Disability Information

Qualifying for Disability	Stress Management
Amer w/ Disabilities Act P1	Amer w/ Disabilities Act P2
Working with a Mental Illness

Under the Social Security Act, "disability" means "inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months."

Do I Qualify?

If you have been diagnosed with a mental illness - such as bipolar disorder - that interferes with your ability to work, you may be eligible to receive social security disability benefits.

The Social Security Administration uses a step-by-step process of five questions to determine if a person is disabled.

Those five questions are:

1. Are you working? (If you are and your earnings average more than 780$ a month in 2002 or 800$ a month in 2003, you generally cannot be considered disabled.)

2. Is your condition severe? (Your impairments must interfere with basic work-related activities for your claim to be considered.)

3. Is your condition found in the listing of disabling impairments? (SSA maintains a list of impairments for each of the major body systems that are so severe they automatically mean you are disabled. If your condition is not on the list, SSA will have to decide if it is of equal severity to an impairment on the list. If it is, your claim is approved. If not, SSA goes to the next step.)

4. Can you do the work you did previously? (If your impairment interferes with your ability to do the work you did in the last 15 years, your claim will be considered further.)

5. Can you do any other type of work? (If you cannot do the work you did in the last 15 years, SSA then looks to see if you can do any other type of work. Age, education, past work experience, and transferable skills will all be considered in making this determination. If you can do no other type of work, your claim will be approved.)

Is Bipolar Disorder a Listed Impairment?

YES. Below is a reprint of section 12.04 from the Social Security list of impairments:

12.04 Affective disorders: Characterized by a disturbance of mood, accompanied by a full or partial manic or depressive syndrome. Mood refers to a prolonged emotion that colors the whole psychic life; it generally involves either depression or elation.

The required level of severity for these disorders is met when the requirements in both A and B are satisfied, or when the requirements in C are satisfied.

* A. Medically documented persistence, either continuous or intermittent, of one of the following:

1. Depressive syndrome characterized by at least four of the following:

a. Anhedonia or pervasive loss of interest in almost all activities; or
b. Appetite disturbance with change in weight; or
c. Sleep disturbance; or
d. Psychomotor agitation or retardation; or
e. Decreased energy; or
f. Feelings of guilt or worthlessness; or
g. Difficulty concentrating or thinking; or
h. Thoughts of suicide; or
i. Hallucinations, delusions, or paranoid thinking;

or

2. Manic syndrome characterized by at least three of the following:

a. Hyperactivity; or
b. Pressure of speech; or
c. Flight of ideas; or
d. Inflated self-esteem; or
e. Decreased need for sleep; or
f. Easy distractibility; or
g. Involvement in activities that have a high probability of painful consequences which are not recognized; or
h. Hallucinations, delusions or paranoid thinking; or

3. Bipolar syndrome with a history of episodic periods manifested by the full symptomatic picture of both manic and depressive syndromes (and currently characterized by either or both syndromes);

AND

* B. Resulting in at least two of the following:

1. Marked restriction of activities of daily living; or
2. Marked difficulties in maintaining social functioning; or
3. Marked difficulties in maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace; or
4. Repeated episodes of decompensation, each of extended duration;

OR

* C. Medically documented history of a chronic affective disorder of at least 2 years' duration that has caused more than a minimal limitation of ability to do basic work activities, with symptoms or signs currently attenuated by medication or psychosocial support, and one of the following:

1. Repeated episodes of decompensation, each of extended duration; or
2. A residual disease process that has resulted in such marginal adjustment that even a minimal increase in mental demands or change in the environment would be predicted to cause the individual to decompensate; or
3. Current history of 1 or more years’ inability to function outside a highly supportive living arrangement, with an indication of continued need for such an arrangement.