Mental Impairments and SSD

There is an odd relationship between winning Social Security disability benefits and alleging only a mental impairment or combination of mental impairments.

What someone should understand, from the very beginning, is that the odds are not in your favor (generally) when alleging that you are unable to work due solely to a mental impairment(s).

Why is this? In fact, mental impairments can actually be more debilitating at times than physical ones. For some or most, physical impairments will heal over time, but mental impairments can last a lifetime.

So, again, why is it so hard to win a Social Security disability claim based solely upon mental impairment(s).

I think, there are really two reasons: (1) There often is no objective test(s) to measure the degree upon which a person suffers from his or her mental impairment; and (2) the people at the Social Security Administration are skeptical of mental impairments, especially when it comes to the most common, i.e., ADHD, bipolar, depression, and severe anxiety.

If you are someone who is suffering from a mental impairment which keeps you from working, perhaps here are some things to think about before filing:

1. Get as much medical evidence as possible. In fact, find a psychologist or psychiatrist who is willing to examine you and give his or her professional opinion as to your limitations. This is called a Consultative Examination and you can actually pay a doctor to perform one. He or she can provide a mental residual functional capacity assessment of yourself, and this will help your case. When filing, present this report to Social Security. They will make it part of your medical evidence.

2. Go to your doctor as much as possible. There is no substitution for adequate medical records. This is the most important thing you can do.

3. Realize, that if you have one or more of the four listed conditions above, everyone files under these impairments. They are so common and so commonly diagnosed that they have lost their impact with Social Security. By the way, you may not actually be bipolar, you may just be a jerk, and Social Security knows this. But, getting back to the point, if you have not had recent psychiatric hospitalizations, then understand it will be very difficult for you to be approved for benefits. You are at least going to have to go before a judge at a hearing.

We hope this helps, every little bit does. If you need to discuss your Social Security disability hearing, please always feel free to contact us at : (888) 780-9125.