Could You Use Financial Assistance Right Now?
If you’re living with severe anxiety, you understand it is much more than just worrying sometimes or getting nervous. Everyday life can be a struggle. You feel unable to cope with daily activities like socializing with others. Maybe it’s even hard to leave the house.
When you can’t work because of debilitating anxiety, the pressure to pay the bills without a source of income only makes your anxiety worse. What are you doing to do?
The good news is that the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides income benefits to people who can no longer work because of physical and mental health conditions, and that absolutely includes anxiety.
Social Security Disability benefits provide monthly checks to pay for your bills, relieving the financial stress so you can focus on feeling better and moving on.
The problem is that most people who apply for benefits get denied the first time around. Convincing Social Security to award you benefits can be tricky with anxiety, because it’s a mental health condition difficult for other people to measure.
You have to prove that you can’t work. That means sending these kinds of documentation:
- Medical records
- Doctor’s reports
- Testimonials from friends, family and coworkers
If you were denied disability benefits for anxiety, support is here. The Morgan Law Firm disability attorneys in South Bend have helped thousands of people in Indiana and Michigan appeal their disability denials.
Social Security Disability Is All We Do.
Qualifying for Social Security Disability with Anxiety
Having anxiety that limits your everyday life is common. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States: 40 million adults age 18 and older have it.
Additionally, about one-half of people with depression also have anxiety. If you have a physical health problem or disability, you could also experience anxiety, depression, or both.
Make sure your Social Security Disability appeal explains any combination of physical and mental health problems that you have. Linking a condition like anxiety to another medical condition can give you a stronger claim.
There are two types of Social Security benefits you could qualify for: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
With SSDI, you qualify with these criteria:
- You have a disability that makes working impossible.
- As of the date your disability started, you worked at least five of the last 10 years
With SSI, you can qualify with these criteria:
- You have health problems that rule out working.
- You meet the financial qualifications, which means you don’t have too many assets or too much income.
For anxiety in particular, you’ll need to show medical evidence of symptoms like sleep problems, mood swings, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, problems processing information, problems interacting with other people, problems taking care of yourself and a record of seeking therapy and other medical treatment.
To start figuring out how you might turn a disability denial for anxiety into an approval, you can talk to our disability law firm for an initial consultation—for FREE.
Does Your Anxiety Meet Social Security’s Definition of a Disability?
The SSA says you have a disability that qualifies for benefits if your physical or mental condition will keep you out of work for one year, or last for the rest of your life.
You may have a mental disability like anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a physical disability, or a combination. In recent years, almost a third of people receiving disability benefits had mental or intellectual disorders.
If you aren’t working right now, go to the doctor for treatment on a regular basis, so you have enough medical evidence to prove your case.
This could mean going to your psychiatrist for medicine, your psychologist for therapy, and your doctor for any physical ailments you could be experiencing related to your anxiety, like shortness of breath, fatigue, insomnia or heart palpitations.
Social Security’s definition of having a disability can be different from what doctors or other government programs say:
- You can’t work like you used to
- You can’t switch jobs because of your condition
- Your disability has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months
You don’t have to just live with extreme stress and not get help. Social Security Disability benefits can make a difference for you. Talk to a disability lawyer to help you reach a better place in life.