Information About Mental Disability Types in New Jersey

Information About Mental Disability Types in New Jersey

If you can no longer work to a severe illness or injury, you have the option of applying for disability benefits to help you financially. When the issue is physical, such as with cancers or due to an injury, such as a debilitating back injury, the situation is often clear and easy to define. However, when the issue is due to a mental condition, the waters often get muddy. Below is some important information for you to know about mental conditions that qualify for disability benefits.

Functional capacity

The Social Security Administration (SSA) considers information from many sources when determining your eligibility for benefits due to a mental impairment. Not only do they look at your medical records, but they also consider other factors as well. Some of the factors they look at are your ability to complete your daily activities, your ability to function in social settings, and your ability to function in a work setting. When a representative from the SSA evaluates your functional capacity, which is your ability to complete these tasks, he or she will observe everyday tasks such as cooking meals, shopping, paying bills, personal hygiene habits, and performing household chores. Your assigned representative will also evaluate how you interact with your family and friends, neighbors and other individuals as well as your functionality in the workplace. These factors will all combine to give the SSA a good idea of how well you can function independently in many facets of everyday life.

Listed mental impairments

To help make the decision process more streamlined, the SSA uses a book of disabilities known as the blue book to help them determine the criteria for conditions to be automatically eligible for benefits. Some of the conditions that are included in the book include, but are not limited to:

• Organic mental disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Mental retardation
• Anxiety-related disorders
• Somatoform disorders
• Affective disorders (depression and bipolar disorder)
• Substance Addiction disorders
• Autism

Mental RFCs

If your mental condition is not listed in the blue book, you may still be eligible for disability benefits. If you have been diagnosed with a chronic mental condition that prevents you from working and your mental residual functioning capacity (RFC) shows you have an impaired ability to sustain full-time work, you may be eligible for benefits.

If you have questions regarding applying for disability benefits due to a mental impairment, the qualified and experienced staff at the law office of Mary Jean Ellis to see how we can help you.