Can You Get Disability for Depression in Michigan & Ohio?
You can qualify for disability with depression, but only if you can show Social Security that your illness is severe enough to stop you from working any job for 12 months.
Many people see depression as a temporary thing, like going through a down period and then moving on. But if you’re suffering from depression, you understand how draining it can be and how difficult it can make it to support yourself.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can make a big difference in your life. They can give you the basic foundation of stability that you need while dealing with a difficult mental health challenge.
The biggest challenge facing your depression disability claim is that you need to set yourself apart from everyone else who suffers from mental health issues and can still work a substantial amount.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 21 million adults in the United States have had episodes of major depression. Not all of them could qualify for benefits.
You need to be clear about your symptoms and how they’ll keep you out of work for the long term, painting a clear picture for Social Security that’s backed up by evidence.
If you’re in Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Toledo, or anywhere in Michigan or Ohio, you can talk to the disability lawyers at Levine Benjamin Law Firm about how you might get Social Security Disability for depression.
Our firm has helped more than 100,000 people over decades of service to our neighbors. From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.
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Is Depression a Disability? These are the SSD Requirements
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has an official listing of impairments that qualify for disability benefits (people sometimes call it the “Blue Book”) that includes “depressive, bipolar and related disorders” under listing 12.04.
This listing serves as a guide for how you can build your disability claim for depression. You may have your own way of explaining your condition to people close to you, but for Social Security you have to present it a certain way to be approved for benefits.
A Social Security Disability attorney helps with this.
Social Security says you must demonstrate that you have at least five of these symptoms:
- Suppressed mood
- Lost interest in activities
- Eating and weight changes
- Problems sleeping
- Changes in movement—either slower or more frantic
- Low energy
- Feeling guilty or worthless
- Inability to focus your thinking
- Suicidal thoughts
In addition, you must show you can’t function in at least one of these areas, or you’re limited in two of them:
- Using information
- Dealing with other people
- Focusing
- Regulating your behavior and emotions
Or you can show that your mental disorder is “serious and persistent,” meaning that it’s existed for two years or more and you can back this up with evidence that:
- You’ve had therapy, treatment, structured settings and supports that reduce your depression symptoms.
- But you still struggle to adapt to changes in the world around you and new demands in your life.
How do you piece all of this together? A disability lawyer can do it for you—at no fee until you win benefits.
Since depression is such a complicated condition, you may still ask: Can you get disability for depression in your particular situation?
We’ll listen to you and talk it over—with no cost or obligation to you.
Proving Your Social Security Disability Claim for Depression with Evidence
It’s not enough just to tell Social Security that you have the symptoms above. You have to prove it—because Social Security is always under pressure to make sure only deserving people get benefits.
How do you prove it? With medical and other evidence—usually information coming from someone other than you confirming all the ways that depression impacts your daily life.
These are several kinds of evidence to gather:
- Paperwork showing your diagnosis
- A history of your psychological health
- Mental status exam results from medical professionals
- Physical exam results
- Psychological testing results
- Medical imaging
- Lab tests
- List of your medications
- Side effects of medications
- Description of your therapy course
- Statements from people who know you personally
- Statements from people who know you through school or work
It can also be helpful to show that you are dealing with other disorders in addition to your depression.
Mental health disorders like anxiety or PTSD can interact with depression, making symptoms worse and reducing your work capabilities.
If you have evidence that you struggle with additional health issues, include that. It’s all relevant to your depression claim.
We know. It’s a lot of work to prove you can’t work.
When you’re depressed, the load is that much heavier.
This is one of the main purposes of a Social Security Disability lawyer: taking on the work to make the process easier for you.
At Levine Benjamin, we got into this type of law because we get to see people getting support, relief, and a better outlook on the future.
Can you get disability for depression? Talk to us about it.
What Mistakes Do People Make When Applying for Disability?
Getting approved for Social Security Disability is hard, and one big reason for that is that there are so many mistakes that you can make when applying for benefits.
When you work with the Michigan disability lawyers of Levine Benjamin, our team can help you avoid common errors like:
1) Not including enough evidence
It doesn’t matter how debilitating your depression symptoms are if you don’t have evidence to back up your claim. Our disability lawyers can help you gather the evidence you need to make your claim more persuasive.
This is especially important for mental health disability claims because these conditions are harder to see and understand.
2) Not responding to SSA requests
Sometimes Social Security will request more information about your condition or medical records. If you’re trying to claim benefits for depression, you may be asked to go to a doctor the agency has chosen for a mental health evaluation.
Ignoring these requests can result in a denial of benefits. You need to be on the lookout for correspondence from the SSA and be ready to respond if they need additional info about your claim.
3) Improperly or incompletely filling out forms
Leaving out information on any SSA forms or making statements that contradict each other can sink your claim.
You shouldn’t be leaving any part of these forms blank and you need to be consistent throughout your entire application.
We know how tough it can be to deal with piles of paperwork when you’re weighed down by depression symptoms, so we can help you with this part of the process.
4) Having gaps in treatment you can’t explain
Social Security wants to see that you’ve been doing your best to treat your symptoms and get back to a place where working is possible. If you’re not following prescribed treatment methods or you go a long time without seeing a doctor, that can impact your claim.
We understand that things happen. Maybe you lost your health insurance because you couldn’t work, so you couldn’t keep up treatment.
But if you have any treatment gaps, you need to be prepared to explain why and make sure that a claims examiner knows that you are still making a serious effort to treat your depression.
5) Not being ready to accurately describe your symptoms and limitations
Sometimes people oversell their symptoms, telling Social Security that they can’t do “anything” due to their illness.
Some applicants have been working through pain for months or even years, so they don’t adequately describe just how debilitating their illness is because they’re so used to downplaying their experiences.
Neither of these approaches will get you disability benefits. You need to be able to explain your symptoms and how they interfere with work tasks, and talk about what good days and bad days look like.
How a Detroit Disability Lawyer Helps With Depression Claims
You should talk to a Detroit disability lawyer as soon as you think you may qualify for disability benefits due to depression.
If you applied on your own or were denied disability benefits when working with another lawyer or representative, the attorneys of Levine Benjamin can help.
Don’t give up on your claim. Another big mistake people make when applying for benefits is giving up after being denied the first time.
We’re the top disability firm in Michigan based on how much in benefits we win for our clients, and that’s according to Social Security’s own numbers.
Initial consultations are free, so it won’t cost you anything to talk to us about your depression disability claim. You don’t pay an attorney fee unless you win benefits.
We know that you’re going through a stressful time, so we’re ready to guide you through this entire process, from your initial application to each stage of appeals.