Can Mental Illness Qualify Me for Social Security Disability?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can Mental Illness Qualify Me for Social Security Disability?

Answering your question.

Yes. Social Security does recognize mental illnesses as valid medical conditions that can qualify you for disability benefits — if your condition is serious enough that it keeps you from working full-time for at least 12 months.

Common Mental Health Conditions That May Qualify:

Social Security examines various types of mental illness, including:

• Depression (Major Depressive Disorder)
• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia or psychosis
• Anxiety disorders (including panic attacks, PTSD, OCD)
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Intellectual disability
• Borderline personality disorder
• ADHD (in some adult cases)
• Severe social anxiety

If your mental health problem makes it hard or impossible to focus, follow instructions, get along with others, or even show up to work regularly, you may be found disabled under Social Security’s rules.

What Social Security Looks For:

They want to know:

Do you have a medically diagnosed mental illness?
This means you have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or medical doctor.

Is it serious and ongoing?

• The illness must interfere with your daily life and make it very hard to work full-time.
• It must last — or be expected to last — 12 months or more.

Are you getting treatment?
Social Security wants to see you are trying to get better.

This might include:

• Therapy or counseling
• Medication (like antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers)
• Mental health hospital stays

What do your records say about how your condition affects you?

• Do your medical notes say you have trouble leaving the house?
• Do you have trouble with memory, focus, or social situations?
• Have you been hospitalized or had frequent breakdowns?

How to Make Your Claim Stronger:

• Be honest about how your mental illness affects your life.
• Go to your doctor or therapist regularly.
• Tell your medical providers about your symptoms, even the hard ones (like suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, or panic attacks).

If you can, get a doctor or therapist to write a statement saying why you cannot work.

Important Tip:

Even if your mental illness comes and goes, Social Security may approve your claim if your condition causes problems regularly and prevents you from working on a steady basis.

Example:

Let’s say you have severe depression and anxiety. You:

• Can’t get out of bed most days
• Don’t leave the house except for doctor appointments
• Struggle to be around other people
• Have panic attacks
• Miss therapy appointments because of fear or exhaustion

If this has been happening for a year or more, and your doctor supports your case, you may qualify for Social Security Disability.

Bottom Line (Simple Version):

If this is true…
You may qualify for disability
You have a mental illness that is medically diagnosed
Yes. It keeps you from working full-time
Yes. It has lasted or will last at least 12 months
Yes. You are getting treatment or trying to get better
Yes — this helps your case