Denied a term policy and looking for guidance in my (anxious) search

Hi all,

38M here, former smoker with a few medical conditions of note (listed below). I was previously denied for a $1MM 20-year term life policy due in part to the conditions below and a brain aneurysm that, it turns out, I don’t actually have. More details about my denial (decline?) are below.

Question

Do I go with a no-exam, automated application that discounts nuance and might automatically deny me, thus making it more difficult to secure a policy? Or, do I go with a live agent at a company that is kind to folks like me, be fully honest and forthright, and still possibly get denied?

Is it even possible for me to get a term policy under $150/mo? I want to go to there, preferably without lying or any other unethical or illegal moves.

Conditions / Liabilities

Alcohol use disorder, full remission (I’m sober now almost a decade and never went to treatment)

Anxiety, depression, diagnosis of bipolar, ADHD

GERD and Barrett’s esophagus with no advancement or issues in 5+ years

Asthma (as a child)

Cramp fasciculation syndrome (a very, very rare and non-degenerative nerve disorder)

Migraines

Father passed away to lung cancer before age 60 (heavy smoker for 30+ years)

I take prescription medications for ADHD, depression, GERD, and migraines

I use full spectrum CBD for sleep

6’3″, 185lbs, lost about 30lbs since January due to eating better

SUMMARY: My adolescent and early adult years were hard, y’all, but I’m taking care of myself pretty damn well. I am incredibly proactive about my health, have excellent health literacy, and can articulate my health status and medical history better than 99% of patients.

Denial

I went through our family financial planner for my application, and I answered everything truthfully with the level of detail that would make my fellow therapists blush. At the time, I believed I had a brain aneurysm due to some scans I had a few years ago. After I was denied a policy, I dug into my medical records and started getting information for my MIB dispute and discovered that I had not actually had an aneurysm diagnosis, only suspicions of, documented in my chart.

I had two years of scans showing “out pouching” followed by two years of scans with no abnormal findings whatsoever. My current Neuro has definitively documented that there is nothing in my tests or presentation that indicate any brain abnormalities. I supplied sufficient information MIB to revise my profile. I can’t request a redetermination or appeal with the previous company because it took too damn long to get all the necessary information to MIB, so that’s stuck.

The application was all online.

Additional info

Part of my problem here is that this process is having a significant impact on my mental health. I have anxiety about my health. I have anxiety about dying young. I have a toddler. I’m anxious about getting life insurance because I don’t want to die without a safety net for my family, and that anxiety is getting worse as I try to figure this out.

I had to go to an urgent care over the weekend because I had a panic attack about my health because of this process. I haven’t had a panic attack since high school. My distress skyrocketed when I started doing the calculus of going to urgent care or ER and how that’d impact my life insurance app vs just hoping for the best.

I just want some life insurance. However, I know that it’s a calculated risk that these companies take on their policies, and I know that I might be uninsurable.