What does that metaphor mean? Perhaps to different people, different and varying things — of constantly being on edge despite nothing objectively to be anxious about; of fearing the worst around every bend and corner; of imagining impending doom despite the best of times; of never being able to enjoy that which has been attained or accomplished; and a multitude of similar circumstances that evoke an image of a person who remains in a perpetual flux of emotional turmoil.
Does this describe you? Perhaps there is a reason — some Freudian abscess deep within the damaged psyche of an individual, unidentified and undetected, originating from a trauma experienced in childhood; or, he’s just a “nervous sort of fellow”. Fear of one’s shadow is that person who expects the worst even within circumstances that highlight the best. It is not just a lack of confidence, nor a pessimism that pervades against the reality of the illuminated world; rather, it is the expectation of disaster when reality fails to coincide with shadows that fail to appear even when all around you darkness dominates.
Perhaps we have done a disservice to this newest generation, and the one before, by always encouraging them with hope, never criticizing them, and allowing them to always think “positively” about themselves, their expectations and their future. Then, when reality abuts against the expectation of anticipated success, this young generation falls apart and is inadequately prepared to handle failure.
Fear of one’s shadow is often the byproduct of an upbringing unprepared and unfortunately ill-prepared to become responsive to failures in life’s cycle of successes and failures. It is, in many ways, a protective mechanism, where fear is the dominant factor in order to shield one from the reality of the world around.
For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the fear of one’s shadow may not be so unrealistic — especially as it concerns how the agency or the Postal Service will act, react, respond to or otherwise initiate sanctions, actions and administrative proposals if you fail to return to a previous level of productivity and attendance regularity. For, in the end, the Federal Agency and the Postal Service are not in a protective role; rather, they are often the adversary that needs to be constantly reminded of “the laws” that protect and preserve human dignity and contractual responsibilities.
For Federal employees and Postal workers who need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, remember always that it is not one’s own shadow that needs to be feared, but rather, the looming figure behind your own shadow that may come unexpectedly to attack you, and that is why you need to consult with an experienced attorney in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether you are under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer | Tagged: about disability retirement opm steps and legal representation from private federal lawyer, anxiety veteran civilian employee lawyer, avoiding federal ruling against usps employee with an experienced attorney in medical retirement claims, back and neck injury postal service attorney, california health pension lawyer under fers opm, cognitive limitations law enforcement employee federal retirement, considering objective and subjective medical evidence for depression and anxiety, contacting federal attorney about zero-balance paychecks while on owcp leave, dealing with workplace intimidation from a supervisor in federal government that is causing stress, department of labor medical disability for federal employee, disability from the army for civilians contacting opm medical retirement attorney, dol owcp scheduled award can be filed after opm medical retirement one-year statute of limitations, emotional distress federal government workplace lawyer, faa medical retirement lawyer, fear and desperation in the postal service after an injury, federal attorney serving usps disabled employees in connecticut and the rest of the usa, federal employee getting fired for being sick, federal employee separation due to loss of ability to perform functions of job, federal law enforcement owcp disability retirement lawyer, fehb health insurance long term condition lawyer, fers disabilities rating scale don’t exist search google bing or yahoo for: recognized disability ssdi vs. fers lawyers.com mcgill, fers disability disapproval contact fers attorney, fers employee depression and disability pension, fers records of termination medical disability lawyer, fitness for duty failure government employee lawyer, forced separation from federal employment due to inability to perform job tasks medical impairment, how to word psychiatric narratives usps medical retirement claims, incapacity mental fers lawyer, injured federal agent unable to perform essential investigative tasks, injury compensation for usps federal employees lawyer, intentional infliction of emotional distress on federal employees lawyer, issues with federal workers compensation eligibility and considering permanent retirement instead with owcp, lawyer for usps disability, legal arguments usps incapacity lawyer, leo officer medical retirement from the opm, nervous conditions opm attorney, nj fers disability lawyer, no such a thing as a fes disability rating scale visit fers-disability-retirement.com section medical conditions, opm disability retirement statute is one year after separation but schedule awards are less restrictive, opm eeoc incapacity discrimination complaints and lack of accommodation in federal agency, owcp return to work forced on, pip excuse medical discrimination in federal government attorney, psychiatric conditions fers lawyer, questions and articles about sf 3112 disability forms, resignation from federal job medical issues consult fers disability attorney, resignation harassment federal government attorney, retaining a fers attorney health incapacity, seattle federal government disability retirement attorney, the goal of a fers disability retirement attorney, the proper role of a fers impairment attorney, traumatic dog bite mail carrier lawyer, u.s. postal service letter carrier with plantar fasciitis disability, using sf 93 form as medical evidence may not be enough for a disability retirement claim, usps disability retirement application packet from private postal attorney, usps medical impairment disabilities, usps medical retirement for sleep apnea lawyer, veterans proposed removal from federal jobs for medical inability to perform essential duties, Washington state federal medical retirement lawyer, why some supervisors delays opm application for disability retirement | Leave a comment »
Disability Retirement for Federal Government Employees: What not to say
Of course what not to say is as important as the things one says. Such a warning is true in most contexts — social; professional; personal; familial; in either private or public settings. We are taught that at an early age, and continue to feel its social and cultural “bite” throughout adulthood, until one has (hopefully) gained some wisdom throughout the years.
