Depression And Anxiety Two Sides Of The Same Coin
Depression and Anxiety are two sides of the same coin. This means that the symptoms of depression can also include anxiety. For example, you may experience these depressive symptoms: crying spells, sadness, and loss of interest in activities or hobbies. Likewise, you may isolate yourself. You might stay away from friends and family members. Or worse, you may have thoughts of suicide.
However, you may also experience anxiety symptoms when you have depression. Anxiety presents symptoms such as racing thoughts, sleep trouble, irritability, lack of focus and panic attacks. An individual can have one or all of these symptoms and be diagnosed with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, or even Bipolar Disorder.
If you cant work due to these symptoms, apply for SSD and SSI benefits for depression. Many people think that applying for benefits means they can never return to work. This is not true.
People who receive the proper treatment and medications are often able to return to the workforce. Disability benefits are rightfully yours during the time you cannot work. As long as you have been off work for 12 months due to your mental impairments, you should be paid benefits during that time period.
Warning: Ltd Policies And Mental Illness Limitations
One thing to keep in mind when filing for long term disability is whether your long term disability insurance policy includes a Mental Illness Limitation.
Policies that contain a Mental Illness Limitation typically limit your benefits to two years if you are disabled due to a psychiatric condition such as depression or anxiety. Of course, each policy is different, so the prescribed maximum period may be shorter or longer depending on the terms of your particular policy.
Some policies with Mental Illness Limitations contain exemptions for certain mental conditions occasionally, bipolar disorder is exempt, though most other depressive disorders are not.
If you are solely disabled due to depression and your policy contains a Mental Illness Limitation that does not exempt it, your benefits will most likely stop when the maximum allowable period expires. Unfortunately, the severity of your mental illness will become irrelevant after the maximum allowable period expires.
However, if you can demonstrate that you are disabled due to objective cognitive problems, your benefits may extend beyond limitation period. A neuropsychological evaluation, as discussed earlier, can provide this evidence.
What Is Samhsa’s National Helpline
SAMHSAs National Helpline, , or TTY: is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.
Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.
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Can Veterans Get Disability Benefits For Anxiety
Yes, the VA considers anxiety to be a disability. Our VA-accredited lawyers handle disability compensation claims for military veterans across the U.S. who must now deal with anxiety and other mental health problems. According to a 2017 paper prepared by the DoDs Deployment Health Clinical Center, anxiety disorders rose dramatically from 2005 to 2016 for active duty servicemen and women.
The VA uses two references to assess anxiety and reach a rating determination:
First, you must have a current diagnosis of anxiety. Next, you must show evidence of an in-service event, injury, or illness. Finally, youll need to provide a medical nexus linking the diagnosed anxiety disorder to the in-service event.
Service connection for anxiety may also be established on a secondary basis. This occurs when another condition such as tinnitus, chronic back pain, or migraines aggravates or causes your anxiety.
Get Help With Your Claim
Working with an experienced attorney can be a helpful step a person with depression or anxiety can take to improve the likelihood of receiving disability benefits. If you are suffering from anxiety or depression that is severe enough to affect your daily life and job responsibilities, reach out to the LaPorte Law Firm for a free consultation. We have over 40 years of experience helping those with mental health impairments win their Social Security benefits.
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Depression Disability Benefit Programs
Finding yourself in this situation may seem hopeless, but it isnt. There is the hope of solving the problem. The SSDI is a certified program created to support individuals going through the tough phase. The program doesnt cater to every person battling depression, not unless you fit the criterion used.
When you qualify to receive some benefits if your depression leads to disability, you and your family members receive benefits once you enroll in the program. Supplemental Security Income covers adults and children with less financial capabilities and resources.
Even though the two programs work separately, their main aim is to assist individuals with disabilities, and depression disability is included. If you plan to apply to the program, do your research and know what is required during application to smoothen the process.
The medical requirements for both programs are the same. For the non-medical criterion, you are entitled to monthly benefits if your medical condition lasts a year or longer and if the illness may lead to death.
The requirements for enrollment in disability programs include:
- Inability to work due to depression.
- Low-income.
- Assets are lower than $2000 worth.
- Spouses also have insufficient support, and combining you and your spouses assets should be lower than $3000 in total.
- Your depression should be considered severe to be a disability.
- You cannot work based on your current condition, age, disability, and work history.
Chronic Pain And Anxiety
Although the link between pain and depression is well-documented, researchers say anxiety also has significant connections to chronic pain and pain disorders. Last year, researchers who evaluated patients at a Midwestern veterans medical center concluded that patients who have chronic pain should also be evaluated for anxiety disorders.
