Disability and Depression

In a Social Security disability case involving depression, you need to prove one thing - that you are not able to work. If you remember nothing else about filing a Social Security disability case for severe depression, remember that your capacity for performing work is the only thing that matters to a Social Security judge.

Depression and Your Ability to Function at Work - the Main Disability Issue

Your underlying mental health condition - depression or any other medical or mental health condition, is only important to the Social Security Judge if your depressive symptoms limit you from performing a job 8 hours a day, five days a week. Thus, for example, I have won cases in the Atlanta hearing offices in which my client’s medical problem was a moderate, functional heart defect, but in this client’s case, her anxiety and depression about her condition was so severe that she could not concentrate at work. Similarly, I have seen judges deny cases in which a claimant had three herniated discs, but was able to function in a minimally demanding job because of an unusually high pain threshold.

In most cases involving depression and disability, the judge’s decision really boils down to his/her decision about whether you could hold down a simple, sit down type of job that requires no training, that allows you to sit, stand and adjust your position and is not production oriented and does not involve extensive interaction with others. Examples of these types of jobs include:

small parts assembler
ticket taker at a move theatre
surveillance system monitor
hand packer

In fact, in most hearings, the Judge will call a “vocational expert” to testify about work you have done in the past and about simple, minimally demanding jobs that exist in the national economy.

Comprehensive Mental Health Disability Records - a key to winning

In a disability case involving depression, my job is to identify psychological or psychiatric treatment and counseling records that suggest specific work limitations. In many cases this means I need to review all of the medical records, then create a mental functional capacity checklist that includes both the limitations associated with your particular case and the impairment categories used by the Social Security Administration. We then ask your doctor or counselor to complete the checklist for submission to the Judge. Note that we do not ask the doctor to decide if you are “disabled” - that is a legal decision for the Judge. Instead, we ask your doctor to help “translate” his findings into specific work limitations.

Often this process of identifying work activity limitations is actually easier in a mental health case than in a physical impairment case. Mental health professionals often develop a bond with their patients and truly understand the issues faced by a patient with severe depression. In addition, the published literature about depression and associated conditions often refers to the functional limitations associated with this condition. Dr. Ivan Goldberg, a New York City psychiatrist maintains Depression Central, the Internet’s most comprehensive resource site having to do with depression and you can use this site as your starting point for researching both the medical and vocational implications of depression.

Focus On Your Symptoms - How Does Your Depression Limit You from Working?

I find that it is important to focus on the specific symptoms arising from your depression that would impact your ability to work. In other words, why would you not be a reliable employee? Remember, judges see claimants every day complaining of depression, anxiety and chronic pain. From your judge’s perspective, the important depression related symptoms for Social Security disability purposes are factors that might cause you to miss time from work, have trouble concentrating or problems interacting with co-workers or supervisors. Judges are people, and they tend to discount non-specific complaints they hear again and again.

Many depressed patients get used to living with their symptoms and fail to mention all of them to their doctors or to the judge. One technique I recommend to my clients is to obtain a calendar and keep diary notes about how you feel and what symptoms you experience each day. Make lists. Ask for your spouse’s or children’s observations.

Depression medication side effects can also result in work activity limitations. If your psychotropic medications leave you tired, unable to concentrate and unable to remember, your ability to work at even a simple, unskilled job would likely be compromised.

Deciding on a start-date for your Depression Related Social Security Disability Claim

I also have found that many of my depression disability clients were ambitious and hardworking in their careers and jobs. Subconsciously or otherwise, many Judges realize that few claimants would trade the money and job satisfaction of a challenging career for the fixed income offered by Social Security disability. I therefore usually encourage my clients to testify about what they did before they stopped work, how they tried to hang on, even while fighting depression and mood swings, and how they would greatly prefer their former way of life.

You may also be able to “push back” the starting date for your benefit payments if your last few weeks or months of work were not in the nature of “competitive employment.” For example, if your boss allowed extra absences or changed your job description, the judge may find that you did not engage in competitive work activity. Similarly, if you previously applied for benefits, received a denial, then tried unsuccessfully to return to work, you may be eligible for months or years of past due benefits. Issue related to amending your onset date are beyond the scope of this article, but should be evaluated.

For more information about depression and Social Security disability, or about obtaining permission to reprint this article, contact Jonathan Ginsberg by email or by phone at 770-393-4985.

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