What Signs of Depression Does Social Security Look For?
You understand, but many people don’t, that depression isn’t sadness.
It runs deeper than an emotion. Most doctors agree it’s rooted in a combination of brain chemistry, genetics, the stresses you face, and your ability to manage that stress.
Depression strikes more than 30 percent of adults at some point. For most, symptoms clear up after a while. For some, they last for months, even years.
Because depression impacts everyone differently, and its symptoms are often invisible and therefore harder to explain to other people, filing a disability claim is a challenge.
You have to prove to Social Security that your depression won’t let you work, or they will deny your benefits.
Social Security identifies depression through a menu of symptoms. When they look at your case, they’ll want evidence that you meet at least five to be eligible for disability benefits.
- Feeling low
- Lost interest in everyday activities
- Losing or gaining significant weight
- Insomnia or sleeping troubles
- Trouble connecting your thoughts to movements
- Slowness, tiredness
- Feeling worthless
- Unable to concentrate
- Suicidal thoughts
Social Security also requires that you prove your symptoms result in an extreme limitation of one—or what they call a “marked” limitation of two—of the following functions:
- Your ability to understand and apply information,
- Your ability to interact with others
- Your ability to persist in a task
- Your ability to adapt to new situations and manage yourself
To determine your eligibility, Social Security will want to see your medical history, your work history, records of treatments you undertook and reports from your doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, and other health care providers.
Finding all that information, sorting through it, and putting it together in a meaningful way to build a strong disability benefits claim—that’s what the disability attorneys at Silver & Archibald do for our clients.
With our team, you’ll get a partner who will listen to you, and treat you as a person, not a statistic.
We’ll be at your side through the entire Social Security Disability process, from applying to appealing for your disability benefits. And it won’t cost you a dime to have us evaluate your case.
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How To Prove Your Depression Qualifies for Social Security Disability Benefits
You know your depression is holding you back. You know it keeps you from working and earning a living—no matter how much you wish it weren’t so.
The trouble comes with proving this to everyone else.
The key to showing Social Security the full impact of depression on your life comes down to two factors: its severity and its persistence.
In other words, Social Security wants to see how bad your symptoms are, how long they have lasted, and whether they’re likely to continue—despite any treatment.
To do that, you’ll want to collect all the documents you can, going back to the moment your depression was first diagnosed. These include:
- Doctors’ reports
- Medical records and lab results
- Psychiatric or psychological evaluations
- Physical exam results
- Details of treatments, therapies, and medications you take
- Observations from friends, coworkers, or others who can attest to the impact depression has had on your life.
You’ll also need to describe and back up your work history—proving you paid into Social Security enough over time to be covered by SSDI just in case you ever faced a moment like this one.
Social Security will look for holes in your story, searching for a way to deny your claim. They’re always under pressure to say they’re stopping people from wrongly getting benefits.
Don’t let the confusing process trip you up. A skilled Social Security Disability lawyer will know how to make clear to claims examiners the invisible symptoms of depression.
The Silver & Archibald disability lawyers have won millions in disability benefits for people just like you. In fact, we’re the top Georgia disability law firm by the most important measure—the total disability benefits we’ve won for clients.
Let us lift a weight off your shoulders—you deserve the support. Talk to a lawyer who cares about you. Give us a call.
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Legal cases involving your health struggles are highly personal matters. When you’re looking for help, you want someone who treats you with the personal care, respect, and dignity this moment requires.
Answers to Common Questions About Social Security Disability
Social Security Disability is a huge program with a vast set of rules. As a resource for you as you sort out your disability claim, the disability lawyers at Silver & Archibald have prepared answers to some of the most common questions people have.
Common Disability Benefits Questions »
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