Many people who seek Social Security Disability benefits have a physical disability, perhaps resulting from an illness or an injury that they suffered. But it’s important to note that mental disorders could also lead to disability claims.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will consider many different disorders, and it is wise to remember that these may manifest a little differently from one individual to the next, or that someone could suffer from multiple disorders at the same time. That said, the SSA does try to keep things relatively simple by putting them into 11 main categories.
Below are the categories to know
If you’re considering SSD benefits, one of the first things to do is just to look at this list and see if the disorder that you have – or that you believe you have – is noted. The 11 categories are as follows, in the order listed by the Social Security Administration:
- Neurocognitive disorders
- Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
- Depressive, bipolar and related disorders
- Intellectual disorder
- Anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders
- Somatic symptom and related disorders
- Personality and impulse-control disorders
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Eating disorders
- Trauma- and stressor-related disorders
You can see that many of these are big picture categories, which could have smaller disorders contained within them. For example, anorexia and bulimia are both eating disorders. They are very different in nature, but they would both be considered under that broad category. Likewise, there are many people at vastly different places on the autism spectrum.
If you have a disorder that falls under any of these categories, and you’re interested in considering your options to seek benefits, take the time to carefully look into all of the legal steps that you’ll need to take to secure the benefits you need.