Can Mental Illnesses Like Depression Really Lead to Long-Term Disability?

As many of us already know, there are huge consequences for negative stress, eventually leading to depression and so much more. Depression is a very real illness, even though people who do not experience it may deny this fact and argue this is not true. When you have depression, you know that you have more than just sadness that wears off after some time, such as when the event corrects itself. Doctors tend to diagnose it as “depressive disorder” or “clinical depression.” Some of the symptoms include a persistent sad or anxious mood, feelings of hopelessness, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, loss of interest in hobbies, decreased energy, fatigue, irritability, thoughts of suicide, and more.

There are actually many different types of depression, too. For instance, you may experience major depression, which could interfere with your ability to work, sleep, enjoy life, and more. A persistent depressive disorder is a depressed mood that lasts for at least two years, with severe episodes coming and going. Psychotic depression occurs when depression meets psychosis, which leads to hallucinations and delusions. Postpartum depression takes place after you have a baby, which up to 15% of women experience. A seasonal affective disorder is a depression that takes place over the winter months when there is not enough natural sunlight. And, lastly, bipolar disorder is a mental illness all on its own, but it causes depression and extreme high moods as well.

Biased Opinions

Sometimes, it may be difficult to achieve long-term disability when you are struggling with depression and many other mental illnesses, because disability examiners that work for Social Security may not have experience with mental illnesses like a psychiatrist would. Even if you are not currently displaying symptoms, it does not mean that you are not suffering, and this is something that an examiner might miss. Some examiners are also biased against mental illness claims because they believe that they are lazy or faking their mental illness for benefits. We understand that claims are denied far too often for this very reason.

In fact, you could be delaying your long-term disability for one of these five reasons:

• You are not getting regular care from a family doctor, even though the key to achieving disability is to show that you and your doctor are working together
• You are not being seen by a psychiatrist, which is used as a way for the insurance company to say that your anxiety must not be all that bad
• You haven’t attended recommended psychological treatment to see if it would help with your illness
• You are receiving a poor standard of care and just haven’t received the best treatments
• Your treatment is not being documented properly

If you want to improve your chances of obtaining long-term disability when depression or another mental illness has taken hold in your life, you should always be under the care of experienced healthcare professionals, as it will help your case in the long run. Your long-term disability carrier will typically speak with these professionals to get a better idea of what you are struggling with. Because we want to help you protect your rights, we want to talk to you as soon as possible about your case. At Edelstein Martin & Nelson, we want to get you the best results when you believe you are entitled to long-term disability. Call us today at 800-300-0909 or 215-731-9900.

Sources:

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-what-you-need-to-know/index.shtml

https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/dnewsblog/2008/09/mental-illness-and-social-security.html

https://www.philadelphiadisabilityinsurancelawyer.com