The Definition of Disability
You or someone you care about may be disabled by a severe psychiatric condition: profoundly depressed or beset by voices, going to work is clearly out of the question. By every conceivable definition of the word, you would think this person was disabled, and so entitled to Federal benefits.
You would be wrong.
There is a specific definition of disability under the rules of the Social Security Administration. In order to obtain Federal benefits, you must understand this definition.
A person is considered disabled when they have
An inability to perform substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment, or combination of impairments, which has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 consecutive months, or end in death, taking into account the individual's age, education, and work history. |
Here is what this means:
An inability to perform substantial gainful activity: Substantial gainful activity is a dollar amount. It can vary from state to state. Although under some circumstances it can mean $500 a month in earnings, at the point where you are making your initial application for benefits, you should not be earning any money whatsoever. For our purposes, it means an inability to perform work for pay.
by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment: You must get a doctor to state that you have the disability. That means that you must be in treatment with a medical doctor, and have medical records which are less than nine months old. It does not help that you were treated for a mental illness when you were a teenager; you must be able to show that you have this disability now.
Of course, this begs the question of how you are supposed to be able to afford the treatment which is supposed to prove you deserve Federal benefits in order to pay for treatment. But an underlying assumption is that if you have a condition which is serious enough to necessitate Federal benefits, it's serious enough that are should be seeking treatment for it.
or combination of impairments: In your application, you should state all conditions which are disabling. If you have physical ailments which prevent you from working, have the same kind of medical proof that you have for your mental illness.
which has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 consecutive months: Here is another reason to have recent medical treatment. It documents how long you have been disabled. The good/bad news about mental illness is that there is no cure, so once you prove you have it, you have met the above condition.
or end in death: Let's hope not.
taking into account the individual's age, education, and work history. This is the part where, even if you have proven every other aspect of this definition beyond a reasonable doubt, you can still get tripped up. For many of us, the onset of severe symptoms come in our late teens, and, if we were lucky enough to get into a college, we had to drop out, or barely made it through. Yet the fact that we had any college education can be counted against you, insofar as it "proves" that you have the ability to work. And, in yet another catch 22, the fact that you ever did work can be used against you.
Do not despair. Knowledge is power. Knowing the system means you might be able to make the system work for you.
And whatever else you do ...
Don't Give Up
back to part 2
Follow our step by step explanation of Federal benefits. Learn what to do and how to do it.