We know that 40 million of our fellow Americans suffer from a form of mental illness. Mood disorders are found most commonly in these people. A mood disorder is never nice, but it can be mild enough to live a normal life. However, some cases are far more severe and leave people unable to look after themselves or others properly. As such, mood disorders can be hugely debilitating. It isn’t possible to live a normal life if you have no control over how you feel. It is also not possible to be in full time work in those cases. Some of the people in these situations are eligible for Social Security Disability (SSD) payments. However, there are a number of factors that will determine whether or not they are actually eligible for these payments.
It is often a huge challenge to prove that you are unable to work due to a mood disorder. You will firstly have to see whether your impairment is listed on the Social Security Administration file. Depression and Bipolar Disorder are listed on here, for instance. Each of the mood disorders listed includes a number of qualifying criteria. Those who meet each of the criteria will generally qualify for SSD. The list is extensive and the more criteria you feel you meet, the better you case will be when you decide to put in you application.
Unfortunately, sometimes you will be unable to meet all the criteria. Or maybe the mood disorder that you suffer from may not be listed. If this is the case, you may still be able to qualify for SSD, but it will be more difficult to prove this. You will have to put forward a range of medical evidence in order to support your claim. This includes such things as therapy sessions, a complete medical history and psychiatric evaluations. Do also try to have a few professional statements attesting to your condition. Try to make sure you hire the service of an SSD attorney as well. Also, if you want to launch an appeal against a previous decision, you should really speak to an SSD attorney. It must also be considered that people who do have mood disorders will find it very difficult to deal with this kind of stress. The bureaucracy that is the SSD department is something that unfortunately simply has to be worked with. However, if you are unable to work due to your mood disorder, then you should try to apply for SSD, regardless of how difficult it may be.
