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Those diagnosed with PTSD may qualify for disability benefits

On Behalf of | May 11, 2018 | Firm News

When you hear post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) being discussed, you likely hear about abuse victims, soldiers who’ve gone to war and others who’ve lived to tell about the particularly adverse set of circumstances they’ve been exposed to in their lives.

While the cases of mild cases of PTSD may not severely inhibit the lives of those who have it, those with more profound cases can be crippled by it.

Those with more serious cases of PTSD often struggle from an inability to socialize with others. Some individuals may even experience adverse physical reactions related to their condition. A person’s PTSD diagnosis can cause someone to be unable to complete different occupational tasks.

Often those showing symptoms of more debilitating PTSD will also be forced to miss time off of work, causing the quality of their work product to diminish. Because of this, patients with more severe cases of PTSD are often eligible to receive disability benefits.

If you have been diagnosed as having PTSD and are living far below the federal poverty line, you may be eligible to receive Social Security Income (SSI).

However, if you’re not impoverished according to federal standards, then you’ll want to see if you qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) instead.

There’s no maximum income treshold for receiving SSDI. However, the amount that you may quality to receive if you’re deemed to be eligible is relative to how long you’ve paid taxes into the Social Security system.

You’ll need to be able to demonstrate that your illness is so severe that it prevents you from both obtaining and maintaining a job. The Social Security Administration looks for symptoms when evaluating prospective recipients that demonstrate how bad their anxiety is. They also will seek to learn more about the nature of any nightmares, flashbacks or memories you might have.

These must all interfere with the recipient’s concentration or ability to maintain a social life. It’s important that your treating physician or counselor include more details about this as well as potential triggers that exacerbate your symptoms.

Whether you’ve been diagnosed with either PTSD or any other psychological or psychiatric condition, a St. Louis SSDI attorney familiar with with Social Security Disability benefits for mental health conditions can provide guidance in your case.

Source: A Healthy Place, “Is PTSD a disability? How to get PTSD disability benefits,” Tanya J. Peterson, accessed May 11, 2018