The study found that 45 percent of patients being treated for pain also tested positive for one or more anxiety disorders. Pain patients with an anxiety disorder generally had more pain and poorer quality of life.
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Failing To Receive A Diagnosis Of A Mental Health Disability
In order to receive a favorable decision based on a mental health claim or to win a disability case for mental illness, you must first be diagnosed by a medical professional.
The internet is vast, and there are a lot of medical sites available. Its easy to get lured into these sites and believe that we have a certain condition even if we havent seen a doctor.
Also, our family members are great at giving us opinions on conditions they believe we have, but until a medical professional gives you an official diagnosis, the Social Security Administration wont likely approve your claim based on an alleged impairment.
Other Mental Health Disability Benefit Programs
If you have a mental health disorder or illness which is disrupting your life and causing you financial stress, you should look into disability benefit programs. Many federal, state, and local initiatives provide assistance and financial support to individuals with mental health disabilities.
Some of these programs include:
- The SSAs Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program, which provides monthly benefits to qualified retired and disabled workers, as well as their dependents and families of insured workers
- State-specific programs, such as Michigans Disability Assistance Program , which provide cash assistance to eligible adults who are 65 years old or older and have a disability
- Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration programs, which provide qualified Medicaid beneficiaries with substance use or mental health services
- Private disability programs, which assist commercial insurers. These are often included in an employers benefits package and are ideal for individuals with partial disabilities.
There are also many programs available that can help you through the disability benefits application process. Children or adults who are at risk of homelessness and have a severe mental illness, medical impairment, or co-occurring substance use disorder, for instance, may qualify for the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery . Under this program, case managers work closely with eligible individuals to help them secure SSI and SSDI benefits.
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Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorders
The main symptom of all anxiety disorders is a feeling of excessive fear or worry. The specific symptoms depend on the type of anxiety disorder. Common additional symptoms include:
- an inability to concentrate or focus
- avoiding certain objects or places
- fear of crowds, and
- feelings of doom or danger.
Anxiety disorders often have physical symptoms as well. Physical symptoms can include:
- shortness of breath
- nausea, and
- sweating and shaking.
Additional physical symptoms can include dry mouth, muscle tension, and dizziness. If you’ve been experiencing one or more of these symptoms, it’s important to tell your doctor and get treatment. Social Security needs to see medical documentation that you’ve been experiencing symptoms of anxiety before the agency can find you disabled.
Causes Of Depression Or Anxiety
Although it is not clear, family genes or other biological reasons may cause or influence the emergence of depression. It is not uncommon to see these conditions shared by members of the same family. Depression may also be brought on by changes in ones life such as divorce, death, or a job change, however, such periods of depression normally resolve themselves within a relatively short period of time. However, if such a severe mood lasts every day for two-weeks or longer, then depression may require treatment to be resolved.
If your depression has been persisting, it is important to seek treatment early, both for treatment and to document its existence and severity should you have difficulty recovering and have to file a disability claim.
Anxiety may come on for no apparent reason or may also be familial. If left untreated, anxiety can worsen to the point that it interferes with the ability to concentrate and complete tasks needed for normal work activities. Some individuals anxiety reaches the point that they may refuse to leave their homes for fear of triggering an episode of panic.
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It Is Possible To Depression Patients To Recover Fully With Targeted Psychotherapy And Mood
Up to 80% of those affected will usually recover to the extent of going back to full-time employment. In the application for Social Security benefits as a result of depression, there is a need to include sufficient evidence to the effect that there has been a deliberate change of diet, exposure to sunlight, enrollment into a support group, administration of medication and removal of stressors to deal with the condition.
In dealing with an application for disability benefits based on mental depression, approval will be granted if it is established that the applicant is not able to engage in simple and unskilled as a result of their condition. If there is some level of mental capacity to learn an unskilled job but a physical impairment makes it difficult to move, disability benefits will be granted on the basis
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How Can I Get Disability For Depression
To get disability for depression, your condition must be severely debilitating and must qualify for the Social Security Administrations criteria. You need to make sure your condition is well documented and your medical records support your case.
The SSA relies mostly on medical and clinical records to determine if you qualify for the disability plan or not.
You must be diagnosed with persistent clinical depression that has lasted at least one year or almost one year. Your depression can also be intermittent but severe.
