• Home
  • About Me
  • Contact Us
  • Copyright
  • Credentials

OPM Disability Retirement

Entries RSS | Comments RSS
  • Pages

    • About Me
    • Contact Us
    • Copyright
    • Credentials
  • Categories

    • Accommodation and Light Duty (40)
    • Advantages of Federal Disability Retirement (27)
    • Agency’s and/or Supervisor’s Actions (44)
    • Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM (43)
    • Burden of Proof (30)
    • Clarifications of Laws or Rules (160)
    • CSRS Disability (1)
    • Eligibility Criteria (18)
    • Evaluation Of Your OPM Disability Claim – How Do I Know If I Have A Strong Case? (17)
    • Fables, Stories and Analogies about CSRS and FERS Medical Retirement Benefits (64)
    • Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted (35)
    • FERS Disability (10)
    • Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time (49)
    • Life after Federal Disability Retirement (21)
    • LWOP and Sick Leave in OPM Disability (12)
    • Mental/Nervous Condition (47)
    • Miscellaneous (179)
    • OPM Disability & OWCP Workers Comp Filings (44)
    • OPM Disability & SSA Social Security Disability Benefits (39)
    • OPM Disability & VA Benefits (4)
    • OPM Disability Actors (286)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Agency (54)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Applicant (77)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Attorney (55)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Doctor (53)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Human Resources Office (17)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The MSPB Administrative Judge (6)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The OPM Representatives (31)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Others (9)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Supervisor (13)
    • OPM Disability Administrative Law (Statutory and Non-Statutory Law) (13)
    • OPM Disability and a Hostile Working Environment (11)
    • OPM Disability Application (185)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112 Disability Retirement Application Package (28)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112A Applicant's Statement of Disability for CSRS and FERS (62)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement for CSRS and FERS (9)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112C Physician's Statement for CSRS and FERS (15)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112D Agency Certification of Reassignment and Accommodation Efforts for CSRS and FERS (7)
    • OPM Disability Process (158)
      • OPM Disability Process – 1st Stage: OPM Disability Application (35)
      • OPM Disability Process – 2nd Stage: OPM Reconsideration Stage (28)
      • OPM Disability Process – 3rd Stage: MSPB Stage (17)
      • OPM Disability Process – 4th Stage: Petition for Full Review at the MSPB (4)
      • OPM Disability Process – 5th Stage: Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (2)
    • OPM Disability Retirement & EEOC Complaints (4)
    • OPM Medical Questionnaire (8)
    • Post-Application Issues (18)
    • Pre-Application Considerations (425)
    • Professional & Expert Witnesses (5)
    • Reasonable Medical Treatment and Compliance Issues (6)
    • Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer (1,702)
    • Resigning or Being Separated From a Federal Agency for Medical Problems or Other Reasons (34)
    • SF 3112 Forms (10)
    • Specific Medical Conditions (28)
    • The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney (79)
    • Theory and Practice: Tips and Strategies for a Successful Application (202)
    • U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) (21)
    • U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) (76)
    • U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Disability Retirement (36)
    • Uncategorized (377)
    • When the OPM Application Is Approved (13)
    • When the OPM Application Is Denied (88)
  • Past Blogs

  • Top Posts

    • OPM Disability Retirement for Federal & Postal Employees: The Fade of Memories
    • FERS Disability Retirement from OPM: Failure of Proof
    • OPM Accepted Medical Conditions
    • FERS/SSDI Offsets: Major Precedent-setting Case
    • Federal Disability Retirement: SF 3112A, Applicant’s Statement of Disability
    • Attorney for Federal Disability Retirement claims: The tumultuous years
    • OWCP Payments & FERS/CSRS Disability Retirement
    • OPM Medical Retirement: The Process of Decision-making
    • Disability Retirement for Federal Workers: Working while Waiting
    • OPM Disability Retirement Denial: The Middle Stage

Federal & Postal Disability Retirement: Youthful mind, decrepit body

Posted on August 11, 2017 by OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer

The oxymoron of the objective world; yes, it can perhaps be maintained in the virtual reality of cognitive dissonance, but the human body warns and tells all.  The basic problem is that while the “mind” retains an image of frozen time, the body continues upon the progressive course of constancy in deterioration.

