A TikTok creator’s candid explanation of her medical conditions and frustration with applying for U.S. disability benefits was reposted on X by @Chicago_Goofies on July 23
Since then, it has almost 334,000 views and was captioned: “She says she’s too disabled to work and has a long list of medical conditions. Now she’s complaining because the government wants medical proof before approving disability benefits.”
“Wanting evidence before handing out taxpayer-funded benefits seems pretty reasonable. Am I missing something?” it asked
Advertisement
The repost had commenters who questioned the creator’s claims and others who pointed to the well-documented challenges many disabled Americans face when seeking benefits
She talks about having several diagnosed conditions, including idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), gastroparesis, occipital neuralgia, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues, and lower spinal stenosis. She also says she is being evaluated for hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), endometriosis or adenomyosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
She said POTS made it difficult for her to stand for extended periods or repeatedly bend over while suspected ME/CFS gives her what she describes as severe post-exertional malaise after even routine activities. Toward the end, the creator talks about the disability application process. “I seriously want to give up on applying for disability solely because they make it so hard,” she said. She adds that paperwork, obtaining medical records, and speaking with lawyers are overwhelming
She said that the application process can be difficult for people whose health conditions already limit their ability to complete daily tasks
Advertisement
“They make it this hard so that we give up, so that they just don’t have to help us,” she said before concluding, “I’m exhausted.” The text displayed at the end of the video reads: “I’m not actually giving up, but holy [expletive] do I want to. But I will keep going out of spite [at this point].”
In response, one commenter wrote, “If you can film TikToks, you can process medical claims from home. There is a job that you can do, you just choose not to. I’m done funding that.” Another said, “I feel if you’re too disabled to work but energetic enough to film a 4 min monologue… the govt asking for actual medical evidence is the bare minimum.”
Others shared personal experiences like that of a colleague who experienced a stroke and partial paralysis but continues working in data entry. Some questioned whether her conditions would prevent someone from working and accused her of self-diagnosis, though she said several of her conditions were formally diagnosed while others were still under medical evaluation
