Depression and legal battles

I need to find out from all of you out there if anyone has faced something that I have and what may have happened as a result.
This is a brief story
Back in summer of 2006- I was acutely diagnosed with major depression. I was asked to see a psychiatrist asap and he started me on Remeron (low dose). As like many of you, I had troubles with wt loss, loss of interest in life and suicidal ideation etc. I had to take time off from work (I am also a health professional). The medications kept adding up and the decision was contemplated on ECT. I was on 4 medications by then. I did my best to fight the disease. Started exercising etc but my mood and underlying thoughts never really changed much. My sleep was continuously affected. After six months and after one of my friends who is also a physician rejected the idea of ECT for me, I decided to move out of my newly purchased home to a different place thinking it may help out. It did not.
I applied for a few jobs thinking it was related to my job. I accepted a job but was quite ambivalent in moving to a different location some 600miles away to try something new.
But one year battle with no significant improvement, I decided to go for it. But I could leave my old job or the job that I had behind. My boss at the time gave me horrible evaluation (despite having stellar performance all throughout my life). He was basically tired of my depression that was not getting better and even asked me to resign before I go and work somewhere else. I did not because I did not want to lose my job. I stayed on partial disability (from a private insurance company for most of that year). I decided to give the new job a try away from my old job thinking that I may have a solution to my depression (I was on remeron, celexa and busar and ambien max by that time).
I moved but I made a mistake in continuing to file for the disability (private and no the sate) as I thought that it would be the only way to keep any possibility in returning to my old job just in case the new one did not work out or that my depression was related to something else.
The private disability was informed and to make the story short, my old job that I had worked for (initially with great performance for the first 3 years) terminated me and I returned what I thought I owed the private disability (with the exception of one check that I did not know).
Some years later (4 years later), the district attorney filed a complaint against me for insurance fraud and despite all the evidence displayed- my illness and the severity etc- did not back down on continuing to press with the felony.
Up to now, I have lost everything in my life and what I worked for, my military career and so many other things, for that 2 months period that i made terrible choices that I continued to suffer with depression for the entire year and on medications.
The presiding judge did not even consider depression to be a factor in any of these.
Has anyone else experienced such legal troubles related to depression?
Have you noticed that the legal system really has not recognition and/or ability to recognize the effects of depression on decision making and rational choices in personal lives?

I would appreciate any thoughts that you may have.
Thanks
A

Thanks Karen. You are right. I was working during that 2 months out of 14 months period (the end of it) and I do see that attorneys/DAs would have problem with this.
When I look back at 2006-7 events of my life, I can certainly say that long standing depression would affecting me in many ways as it does to all people with depression in various forms. The choices that we make in most sever forms of depression even suicide makes no logical sense. We certainly do not get prosecuted for attempted suicide etc. But why is it that when poor personal choices we make that are against leal system during depression or anxiety (bipolar etc), gets no backing of either medical or legal community. Why do we still think that depressed people make as good choices in their lives as someone who has non-mental problem?
I simply don't understand that.
I can't believe that with all the people with depression (in its worst kinds), they all make perfect rational legal choices. Why isn't there a protection in legal form for those of that make these poor personal choices? (of course I am not talking about issues that would harm others).
Thanks again…
I am not seeing a counselor at this time. I am conflicted about them to be honest. It was my psychiatrist who treated med so poorly for well over one year that I ended with the legal troubles and I had to do something to help myself (of course it helped my depression but it cost me my job).
A

Hi Karen

Thank you. Well, to be very honest, the decisions that I made about my life at the time from the disability to my job to my personal relationships were all ended up being completely wrong. The attorney general etc did not accept depression to a legitimate reason for any of these wrongdoings (personal, professional, or legal etc).

I am just amazed that as many people with depression (sever to mild)as there are and as prevalent as depression is which causes cognitive dysfunction, why there are not more people like me around? And why isn't there a law to protect them or the system is not in place? All I can see is that there is a legal way to put someone for 72hrs on hold or keep someone closed up for 30day involuntary treatment. There is American disability act but is the legal system so inflexible or so variable?

As for me, my case concluded many months ago. As I said, all the money was paid bad, I got a conviction nonetheless (so that the Attorney general could get his score), lost my house, my wife, am homeless and continue to be jobless (just because of 2 months of filing disability while being depressed) and am back into severe depression again.

This time though I will not take medications and not ask for disability.

Rather be dead.

welcome to the forum.

Since this issues is done and over try to move on. I can only say it was a shame that your legal rep did not go deeper into why you had depression and find more dx to help the case. Since you were working.

At any rate, time to more on and face your monsters. If you survived that, you can do move on!

So many of us have had to start with just that first step at the bottom again. Yes, it stinks, however it is the only way back up.

We are here to listen and support you. You are not alone. Begin taking your medicine, it will make things easier for you.

Peace
Trina