We all have an image of ourselves, and no matter how many times a day we look into the mirror, that “image” remains with us, as we are not the one’s watching ourselves as we grow older.  Yet, the body ignores the image we hold, and time, nature and the linear disintegration of organic matter leads to the consequences of a decrepit body.

We are reminded of this when we do silly things – like challenge a high school kid to a game of one-on-one after not having played basketball for a fortnight and a decade; or join in a pick-up game of football or other activity upon a dare, a challenge or an embarrassing invitation in the public’s realm of sight and sound; and though we may try and ignore the body that has advanced by the call of Nature’s echo, the reverberating results scream in the morning’s light as the human body resists the image beheld.

There are, of course, sad exceptions to the “youthful mind” counterpart – of dementia and early onset of cognitive deterioration; but of the decrepit mind, there is no offset, though by cosmetic surgery and other artificial means, we may fool the image reflected in the mirror to somewhat match that which is beheld in our minds.

It is this constant bifurcation and mind-body dissonance that allows for old men to act foolishly and young men to laugh uproariously.  Somehow, the disconnect between the youthful mind and decrepit body has never quite overcome the incommensurate nature of the two; but, then, perhaps that is why Aristotle’s primary focus was upon the rationality of man as the defining essence of his being, knowing that the far greater value resides in the area more populated by angels than by aging bones.

For the Federal employee and U.S. Postal worker who is getting ready to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, the greater travail imposed by the mind-body problem may well come to the forefront in preparing one’s Statement of Disability on SF 3112A.  For, rare is the instance where either and both are not impacted, even if the primary medical condition is psychiatric and not physical, and vice versa, if the focal illness is physical and not psychiatric.

For, the mind can be impacted in other ways beyond the formal diagnosis of a psychiatric condition – by loss of mental acuity, profound fatigue that goes beyond mere daily exhaustion; and how the two are intertwined may be important in later years if the U.S. Office of Personnel Management sends out a Medical Questionnaire and you are recovered physically, but not mentally, or again in reverse order, recovered mentally, but not physically.

In the end, the general rule of “normalcy” of having always a youthful mind while one’s body continues to become decrepit, can be defied only to a limited extend; but for the Federal or Postal employee who is seeking Federal Disability Retirement benefits, the interconnectedness of both is important to consider in preparing, formulating and filing an effective OPM Disability Retirement application.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Filed under: Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer | Tagged: abogado retiro federal por incapacidad puerto rico, advanced sick leave for condition that will last permanently in the postal service, advanced sick leave for fers employees, air marshal disability retirement, can i start a business while receiving owcp benefits? most likely no ask atty mcgill for free 1st time phone consulting, civil service medical retirement, civil service retirement forms 3112, complains owcp now what, completing the usps medical application, copd and disability early retirement under fers or csrs, depressive government federal employee fers medical pension attorney, disability benefits under fers, disability retirement application 3112 legal assistance and document preparation, early out federal employees medical conditions, expertise on federal disability claims processing unit opm, failed duty fitness now what?, federal aviation administration disability retirement lawyer, federal employee disability back degenerative disc disease, federal gov job deteriorates preexisting condition, federal government resignation regulations for medical conditions, federal hypersomnia disability fers, federal medical retirement, federal resignation letter, federal workers and owcp complaints, fers disability retirement list of medical conditions considered automatic approval? not such a list exist, fers medical retirement application sf 3107, fers termination due to medical performance issues, help with csrs disability retirement, help with opm disability federal disability application forms, how do federal employees resign when stress for hostile environment, how to apply for a medical retirement faa gov, legal advice from opm fers attorney, light duty federal government long term, lwop in conjunction with opm disability retirement, main reason why does opm disapprove retirement disability may be lack of medical documentation and preparation, medical retirement from federal government, medical retirement from federal government employment, medical retirement from federal government legal advice, need help with opm application to retire for health issues, opm disability retirement application, opm leave approval for traumatic injury, opm medical disability retirement letter, opm medical retirement benefits va compensation, opm reasonable accommodation request form, opm.gov awol for sickness, owcp & opm compensation employee information, owcp & regular ssi retirement offsets, owcp csa med retirement number, owcp terminated my compensation and benefits now what, physician completing a sf 3112, postal inspectors hostile work environment causing stress and depression, proposed removal rules in the usps for disabling conditions, quiting usps health conditons, reasonable accommodation federal employee form and information, request form usps light duty, retiring owcp stress claims, seeking advice from opm disability lawyer about chronic fatigue syndrome and early retirement under opm federal disability rules, sf 3112 disability application package help, sf 3112c physician's statement example or guidelines, should employee be placed on leave without pay pending disability retirement, sick leave long term usps employee, sign up for incapacity retirement under fers federal government employees and usps postal workers, south florida trustful postal disability retirement attorney, Starting a business after Federal Disability Return can I? Yes you are allowed to work, stress claims usps attorney, supporting personal narrative to opm disability claim, termination for disability cause and federal retirement: what to do?, tsa employee disability benefits attorney, usps hostile work environment definition and policies, usps office of personnel management medical retirement law firm, usps reasonable accommodation, va employee disability retirement assistance, va employee disability retirement lawyer, when getting advanced sick leave as a dod employee is not enough to recuperate health, when your job accelerates a pre existing back condition owcp, why not quit usps prior disability filing, working after fers disability retirement in a job it won’t further hurt you, working in a federal prison with osteoarthritis of the knee | Leave a comment »