The SSAs criteria include an impairment listing on depressive disorders set by them. Listing 12.04 is used to determine the severity of your depression. If your depression is severe enough to interfere with your functioning and prevents you from doing your daily activities, you can apply for disability benefits.
You can apply online at ssa.gov or call at 1-800-772-1213 to start the disability application process. It usually takes between 3-5 months to get an initial decision regarding your claim from the SSA.
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How Social Security Determines Who Qualifies For Disability Benefits
Anxiety disorders affect everybody differently. Some people can manage their symptoms very well with talk therapy, medications, or a combination of both. Social Security is unlikely to find them disabled if their symptoms don’t interfere significantly with their life. Others might find that, despite therapy and medications, they still have a tough time with daily activities like grocery shopping or remembering to pay bills.
For some people, symptoms of their anxiety disorders are so intense that, based on the symptoms and limitations in their medical record, Social Security finds them disabled without needing to determine that they can’t do any job. The SSA identifies these applicants as having a “medical disability.” Applicants who are medically disabled due to post-traumatic stress disorder, for example, might have records showing frequent hospitalizations for anxiety symptoms, or an inability to support themselves without lots of outside help.
Preparing Your Case File For A Hearing
Would you be surprised to know that most doctors notes are handwritten and difficult to read? In several instances, your representative will have to work with a doctors office to translate notes so that they could be understood.
None of this is to suggest that a doctor with sloppy handwriting or sketchy office notes is not a good, caring physician. To the contrary, your doctors main focus is his treatment of you. His notes are simply reminders for him to review prior to your visits. For Social Security purposes, however, your doctors office notes can make or break your case thus your lawyer or claims representatives role as one whereby he translates medical findings into work limitations.
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What Mental Illnesses Qualify For Disability
Many mental illnesses qualify for social security disability plan. Social Security has a disability handbook known as the blue book. This blue book is formally known as the Disability Evaluation under Social Security Handbook.
This handbook contains all the mental illnesses and eligibility criteria to be considered as disabilities. They are mentioned below.
The diseases include Schizophrenia, intellectual disorder, anxiety disorder, neurocognitive disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism, and many more.
It also includes affective disorders which include depression and bipolar disorder. Persuasive developmental disorders are also included. Drug addiction is not included.
This handbook also has eligibility criteria for qualification to the disability plan. If anyone is suffering from these mental disorders and their condition meets the requirements, he/ she will automatically be granted the disability benefits.
How To Win Disability Benefits For Anxiety
September 1, 2021 By Jeremy Schooley
Profound anxiety can be as disabling as any physical illness. Claims filed requesting disability benefits for anxiety can be among the toughest claims to win. To prove youre disabled, what do the decision-makers need to see?
If you have been unfairly denied benefits based on anxiety, we have important information to share with you to help you succeed in getting the benefits you need.
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Can I Get Disability For Depression And Anxiety
Are you struggling with depression or anxiety that makes it nearly impossible to fulfil your work responsibilities? Are you looking for information regarding disability benefits for depression and anxiety? Then dont worry, weve got you covered.
In this article Can I get disability for depression and anxiety? we will review the available benefits and how to qualify for the insurance plans. Read on below.
Improve Your Chances For Obtaining Benefits
Your doctor or psychologist may have good insight into the way your anxiety or depression affects your daily activities. The Social Security Administration will want to see evidence of any testing or evaluations diagnosing and treating your mental health impairments. Depression and anxiety cant be shown on an x-ray or an MRI so it will be important to explain to your doctor how you are feeling and receive regular treatment to document your symptoms.
In addition, it is helpful to get support from a treating psychiatrist or psychologist. These are acceptable, preferred medical sources for Social Security disability claims. The opinion of your therapist will also be considered. Make sure to talk to your physician and have them complete a mental residual functional capacity form, which is a written testament that explains that you are unable to perform your job effectively due to anxiety or depression.
To qualify for SSDI or SSI, you must be able to show that your anxiety or depression is severe and prevents you from working full-time or completing all of your activities of daily living. To prove this impairment, you should complete an Activities of Daily Living questionnaire and file it with the Social Security Administration. Completing this questionnaire will help the Social Security Administration understand that your mental health impairment affects your memory, concentration, ability to interact with others, or work absences.
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Can I Get Disability Benefits For My Anxiety Or Depression
You can be entitled to SSDI benefits or SSI benefits if you suffer from anxiety or depression. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health impairments can have a significant impact on a persons life and career. These mental health impairments can make it impossible for an individual to work and earn a living. People with these severe mental health impairments are entitled to collect Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income .