Is Anxiety Disorder a Disability

Anxiety and Disability

The Social Security Disability Insurance Program sets out criteria to meet to qualify for relief for an anxiety disorder in section 12.06 of the Social Security Disability Insurance Estimates Document.

If a claimant’s generalized anxiety is so severe that it interferes with an applicant’s ability to do any of his or her past jobs or any other kind of work, the SSA should award him disability benefits.

Those who suffer from anxiety in ways that significantly adversely affect their lives and ability to work and function socially can receive disability benefits. When an anxiety disorder has affected your ability to function at work and at home for at least 12 months, you may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits.

Anxiety disorder is a real and serious condition that can affect a person’s everyday life including their job.

To qualify for Social Security disability benefits for anxiety disorders, you must be able to prove that your symptoms are chronic (lasting for at least 12 months), meet one of several specific medical diagnoses related to anxiety, and have significantly and adversely affected your ability to function in your life.

Anxiety disorders that involve phobias, panic disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and generalized anxiety may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits if the phobia-involving anxiety disorder is well-documented and significantly debilitating.

In some cases, these disorders may be serious enough that it is not possible to hold down a full-time job; the Social Security Administration awards benefits to individuals who it finds are disabled because of serious anxiety disorders.

Anxiety Disorders – National Institute for Health

Severity of Anxiety Disorder

Depending on the severity and the frequency of other conditions, individuals suffering from a long-term anxiety disorder may not be able to have lasting personal relationships, and work performance can decline dramatically. For people suffering from severe anxiety, mental impairment or severe depression, symptoms may severely affect work capacity.

For some individuals, symptoms of their anxiety disorders are so intense that, based on symptoms and limitations in their medical records, Social Security considers them disabled, without having to establish they cannot perform any work.

Someone who has an anxiety disorder can also experience severe panic attacks. Social anxiety can be one of the worst types of anxiety for a person to experience.

Social Security Disability

Anxiety disorders and mental illness issues are included in Social Security impairment listings, meaning if your illness has been diagnosed by a qualified health professional and is serious enough to prevent you from working, you stand an excellent chance of receiving benefits.

Social Security medical criteria for applying for disability benefits for anxiety disorders are found in the Listings of Impaired Performance for Mental Disorders, Subchapter SS12.06, Anxiety Disorders, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders.

You may meet a different set of functional criteria if your disorder has been medically documented as serious and continuing for at least two years, and you can demonstrate that you lived in a highly structured environment, or received continuous medical treatment, mental health therapy, or psychosocial support, which has reduced symptoms of anxiety.

Most applicants suffering from anxiety and other mental health issues are unaware that most group disability policies, and many individual policies, limit all mental disorders to two years of benefits.

Beware: Many long-term disability plans will limit benefits to two years for mental and nervous disorders, and some policies exclude coverage entirely.

If you expect to remain out of work due to an anxiety condition for an extended period, it is wise to file a claim for Social Security disability benefits as well (which your long-term care plan administrator will still ask you to do), as Social Security places no limit on benefits for disabilities caused by mental or nervous disorders.

Applicants who are medically disabled because of post-traumatic stress disorder, for instance, may have records showing frequent hospitalizations for symptoms of anxiety, or the inability to sustain themselves without significant external assistance.

Also watch the video below about getting disability benefits for anxiety disorder.