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Social anxiety and other anxiety disorders are socially limiting, and at worst can make it impossible to function in normal relationships or employment. An anxiety disorder is a mental illness in which intense feelings of worry and fear influence daily behavior. Many people experience stress and anxiety in their daily lives, but an anxiety disorder can be a debilitating mental condition in which extreme feelings of worry and fear consume an individual’s everyday thoughts and behavior. 

The Social Security Administration (SSA) may determine you eligible for disability benefits if you can provide medical evidence of a diagnosed anxiety disorder that limits your ability to work for 12 or more months. If you meet the SSA criteria, you may be entitled for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits depending on your income and employment history. 

Requirement of Specific Medical Evidence

Your psychiatrist or psychologist may have diagnosed you with a general anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (recurrent thoughts about a traumatic experience in the past), obsessive-compulsive disorder (finding it necessary to perform activities repeatedly), panic disorder (having a strong physical reaction even though there is no immediate danger), or agoraphobia (fear of or avoidance of public places). 

The SSA will likely want to review all psychiatric tests and examinations relevant to the diagnosis of anxiety, as well as any treatment reports from your doctor that indicate you have been regularly reporting anxiety symptoms.

Ensure that your medical records describe the full range of symptoms experienced as a result of your anxiety. What would you do, for example, if you were at work and had a panic attack? Do your symptoms force you to miss work on a recurring basis? Do you self-isolate and avoid others regularly?

Do you suffer in silence, unable to complete work-related tasks because your memory and concentration are so affected by your condition? 

You should seek medical advice from your doctor about your anxiety and its causes. You should discuss with your doctor how the anxiety disorder affects your ability to function and perform routine daily activities. If possible, obtain a letter from previous employers or colleagues about job absences and performance due to anxiety symptoms.

Qualifying Anxiety Disorders 

It is possible to receive SSA disability benefits for mental health disorders, but the first step is to obtain the correct diagnosis of your anxiety disorder. Your doctor will be asked to submit medical evidence of your condition, including psychiatric testing and documentation of related physical and mental symptoms. Anxiety disorders that may qualify you for disability benefits include: 

• Agoraphobia
• Panic attacks
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Generalized persistent anxiety
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

Is Anxiety Considered a Disability?

To establish entitlement to benefits, you must have a qualifying disability listed on your application. The SSA will evaluate your listed impairment based on the criteria of a disability listing in the Social Security Listing of Impairments. Anxiety-related psychiatric illnesses are covered in Listing 12.06. 

You should have a diagnosis of anxiety related disorders from a licensed medical practitioner, characterized by three or more of the following symptoms:

• Restlessness;
• Easily fatigued;
• Difficulty concentrating;
• Irritability;
• Muscle tension; or
• Sleep disturbance.

You must also prove that symptoms affect your ability to maintain gainful employment. In addition, medical documentation should demonstrate limitations in the following areas of mental functioning:

• Understanding, remembering, or applying information
• Interacting with others
• Concentrating, persisting, or maintaining pace 
• Adapting or managing oneself

Many who have been living in a highly structured or secure environment or receiving intensive therapy or psychosocial support that has reduced the effects of their anxiety disorder are held to a different standard. According to the Social Security Administration, a person’s functional skills would likely appear higher in these circumstances than in real-life situations where the stress and demands of everyday life would be greater.

If the condition has been medically recorded as severe and chronic for at least two years, and you can demonstrate that you have been living in a highly structured setting or undergoing regular medical care. In that case, you might be eligible for disability for anxiety disorders if you can also demonstrate that you have minimal capacity to respond to changes in your environment or demands that are not already part of your everyday life. Older adults should never apply without going through eligibility criteria for disability Over 50.

Identifying the Residual Functional Capacity

If the Social Security Administration determines that your anxiety condition is not severe enough to satisfy criteria in listing 12.06, you may still be determined entitled to benefits based on your residual functional capacity (RFC). In that case, the SSA will examine the available medical documentation and may order additional testing to determine what restrictions you have on your ability to function in a worklike setting.

You may have the following RFC: an inability to perform complicated tasks but the ability to achieve short and easy tasks that can be mastered in 30 days or less, no public interaction, and only casual contact with colleagues and superiors.  If so, you may be eligible for disability benefits from SSA.

Getting a Disability Claim Started

If you cannot function due to an anxiety disorder, you could be eligible for SSI for anxiety benefits. Although disability due to an anxiety disorder can be difficult to prove due to the subjective nature of the diagnosis, working closely with a medical practitioner and a trained Social Security disability attorney or advocate to gather and present the necessary documentation in support of your disability claim can help you present a complete and accurate disability benefits application. Your application should include a thorough analysis of what an episode of anxiety (whether it is a panic attack, OCD, PTSD, or phobic episodes) looks like for you, as well as how often you experience them and how they affect your ability to function.

Disability insurance providers have a high level of skepticism when it comes to mental health, or anxiety claims specifically. Claims adjusters will often thoroughly examine medical records to find ways to refute the allegation. This is why someone who has been diagnosed with anxiety or depression should consult with a lawyer. 

You can apply for both Social Security disability insurance (SSDI, which requires you to have paid enough taxes into Social Security, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is based on income. Hire a lawyer to help you file a disability benefits for anxiety claim or, if your original claim has already been denied, to file an appeal. The bottomline is that you do not need to suffer from economic insecurity if you have an anxiety disorder or a physical disability that prevents you from performing at an optimum level. Contact us today.