  • More on CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement

    • eZineArticles.com Article: The 1 Year Statute of Limitations
    • Federal Disability Retirement Laws, Medical Conditions, and the Intersecting Complications with OWCP, Social Security and FERS & CSRS
    • Federal Disability Retirement: The Full Arsenal of Weapons
    • FedSmith.com Article: Revisiting "Accommodation"
    • FedSmith.com Article: Sometimes the Process is just as important as the Substance of an Argument
    • Latest PostalReporter.com Article: Causation in a Federal Disability Retirement Case
    • Understanding the Complexities of the Law
    • USPS Disability Blog: The National Reassessment Program, the Agency and the Worker
  • Other Resources for Federal and Postal Employees

    • Articles Published in the Postal Reporter
    • FAQs on OPM Disability Retirement
    • FERS Disability Attorney Profile at Lawyers.com
    • Main Website on Federal Disability Retirement
    • OPM Disability Blog
    • The Postal Service Disability Retirement Blog
  • Seven False Myths about OPM Disability Retirement

    1) I have to be totally disabled to get Postal or Federal disability retirement.
    False: You are eligible for disability retirement so long as you are unable to perform one or more of the essential elements of your job.  Thus, it is a much lower standard of disability. 

    2) My injury or illness has to be job-related.
    False: You can get disability even if your condition is not work related.  If your medical condition impacts your ability to perform any of the core elements of your job, you are eligible, regardless of how or where your condition occurred.

    3) I have to quit my federal job first to get disability.
    False: In most cases, you can apply while continuing to work at your present job, to the extent you are able.  

    4) I can't get disability if I suffer from a mental or nervous condition.
    False: If your condition affects your job performance, you can still qualify. Psychiatric conditions are treated no differently from physical conditions.

    5) Disability retirement is approved by DOL Workers Comp.
    False: It's the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the federal agency that administers and approves disability for employees at the US Postal Service or other federal agencies.

    6) I can wait for OPM disability retirement for many years after separation.
    False: You only have one year from the date of separation from service - otherwise, you lose your right forever.

