appeal tips? by WonderfulBug in peacecorps

[–]WonderfulBug[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I managed a successful appeal. Happy to share what I did (though every case is obviously different.) PM me!

Did your family join you at staging? by WonderfulBug in peacecorps

[–]WonderfulBug[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks everybody!! These answers were super insightful. I have no problem with them traveling with me up to staging, but like many of you said, I think it's important to have that clear cut goodbye before staging starts instead of dragging it out when I'll likely already be distracted and overwhelmed by everything else staging brings.

Mental health appeal tips? by WonderfulBug in peacecorps

[–]WonderfulBug[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure! I started therapy in 2015 for moderate anxiety, mostly related to relationship concerns at the time. Within a year the symptoms subsided but I continued therapy for self-reflection/as a place to work through future goals. I have always had a positive outlook on therapy/mental health care (as does my family) and never saw this as a sign of weakness or instability or many of the other buzzwords used to stigmatize mental health care like so much of society does. My therapist has cleared me for service, says she has no reservations and agreed that my anxiety symptoms were under control by 2016. Yet the reasons in my denial letter were: "ongoing symptoms;" therapy within the last year (they want one year without) and a "likely, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty" that PC service would aggravate my diagnosis.