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Uncontrolled diabetes and associated symptoms such as peripheral neuropathy or poor vision can qualify a person for Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits. Although well-controlled diabetes with medication may not be enough to support a successful application, most people with diabetes also have other related medical issues that limit their ability to function normally. Diabetes for the purposes of obtaining disability benefits is classified into two types: Type 1 and Type 2. 

Types of Diabetes

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic medical disorder in which the body’s ability to absorb glucose is impaired. Blood sugar levels increase when the pancreas fails to generate enough insulin, a hormone that sends signals to other body cells to consume excess glucose.

Elevated blood sugar levels can often be managed with medication and diet, but persistently elevated blood sugar levels can cause neuropathy (nerve damage) in the extremities, resulting in numbness, burning, and tingling. Cardiovascular disease, renal disorders, skin infections, and vision changes are also symptoms. You can seek Diabetes Disability Benefits when prolonged and uncontrolled diabetes causes disability. You will have to document the condition through treatment with a licensed physician. The following is more information about both types of diabetes.

• Type-1 Diabetes

Type 1, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes, usually develops in infancy and necessitates regular insulin injections and blood sugar monitoring. Type 1 diabetes disability affects people who are unable to produce the hormone insulin, which controls blood sugar levels. Type 1 diabetes affects just about five to ten percent of diabetic people.

• Type-2 Diabetes

Type 2, also known as adult-onset diabetes or Diabetes Mellitus, develops when the body’s cells become insulin-resistant and thus fail to absorb enough glucose. Obesity, high blood pressure, and a sedentary lifestyle are all closely linked to type 2 diabetes, which is most common in people over 45. Type 2 diabetes disability is often caused by a variety of environmental and genetic factors. Endocrinologists are responsible for diagnosing and treating this condition by prescribing medicine, blood sugar monitoring, and lifestyle modifications to help stabilize the condition. 

Most people can function in a range of capacities, from sitting at a desk to laborious construction work; however, chronic uncontrolled diabetes can result in severe complications limiting one’s ability to function normally. You might be eligible for monetary benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) if you have disabling conditions related to diabetes. However, if you are 50 or above and diabetes has turned you disabled, Disability Benefits Over 50 should be your option. Eligibility criteria are different for people belonging to this age group.

Is Diabetes A Disability?

Endocrine conditions, such as diabetes, were excluded from the SSA’s Blue Book in 2011.  The SSA Blue Book is a list of impairments that makes it easier to identify qualifying disability conditions and therefore streamline the decision process. As a result, eligibility for disability benefits based only on a diagnosis of diabetes is no longer possible, but depending on the seriousness of your symptoms, you may be able to demonstrate related disabling criteria required by the SSA. 

For example, a person can meet the criteria for Listing 11.14 for peripheral neuropathy if, after treatment, they experience involuntary movements, tremors, or partial paralysis in two extremities, making walking or using hands difficult. Listing 2.02 applies to diabetic retinopathy that causes vision loss of less than 20/200 in the better eye. Other diabetes complications, such as kidney failure, cardiovascular problems, or amputation of a leg, may meet the criteria of one of the Blue Book listings. Note that diabetic children under the age of 6 who need regular insulin or 24-hour monitoring (depending on the child’s age) may meet Listing 109.08. A knowledgeable disability attorney can help you identify disability benefits for qualifying children.

Qualifying for a Medical-Vocational Allowance

Medical-Vocational Allowance is one of the most common ways to obtain disability compensation approval. If your diabetes symptoms prohibit you from working at your previous job or some other job in the economy, you might be eligible for compensation under a medical-vocational allowance.

You may be entitled to either of these benefits for your disability due to Diabetes:

• Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)- You may be entitled to SSDI if you have worked for five of the last 10 years and meet SSA criteria for disability. SSDI offers financial assistance to provide an income if treatment is ineffective and you are unable to work. If you receive SSDI, you can also qualify for Medicare and prescription drug assistance also. 
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)- What if you have a low income and few assets, but do not have a qualifying work history to establish SSDI benefits? You may be eligible for SSI if you are under the financial threshold prescribed by SSA.  SSI pays a monthly stipend to assist with daily necessities, such as food and shelter. Children who qualify for SSI may also be eligible for Medicaid, a low-income healthcare program.

Disabilities Come in Various Forms

Why would diabetes be considered a disease even when treatment places it under control? According to the World Health Organization, a disability has three components:

• Impairment- This refers to an issue with the body and how it functions, as well as your mental function, such as vision or memory loss.
• Activity Restrictions- That you have a difficult time doing something that non-disabled people can do. This may have anything to do with vision, hearing, walking, or problem-solving.
• Restrictions on Participation- This means you would not be able to participate in everyday tasks as freely as you would if you were not disabled. Working, social events, and personal grooming are only a few examples.

When Should I Consult an Attorney?

“The sooner, the better” is a good general rule to follow when it comes to legal matters, especially those that affect your health and economic security. You can contact a disability attorney for a free consultation if you are thinking about applying for disability benefits from SSA. A lawyer will help you assess the strength of your case and guide you through the initial application process. Although some people prefer to go through this stage without legal assistance, having a lawyer on your side increases your chances of getting disability for diabetes. 

Disability lawyers know how to approach a case in the most favorable light for their clients, from the initial filing to the hearing stage and beyond. A lawyer will help you obtain relevant medical evidence that allows the Social Security Administration to easily review your application, including documentation of the onset date of disability, and evidence that your condition meets the criteria of impairments listed in Social Security’s Blue Book.

Your lawyer should gather and send relevant medical information, obtain an opinion from your doctor, prepare a concise brief to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), and prepare you for the judge’s questions at the reconsideration and hearing levels (the first and second stage of appeal in most states). Consult an experienced attorney and discuss your disability issues due to diabetes today.

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