Disability Benefits and Payments for Anxiety Disorders

Social anxiety is the fear of being judged and scrutinized by other people.  This is one of the most common psychological disorders in the United States and affects more than 20 million people. Because anxiety disorders are a group of related conditions, rather than a single disorder, they can appear very different in each individual.  One person may suffer from intense anxiety attacks that strike without warning.  While others become panicky at the thought of mingling at a party.  Someone else may struggle with a disabling fear of driving or experience uncontrollable and intrusive thoughts.  Some may live in a constant state of tension, worrying about anything and everything.  There are six major types of anxiety disorders, each with their own distinct symptoms that include:

• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Panic disorder
• Phobia
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Social anxiety disorder

Symptoms and Impairments

Symptoms

Anxiety attacks are episodes of intense panic or fear.  They occur suddenly and without warning.  The attacks usually peak within ten minutes and rarely last more than 30 minutes.  However, during that short time, the terror can be so severe that the individual may feel as if they are about to die or lose control.  In addition to the primary symptoms of irrational and excessive fear and worry, other common emotional symptoms of anxiety include:

• Feelings of apprehension or dread
• Trouble concentrating
• Feeling tense and jumpy
• Anticipating the worse
• Irritability
• Restlessness
• Watching for signs of danger
• Feeling like your mind has gone blank

Impairments

Anxiety is more than just an emotional feeling.  It can involve a wide range of physical symptoms that can be disabling.  Anxiety sufferers often mistake their disorder for a medical illness.  They may visit many doctors and make numerous trips to the hospital before their anxiety disorder is properly diagnosed.  Common physical symptoms include:

• Pounding heart
• Sweating
• Stomach upset or dizziness
• Frequent urination or diarrhea
• Shortness of breath
• Tremors and twitches
• Muscle tension
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Insomnia

Many people with anxiety disorders also suffer from depression at some point.  Anxiety and depression are believed to stem from the same biological vulnerability, which may explain why they often go hand in hand. 

Getting Disability Benefits for Anxiety Disability

It is possible to get disability benefits for mental health conditions, but getting the proper diagnosis is a crucial first step.  Disability benefits are designed to help people who can’t work and the diagnosis of the person is not as important as the limits the individual has.  Those limits will determine whether that person will receive disability benefits which applies to both mental as well as physical conditions.

Anxiety can be proven with a doctor’s diagnosis.  In order to receive disability benefits for generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, or depression, the individual must not be able to perform any past jobs that he or she has worked at in the last 15 years.  They must be ruled incapable of performing any other jobs once qualified for at the time they apply for disability benefits.  Social Security decision makers will look for very specific things in your medical records.  There are three ways to win a depression or anxiety case:

1. You can meet the “listing” for depression
2. You can prove that your “functional capacity” for work has been so diminished by your mental health condition that you cannot reliably perform any type of job
3. Your mental health condition, in combination with other medical problems, leave you unable to perform any kind of job, even an unskilled, low-pressure job.

Reasons for Denials and How to Appeal

Most claims are denied because the medical evidence is not sufficient to prove that you are totally disabled.  The could be due in part because you are not seeing the proper specialists, inadequate medical records, or Social Security Administration (SSA) misinterpreted the medical records.  If you wish to appeal, you must make your request in writing within 60 days of the date of the denial letter.  In most states, there are four levels of appeals:

1. Reconsideration
2. Hearing by an Administrative Law Judge
3. Review by the Appeals Council
4. Federal Court

How a Disability Lawyer Can Help

The process for filing and proving a disability claim is a complicated and time-consuming process.  An attorney who specializes in obtaining disability can be your advocate that will help you obtain the benefits you need and deserve.  Statistics show that far more claims are awarded when the claimants have experienced attorneys representing them.  In Social Security disability cases, the attorneys’ fees are regulated and are paid when you get paid.