When a mental health condition prevents you from successfully performing your work, you may feel trapped, frustrated and deeply worried about your financial future. Social Security recognizes mental illness as a barrier to work that can qualify for disability benefits.
Being in good health is essential to doing your job, and that includes a healthy mind. Every job requires concentration, planning, working with others and problem-solving.
Whether it’s anxiety, depression or something like a psychosis, disability benefits are available to provide financial relief for those who qualify. Monthly payments can ease the strain of medical expenses and the regular costs of daily life.
But there is a big challenge to proving your case: Mental illnesses so often are invisible, confusing ordeals that most people simply don’t understand unless they have gone through them.
Some people wonder whether it’s even realistic to get disability benefits with mental health issues. But you can. In fact, mental conditions are the second largest group of impairments that people receiving benefits report having.
Social Security has identified a wide range of mental health conditions that qualify for benefits. Claims adjudicators take into account the collective impact of your symptoms and any other medical conditions on your ability to work, which allows you to qualify even if your exact disorder doesn’t appear on the list.
But mental illness disability claims can take an extra level of investigation and to be successful. You can’t confirm a mental health problem with X-rays or blood tests.
Nash Disability Law has helped thousands across Chicagoland navigate the process of getting disability benefits for mental health disorders.
And if you don’t live nearby, we can help you, too. Since most Social Security Disability hearings are conducted by phone, your location typically isn’t a barrier to working with us.
There’s no cost to having us evaluate your case. And if you work with us on your case, there’s no attorney fee unless you win.
Social Security Disability law is all we do.
WE’VE HELPED MORE PEOPLE IN THE CHICAGO AREA WIN BENEFITS THAN ANY OTHER LAW FIRM.
Almost a third of all Social Security Disability recipients have qualified for benefits because of mental health conditions over the years. And according to recent data, many new applications continued to be for mental health reasons.
This is due, in part, to Social Security including many cognitive and mental conditions on its list of eligible disorders.
But being on the list is no guarantee of benefits. You have to prove your claim through a formal diagnosis from a psychiatrist or psychologist and with documentation about how your condition leaves you unable to work for the long term.
Some of the common disorders on Social Security’s list include:
Social Security also recognizes eating disorders and other trauma-related disorders.
Nash Disability Law has a team of disability lawyers who can help you tell your story in a compelling way to win benefits.
Reach out for a FREE disability claim consultation.
Working your way through all the demands Social Security puts on a disability claim, whether applying or appealing, is daunting.
Add the challenges of a mental health condition, and the task can seem just too much. Many people are denied benefits.
But you can get through this, especially with help from a knowledgeable and caring disability attorney.
Social Security requires great detail and a rigorous process, but with the right approach and supporting documentation, you can win life-changing benefits.
These are practical steps you can take to strengthen your claim:
Detail Your Diagnosis: The mental health impairments on Social Security’s list require that you provide evidence that you have a diagnosis and that your symptoms meet the criteria listed. This requires medical records from doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and any other health care professionals you’ve seen.
Even if your condition is not on Social Security’s list, you can still qualify for benefits. It comes down to how your symptoms, taken together, negatively impact your ability to function every day and sustain a job.
Connect Your Condition to Work: Social Security may agree you have a health condition, but that’s not enough to qualify. You have to show that your mental impairment keeps you from doing a job—any job.
This is where you must show how your symptoms impact the activities you need to do in a work setting.
While it varies from impairment to impairment, Social Security will generally want to see how your condition impacts the following:
Maintain Your Treatment Plan: Social Security will want to see that your condition persists and continues to disrupt your ability to work despite your best efforts to manage it.
This requires evidence of your treatment plan, including all medications and therapies, your dedication to it and results showing how your treatment has worked.
A disruption in your treatment plan can put your claim at risk of a denial.
If you feel overwhelmed by the process, you don’t have to go it alone.
Nash Disability Law has helped people across Chicago, Illinois, Indiana and the country secure disability benefits they needed to live stable lives.
We can help you, too. Let us back you up as you pursue financial relief and a better life.
Dealing with a mental health disorder is one of the most disorienting experiences you can have.
Applying for Social Security Disability for a mental ailment can feel like an added burden. You’re grappling with so many questions.
We would like to ease your stress. The disability lawyers at Nash Disability Law got into this area of law because we care about our clients. We are a resource for you.
These are our responses to some of the first questions people usually have about getting disability benefits for mental health problems.
Can you get Social Security Disability for a mental illness?
Yes. Social Security recognizes mental illness as a potential barrier to work that can qualify you for benefits. Mental conditions are the second largest group of impairments among people receiving disability benefits.
You’ll need a formal diagnosis and documentation showing how your condition keeps you from working over the long term.
What mental health conditions qualify for disability?
Social Security’s impairment listings cover a wide range, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, schizophrenia, personality disorders, and PTSD, along with eating disorders and other trauma-related conditions.
Even if your exact diagnosis isn’t listed, you may still qualify based on how your symptoms—combined with any other medical conditions, including physical conditions—limit your ability to work.
How do you prove a mental health condition is disabling?
Because there’s no physical test for mental illness, your claim rests on strong documentation from your record of getting treatment from mental health professionals.
Evidence to boost your claim includes a written diagnosis from a psychiatrist or psychologist, records of your medications, therapies and other treatments, and proof of how your symptoms hinder work-related functions like focusing on tasks, interacting with supervisors, co-workers, customers and others, and adapting to changes that you face.
What if my condition isn’t on Social Security’s listing of impairments?
You can still qualify. Social Security weighs the combined effects of all your symptoms and any other conditions on your ability to function day to day and hold a job, so a claim can succeed even when your specific disorder doesn’t appear in the listings.
Do I need a lawyer to claim disability benefits for mental health issues, and what does it cost?
Mental health claims often demand extra documentation and are frequently denied, so many people work with disability attorneys. The attorneys at Nash Disability Law have guided people through disability claims for mental illness for decades.
At Nash Disability Law, there’s no cost to have us evaluate your case when you’re trying to decide your next steps, and there’s no attorney fee unless you win.
Disability benefits can restore a measure of peace to your life.
Thank you so very much for your help with my disability claim. Please thank each and everyone who helped in getting this done. Every time I had questions and had to call you for advice, whomever I spoke with at the time was very helpful and polite and most of all caring. Thank you so very much.
Thank you for all your help with my disability case. I felt very confident after discussing my claim with your attorneys. The representation I had for my court date was wonderful. I know I couldn’t have done all that you did on my own . I am very appreciative for all the hard work, time and care you gave to me!
As the Holiday season is upon us it reminds me of how very thankful I am to you all for providing the legal services you perform so well. Because of your work and dedication, even as my physical health gets worse as the years pass I am allowed the dignity to remain living in my own home. Being independent and staying in my own home provides me a good and decent life. Because of your efforts I have joy and hope in my life .
Thank you for letting your staff help me with my Social Security disability case. I am very happy with the outcome. Please, thank your staff for me. Lot of people do not know about trying to get Social Security disability benefits without a lawyer. They think it will happen and they will have all the money to themselves. I know I was one of them (smile). But thanks to T.V. I saw your commercial and made the call. God Bless you and your staff.
