Depression is a serious mental health condition affecting how a person thinks, acts, and reacts to situations, places, and people. Approximately 29% of adults in the United States will be diagnosed with depression at some point during their lives.
The symptoms of depression affect each person differently and range from mild to severe. Treatment options, including prescription medications and therapy, may control symptoms and allow a person to go to work and lead an otherwise normal life. However, some people with severe depression may have difficulty functioning in the workplace.
Someone who cannot work because of the severe symptoms of depression may be eligible for depression disability benefits through the Social Security Administration. The amount of depression Social Security benefits paid to an applicant depends on several factors, including which of the disability programs approves their application for assistance.
Depression And Its Symptoms
Depression is a mood disorder with a variety of symptoms requiring an evaluation by a medical professional in order to arrive at a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. The severity and type of symptoms exhibited can vary from one patient to another.
Symptoms commonly associated with depression include the following:
- Extended periods of sadness, hopelessness, or irritability.
- Feeling tired, fatigued, and lacking energy.
- Feeling worthless or excessively guilty.
- Being unable to concentrate, think, or make decisions.
- Sleeping more or less than usual.
- Lack of interest or enjoyment in activities a person enjoyed before.
- Thoughts of death, harming oneself, or suicide.
Medical professionals evaluating a person for depression generally look for symptoms that are on a daily or close to daily basis for at least two weeks or longer. How the symptoms affect a person’s ability to function at home and work on a daily basis is a factor in diagnosing depression.
Treating Depression
Depression does not go away over time, nor can a person control the symptoms. The condition must be diagnosed by a medical provider who will obtain a family history, do a physical examination, and order diagnostic testing to eliminate other causes of a patient’s symptoms, such as the following:
- Drug or alcohol abuse
- Hormonal imbalance or vitamin deficiency
- Neurological disorders
Once a diagnosis is made that a patient has depression, a physician may prescribe antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or other medications to treat the symptoms. Treatment also may include therapy and, in severe cases of depression, electroconvulsive therapy, which involves electrical stimulation of the brain while the patient is sedated.
When Is Depression A Disability?
The Socia Security Administration manages two programs paying disability benefits. The Social Security Disability Insurance program assists workers who pay into the Social Security system through payroll taxes on their earnings. Workers who become disabled before reaching Social Security retirement age may apply for monthly disability benefits through the SSDI program.
Supplemental Security Income is another program the Social Security Administration administers, paying disability payments for depression and other medical conditions. It differs from the SSDI program in not requiring a work history for eligibility. However, it imposes income and asset limits. Claimants must have little or no income, and their resources or assets may not exceed $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples.
Adults applying for benefits from SSI and SSDI must be disabled according to the following criteria:
- A person must have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment.
- The impairment or impairments must have lasted or be expected to last for at least 12 months or be expected to cause death.
- The person must be unable to do substantial gainful activity.
“Substantial gainful activity” means work-related activities, such as walking, lifting, sitting, thinking, remembering, and climbing stairs, that a person does in exchange for payment.
A person must meet the definition of disability and the non-medical requirements to be approved for SSDI or SSI. The non-medical requirement for SSDI is a long enough work history. For SSI it’s meeting the income and resource limitations.
Depression Disability Benefits
The maximum monthly federal SSI disability compensation amount is $943 for individuals and $1,415 for married couples. An annual cost-of-living adjustment changes the SSI benefits. For example, the federal maximum monthly benefit is $967 for individuals and $1,450 for couples.
The amount paid in mental health disability payments through SSDI is based on a disabled worker’s lifetime earnings. The maximum monthly SSDI payment a person may receive is $3822. The average benefit payment reported by Social Security is $1,542, but you can find out how much you are entitled to receive by consulting Sackett and Associates.
Learn More About Depression Disability Benefits
If you need assistance applying for mental health disability payments or appealing a denial of benefits, contact Sackett and Associates for a free consultation and claim evaluation. Let us show you why people with disabilities in Northern California and throughout the country have relied on us for more than 45 years.
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