How to Describe Disability Depression to Social Security

It is a common misconception that if you submit a disability claim based on emotional depression to the Social Security Administration, you will automatically be granted benefits. You must, in fact, prove that your depression is severe enough to prevent you from working and keeping a job. There are four basic "areas of functioning" that will be considered by the Social Security judge in deciding whether your depression is severe enough to prevent you from working: daily living skills; social functioning; concentration, persistence or pace; and episodes of deterioration or decompensation. In submitting your disability claim, you must describe and prove, through medical documentation and letters from your mental health practitioner, family, friends and former employers, that you suffer from at least two of these four points of dysfunction.

Things You'll Need

• Medical documentation and letter from your mental health practitioner
• Letters from family, friends or former employers

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Instructions

• 1

  Describe your inability to accomplish the normal tasks of daily living. It is important that the Social Security judge understands that due to your depression, your energy level is severely compromised and you lack the drive and interest to perform tasks that healthy people perform daily, such as cleaning, cooking, shopping, laundry, paying bills, even getting out of bed and dressing yourself.

• 2

  State that you are unable to perform normally in social situations. Make it clear that your depression has compromised your ability to communicate well or properly, that you are incapable of working with a group or meeting new people and that you feel the need to isolate yourself from others.

• 3

  Describe your inability to concentrate and complete projects. The Social Security judge must understand that your depression has severely compromised your ability to focus on and complete projects at work.

• 4

  State that you have experienced repeated episodes of decompensation or deterioration. Explain that you cannot experience even a little stress without either completely withdrawing from the situation or losing total control of your temper. Make it clear that you have no control over your extreme reactions and that this severely compromises your ability to work.