Some never learn it — perhaps because they never had to endure the consequences that naturally come about, or simply don’t care or, in the very rare instance of uniqueness, do not need to care either because of wealth, power or prestige that, like the teflon individual, no amount of social crudeness will wipe the sheen away.
“Don’t stare” is an admonition that parents make early on — another form of “what not to say”, except this one in correcting a non-verbal action. “Don’t say things that are hurtful”, or “Don’t divulge private information to people you don’t know”, as well as the one that has to be balanced with concerns about putting too much fear into a child: “Don’t talk to strangers”.
It is, indeed, the “don’ts” in life that define the social graces within acceptable normative behaviors, and as the spoken work (or the written, as the case may be) takes up so much of human interaction, what we learn not to say, how we act and are restrained from acting, often defines the extent of a person’s maturity and learning.
It is often the negative which defines the positive — i.e., what we do not see is rarely noticed, but constrains that which is revealed (the positive) so that the unseemly and rough edges have been worn away, manifesting a smoothness that borders upon beauty. But never underestimate the destructive force of that which is negated; for, if forgotten, it will resurface and damage.
Thus, for Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition is beginning to prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, always remember that — in preparing, formulating and getting ready to file a Federal or Postal Disability Retirement application — it is important to keep in mind those things NOT to say or reveal; for, once you admit freely a legal basis upon which a denial becomes a certainty, it is difficult to retract that which is revealed.
So, in the end, your parents are proven right: What they told you NOT to say is precisely the rule to follow. The problem, however, is that when it comes to dealing with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, you will need to consult with an experienced attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law in order to comprehend the full import of what not to say.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Pre-Application Considerations | Tagged: abuse of power by federal management and chronic medical conditions, agency disability retirement lawyer, applicant's statement of disability examples post office, asking attorney McGill about removal of government employee with mental disabilities, attorney assistance if federal employee is worried about the sf 3112b disability retirement form, biased disability reasonable accommodation committee in post office and what my options are, cognitive limitations law enforcement employee federal retirement, csrs medical retirement lawyer, dea fers disability retirement lawyer, dealing with supervisors negative comments on request for fers disability retirement, degenerative disc disease on postal employee, dol employees with incapacities fers lawyer, employee writing injury statement usps, experienced fers & csrs attorney opm fers disability retirement benefit claims serving federal employees in new jersey, feca medical retirement lawyer, federal bop employee my get settlement for ptsd but it’s the opm who approves medical retirement, federal bureau of prisons disability retirement benefits lawyer, federal disability retirement for anxiety, federal employee separation due to loss of ability to perform functions of job, federal employment disability attorney annapolis md, fers and csrs disability retirement attorney for alabama residents, fers benefits if resign for physical or mental impairments, fers disability retirement examples, fers lawyer assistance with doctor's narrative report, filing for usps employee disability benefits with assistance of postal attorney, filing long term disability documents for usps, forced separation from federal employment due to inability to perform job tasks medical impairment, good application writing fers disability, harassment usps supervisors employee lawyer, health related resignations in the federal government, hostile environment usps fers lawyer, how to resign from a civilian dod position for medical disabilities, I need help getting disability retirement from the post office, if I resign post office do they pay my retirement leave, information about fers disability retirement, injured federal agent unable to perform essential investigative tasks, law blog government medical retirement benefits, legal board guide from lawyers.com fers disability retirement forum, leo officer medical retirement from the opm, light duty accommodation fers attorney for us government workers, long term stress leave lawyer fers employee, maryland fers disability retirement attorney, mdd help with depressive condition in federal employees, medical claim federal postal employee attorney, medical claim leave request for stress with assistance of specialized usps lawyer, medical inability proposal to remove letter usps attorney, montana fers disability retirement attorney experienced with federal employees all across the usa, narrative example of fers disability retirement, nj attorneys knowledgeable in laws about federal government medical retirement, not sure if I should take disability retirement from the government, opm medical retirement questions and answers in attorneys blog, postal employee disability retirement attorney, postal service ps form-50 termination proposal for excessive sick leave, qualifying for lupus disability eligibility on federal government employees, questions and articles about sf 3112 disability forms, stress leave for federal government workers with fers incapacity lawyer, tunnel carpal syndrome federal employee unable to continue working, us post office workers compensation long term incapacities which don’t expect to recover or get better, usps depression lawyer, usps medical impairment disabilities, visit also our blog at lawyers.com for more information about opm medical retirement benefits, what if I become ill during federal service how do I get paid, what to do about an extremely hostile work environment at postal service, when there is an unfair termination of federal employee with cognitive limitations contact best fers employee advocate, workmans compensation disabilities attorney | Leave a comment »