Don’t Let Anxiety Hold You Back To Navigate Disability Claims Confidently
Struggling with anxiety can be debilitating. It impacts your daily life and even your ability to work. If your anxiety has become so severe that it hinders your functionality, you may be eligible for disability benefits. But navigating the process of proving disability for anxiety can be complex and confusing. This article will guide you through what you need to know and how to build a strong case.
Under Social Security Disability (SSD), proving you have a disability due to anxiety is crucial. That is because SSD provides financial help to people with such bad anxiety that they cannot work much.
If you live in Louisiana and have severe anxiety, SSD benefits can be a big help. This money can go towards things you need, like food and a place to live. By lowering stress about money, these benefits can even help ease anxiety symptoms. SSD can also provide some financial security while you get treatment for your anxiety and look for jobs that work better for you.
Short Summary:
- An anxiety disorder is a mental health condition that causes excessive worry, fear, and physical symptoms that can disrupt daily life.
- There are different types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, PTSD, and OCD.
- Anxiety disorders are treatable, and people with anxiety disorders may be eligible for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits.
- SSD offers financial aid to those with severe anxiety that hinders their ability to work or perform daily tasks.
- Evidence required to qualify for SSD for anxiety includes medical records documenting doctor visits, tests, medications, and their impact. Crucially, proof of how anxiety affects your daily life and ability to work is essential (e.g., difficulty remembering tasks, and needing frequent breaks).
- To strengthen your case, regular doctor/therapist visits for over a year with documented evidence of anxiety’s impact on work from doctors and potentially past employers.
- Ongoing treatment also strengthens your case, and stopping treatment can lead to benefit denial. That may include medication, therapy, or day programs.
- Some plans limit benefits for mental health conditions (e.g., two-year limit). Explore exceptions and consider seeking a brain function test to prove cognitive limitations caused by anxiety.
What is Anxiety Disorder?
Feeling super worried and tense all the time? That could be anxiety. It’s a mental health condition that can make you feel panicked or scared for long stretches. You might even have nightmares or flashbacks that make it hard to sleep.
Anxiety can also cause physical stuff like sweating, racing heart, and shaky hands. Unlike normal worries, anxiety symptoms can hit you out of nowhere and keep coming back. They can mess with your relationships and work too.
There are different types of anxiety, each with its symptoms. Some people have panic attacks, while others obsess over certain thoughts or actions. The important thing is that anxiety can be treated.
What are the Types of Anxiety Disorders?
There are different types of anxiety disorders. Your doctor might say you have one of these:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): You worry way too much about everyday stuff.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): You keep thinking about a scary thing that happened in the past.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): You feel like you have to do things over and over again.
- Panic Disorder: You get sudden attacks of intense fear and weird body feelings.
- Social Anxiety Disorder: You’re scared of public places and being around people.
Anxiety disorders can overlap. Someone who keeps checking the stove might panic if they can’t. Social Security considers all your symptoms together. The more symptoms you have, the stronger your disability case might be.
Can Disability Payments Cover Anxiety Disorders?
The short answer is yes. The Social Security Administration (SSA) gives funds to folks with terrible anxiety that makes it impossible to do daily tasks or work with others. To qualify, you need proof from a doctor that your anxiety is severe and stops you from any job you could normally do.
What Pieces of Evidence Do I Need To Prove Disability for Anxiety?
To decide if your anxiety qualifies for disability benefits, Social Security needs proof from your doctor. This proof includes:
- Doctor visits where you talk about your anxiety symptoms
- Tests that show how anxiety affects your thinking
- Notes about how well your anxiety medicine works and any side effects
But the most important thing is how anxiety affects your daily life. Social Security wants to know if your anxiety at home would also happen at work.
For example, if anxiety makes it hard to remember chores at home, it might make it hard to remember tasks at work too. If anxiety makes it hard to hold down a job, Social Security might consider you disabled.
How Do I Strengthen Claim for Disability for Anxiety?
Seeing a doctor or therapist regularly for over a year can help your disability case. Ask them to write a letter about your anxiety. This letter should explain what makes you anxious and how it affects your ability to work.
Since getting benefits depends partly on whether you can work any job, try to get a letter from a past employer (if possible). This letter should mention any missed work due to anxiety. If anxiety made you lose jobs before, it might be hard to keep a new one too.
What is the Importance of Getting Appropriate Care?
Most disability plans need ongoing treatment for anxiety. Even if approved, they can deny benefits if you stop treatment. To show you’re getting help, see a therapist or psychiatrist.
Treatment might include:
- Medicine: Your doctor might prescribe pills to improve your mood and reduce anxiety.
- Therapy: This could involve one-on-one sessions or group therapy to manage stress and change negative thoughts.
- Day Programs: Your doctor might suggest a program to help you control your anxiety symptoms.
The key is to follow your doctor’s plan. The insurance company wants to see you’re actively getting better.
What are the Limitations of Disability for Anxiety Policies?
Some disability plans limit benefits for mental health conditions like anxiety to two years. That is called a “Mental Illness Limit.” Every plan is different, so the limit might be shorter or longer.
Some plans also have exceptions for certain mental illnesses, so check your plan carefully.
If your only disability is anxiety and your plan has a Mental Illness Limit that doesn’t exclude anxiety, your benefits will likely stop after two years. Even if your anxiety is severe, it won’t matter after that.
There might be a way to get benefits longer if you can prove you have thinking problems due to your anxiety. A special test by a brain doctor can help show this.
Claim Disability for Anxiety Today!
While this article provides a helpful overview, proving disability for anxiety with Social Security can be a complicated process. A Social Security disability claims lawyer can gather evidence, write persuasive arguments, and ensure your application meets all the requirements.
- Orum Young Law can help. Our competent attorneys will guide you through the complex application process, gather evidence to strengthen your case and fight for the benefits you deserve.
Don’t go it alone. It’s always wiser to ask for help from those who can effectively assist. Contact our law firm today for a free consultation!
