A mental disability is when as result of ones bad mental health, it causes them to no longer be able to adequately perform the normal demands of life. When a person has a mental disability, it can negatively impact many aspect of their lives.
- Their daily living- Taking care of themselves, including chores, personal hygiene, medical care, and managing their finances.
- Relationships- Their ability both to make and maintain relationships. Their desire or capability to leave the house and engage in social or secular crowds.
- Employment- Their ability to find a job and hold it. Reduced cognitive skills, and interoffice relationships and responsibilities. Ability to perform in a structured environment adequately.
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Daily living, relationships, and employment are normal functions and demands of life. But when one has a mental disability these functions can become impossible to perform at adequately required levels for success.
Mental Illness and Disability:
There are some very commonly accepted physical conditions or illnesses, that are considered qualifying conditions for Social Security Disability. For example amputations, decreased hearing or vision, emphysema, heart attacks, chronic liver or or kidney disease, sickle cell anemia, and diabetes, just to name a few. Mental illness although it can not be seen on an x-ray, is also a qualifying condition for disability. Mental illness can be just as disabling as any other mentioned qualifying conditions for disability are.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in 17 Americans, lives with a serious mental illness. 5.7 million American adults live with bipolar disorder. In the United States, the annual economic, indirect cost of mental illness is estimated at $79 billion. $63 billion of that cost reflects the loss of productivity as a result of illnesses. Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the U.S.
There are some very commonly accepted physical conditions or illnesses, that are considered qualifying conditions for Social Security Disability. For example amputations, decreased hearing or vision, emphysema, heart attacks, chronic liver or or kidney disease, sickle cell anemia, and diabetes, just to name a few. Mental illness although it can not be seen on an x-ray, is also a qualifying condition for disability. Mental illness can be just as disabling as any other mentioned qualifying conditions for disability are.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in 17 Americans, lives with a serious mental illness. 5.7 million American adults live with bipolar disorder. In the United States, the annual economic, indirect cost of mental illness is estimated at $79 billion. $63 billion of that cost reflects the loss of productivity as a result of illnesses. Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the U.S.
One's mental health, is certainly relevant, when it comes to their ability to satisfactorily adjust to society, and to the ordinary demands of life. For those who are suffering with a mental illness, it can become exceedingly difficult to perform the ordinary demands of life. Having a job, making money, paying ones bills, purchasing necessities, are all common demands of life.
Social Security and Disability:
To qualify for Social Security Disability for mental illness, one must have been unable to work for at least 12 months due to their psychological health. The process of applying for Social Security Disability, seems fairly easy, the initial steps at least. One can very easily apply at their official site online at Apply For Social Security Disability.
After completing the initial online application, Social Security will send out by mail, an adult disability report, and a medical release form. Both of these forms need to be filled out and signed when required and then mailed back to the Social Security Administration. Social Security will not process your application, without this information.
The next thing to do is wait. The Social Security will get all of the necessary medical records by means of the information provided to them in your application, and process, and determine eligibility. Although one may know how bad their mental illness is affecting them, and that it is disabling them from working. The fact remains, that in order to get accepted for disability, Social Security will have to agree. Sometimes Social Security approves claims of mental disability remarkably quickly, sometimes they do not.
A good percentage of initial application requests for disability are denied. In most, if not all states, more than half of all initial applications for mental illness related disabilities are denied. If ones initial application is denied approval, they should resubmit an application again. Add additional evidence of how your mental illness is disabling you. Social Security approves a considerable amount of resubmitted applications. If all else fails, one can get a lawyer, that sometimes is needed to get approved for disability.
How to Get Social Security Disability:
Try these suggestions on how to get social security disability. Make sure you explain the symptoms of your mental illness to all your doctor's. The doctor's need to know the severity of your symptoms. If you have not clearly explained to your doctor(s) the scope of your disabling symptoms, their records will in all likelihood not support your claim. Have you been experiencing insomnia, fatigue, paranoia, panic attacks, inability to concentrate, and suicidal thoughts? All of this is relevant information that you need to share with your doctor(s).
Although you are applying for disability because of the disabling conditions of your mental illness. When filling out the form, list all other impairments you may have, just in case the reviewer may be on the fence about approving you. A combination of impairments, your mental illness, and you have this or that wrong with you, could put you over the top. Be highly specific, about why your mental illness and any other conditions you listed disables you from working.
Social Security Disability Status:
After sending in all your disability documents, call Social Security and get the contact information for the evaluator that is processing your claim. Be proactive, call the evaluator, and find out what is going on with your claim. By doing this, you will become aware very quickly of any possible missing papers, and any open questions that they need you to answer, which can help in speeding up the process.
In order to get approval for disability for your mental illness. Your disability evaluator will require all the evidence available about your condition, and treatment history, from your care doctors. Social Security requests that information themselves using the signed medical release form you sent them. However, it would not hurt to contact the medical doctors or hospitals involved in your care and urge them along a little bit.
If your mental illness is crippling you, and preventing you from earning an income. It is time to take advantage of your right to apply for, and hopefully quickly receive disability income. Depression caused by mental illness can at times cause a person to be extremely unmotivated, to do even the smallest of things. That being said, do not wait on this one my friend, click on the link above, and get the ball rolling. Your mental health, your mental illness impairment, may well likely, qualify you for a disability income. The longer you wait to apply, the more likely your financial situation will worsen.
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Hi Jerry, i have been on ssdi and also ssi almost all my adult life (and the fact that i qualify for ssi as well as ssdi tells you how little i worked before i became disabled). Your post was very informative. However, your advice to people to go out and get ssdi gives me pause, and let me explain why.
ReplyDeleteAt least when i applied for SSDI and SSI, the conditions to be met were that one had to be essentially, and this was stated in so many, words, permanently and totally disabled. Now, yes, i know that this does not mean that if you get better you cannot leave the rolls of the disabled and go back to work. But the fact is that when you join the ranks of those on SSDI, the powers that be believe you are leaving the workforce more or less for good, or for a substantial amount of time. And this is where i have a problem because i think too many people with time-limited problems, young people at that, are being side-lined with applications to social security or other disability programs that will end up doing them no favor. Yes, depression is terrible, but it is - or never used to be until the antidepressants made it so - not permanent. It fluctuates and usually, in most people, lifts and thigns get better. Furthermore, the most chronically depressed people i know have always done better working, and manage to get to work despite their depression most of the time, than when they became "disabled" and suddenly had nothing to do at all.
Pamela thanks for your comment. I agree that one should consider and exhaust all options prior to considering and applying for disability. If at all possible maintaining employment is most likely the better choice for many reasons. The social peer contact and the larger income stream being two of them.
DeleteHowever if one finds themselves with progressively worsening symptoms despite treatment and are unable to effectively maintain employment in or outside the home, applying for disability or SSI can be very helpful financially. The amount of that income varies individually and can be estimated in advance by contacting Social Security.