    7) If I get disability retirement, I won't be able to apply for Scheduled Award (SA).
    False: You can get a Scheduled Award under the rules of OWCP even after you get approved for OPM disability retirement.
  • Calendar

    January 2021
    S M T W T F S
     12
    3456789
    10111213141516
    17181920212223
    24252627282930
    31  
    « Dec    
  • Archives

    • January 2021 (15)
    • December 2020 (28)
    • November 2020 (26)
    • October 2020 (27)
    • September 2020 (26)
    • August 2020 (26)
    • July 2020 (28)
    • June 2020 (26)
    • May 2020 (26)
    • April 2020 (26)
    • March 2020 (26)
    • February 2020 (25)
    • January 2020 (27)
    • December 2019 (28)
    • November 2019 (27)
    • October 2019 (27)
    • September 2019 (25)
    • August 2019 (27)
    • July 2019 (28)
    • June 2019 (23)
    • May 2019 (27)
    • April 2019 (26)
    • March 2019 (26)
    • February 2019 (24)
    • January 2019 (28)
    • December 2018 (27)
    • November 2018 (27)
    • October 2018 (27)
    • September 2018 (25)
    • August 2018 (27)
    • July 2018 (27)
    • June 2018 (26)
    • May 2018 (27)
    • April 2018 (22)
    • March 2018 (26)
    • February 2018 (24)
    • January 2018 (27)
    • December 2017 (26)
    • November 2017 (27)
    • October 2017 (26)
    • September 2017 (26)
    • August 2017 (27)
    • July 2017 (26)
    • June 2017 (26)
    • May 2017 (28)
    • April 2017 (25)
    • March 2017 (27)
    • February 2017 (24)
    • January 2017 (26)
    • December 2016 (29)
    • November 2016 (26)
    • October 2016 (26)
    • September 2016 (26)
    • August 2016 (27)
    • July 2016 (26)
    • June 2016 (26)
    • May 2016 (28)
    • April 2016 (26)
    • March 2016 (27)
    • February 2016 (25)
    • January 2016 (26)
    • December 2015 (25)
    • November 2015 (24)
    • October 2015 (27)
    • September 2015 (25)
    • August 2015 (26)
    • July 2015 (28)
    • June 2015 (26)
    • May 2015 (25)
    • April 2015 (25)
    • March 2015 (26)
    • February 2015 (22)
    • January 2015 (26)
    • December 2014 (27)
    • November 2014 (22)
    • October 2014 (26)
    • September 2014 (26)
    • August 2014 (26)
    • July 2014 (27)
    • June 2014 (25)
    • May 2014 (26)
    • April 2014 (26)
    • March 2014 (26)
    • February 2014 (24)
    • January 2014 (27)
    • December 2013 (25)
    • November 2013 (25)
    • October 2013 (26)
    • September 2013 (26)
    • August 2013 (27)
    • July 2013 (27)
    • June 2013 (25)
    • May 2013 (27)
    • April 2013 (26)
    • March 2013 (26)
    • February 2013 (24)
    • January 2013 (26)
    • December 2012 (26)
    • November 2012 (25)
    • October 2012 (26)
    • September 2012 (23)
    • August 2012 (27)
    • July 2012 (22)
    • June 2012 (26)
    • May 2012 (24)
    • April 2012 (25)
    • March 2012 (25)
    • February 2012 (25)
    • January 2012 (25)
    • December 2011 (26)
    • November 2011 (24)
    • October 2011 (26)
    • September 2011 (25)
    • August 2011 (27)
    • July 2011 (25)
    • June 2011 (26)
    • May 2011 (25)
    • April 2011 (25)
    • March 2011 (27)
    • February 2011 (22)
    • January 2011 (23)
    • December 2010 (25)
    • November 2010 (23)
    • October 2010 (25)
    • September 2010 (24)
    • August 2010 (25)
    • July 2010 (28)
    • June 2010 (26)
    • May 2010 (29)
    • April 2010 (30)
    • March 2010 (26)
    • February 2010 (22)
    • January 2010 (23)
    • December 2009 (20)
    • November 2009 (19)
    • October 2009 (22)
    • September 2009 (18)
    • August 2009 (18)
    • July 2009 (23)
    • June 2009 (18)
    • May 2009 (11)
    • April 2009 (11)
    • March 2009 (14)
    • February 2009 (10)
    • January 2009 (10)
    • December 2008 (8)
    • November 2008 (8)
    • October 2008 (6)
    • September 2008 (4)
    • August 2008 (9)
    • July 2008 (8)
    • June 2008 (6)
    • May 2008 (18)
    • April 2008 (20)
    • March 2008 (31)

Blog at WordPress.com. WP Designer.