Can a mental illness qualify you for disability?

How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

Yes, you can qualify for disability (either social security disability or SSI disability, or both if your claim is concurrent) on the basis of a mental illness. The key to being awarded benefits on the basis of a mental illness is simply providing medical record documentation that proves an inability to engage in what the social security administration refers to as substantial gainful activity or SGA. This simply means working and earning at least a certain amount, and this amount is subject to change each year.

Translation: you can work and still potentially be approved for disability benefits as long as your earnings do not exceed a certain limit. The reason social security (and SSI) works this way is because the federal government acknowledges that even individuals with disabling conditions may be able to engage in limited work activity.

Of course, if an individual demonstrates that they can work and earn more than the SGA limit, the social security administration will eventually have no choice but to conclude that the individual is not disabled, or, if they have been receiving benefits, is no longer disabled.

Also, and this is important to keep in mind: individuals who are filing on the basis of a mental illness should be particularly careful with regard to work activity. The ability to engage in work activity that is even below the allowable limit can sometimes sway the perceptions of a disability claim decision-maker...such as a disability examiner when a case comes up for review.

Note: all cases that have been approved eventually come up for review; for this reason, those who have been approved on the basis of a mental illness should carefully consider their circumstances before they engage in work.

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SSD and SSI are Federal Programs

The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here:

Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state

Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials