From my experience as a former disability claims examiner, I found that most individuals who file for disability based on mental conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, panic attacks, or schizophrenia have significant problems. But there is a pervasive social stigma attached to mental disorders in America, as well as the rest of the world. Many people do not consider people with mental disorders as disabled at all, but rather as lazy or malingering (faking their illness for benefits). This is unsettling since, statistically, so many individuals suffer from mental illness worldwide. In the United States alone, millions suffer from severe mental disorders, syndromes, and diseases that make it all but impossible to function in a normal work environment.
Generally, the disability applicants I came across had a lifetime of mental and emotional problems that culminated with an application for disability. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for individuals who apply for disability based upon a mental condition. The criteria for evaluating most mental disorders tends to be more subjective than objective, and there are very few tests to evaluate the severity of an individual's mental condition. Frankly, only mental conditions such as mental retardation, memory impairments, or other organic mental disorders can be tested objectively (using IQ and memory impairment testing).
Disability examiners must base their decisions on the clinical notes of mental health professionals, third-party questionnaires (friends are contacted and asked about the claimant's condition and normal daily routine), and an ADL (activities of daily living) questionnaire.
Do Social Security disability examiners make disability decisions based upon this evidence fairly? That may not be possible to answer (there are hundreds of disability exainers in the U.S.), but from my own experience as a claims examiner I concluded that the answer was no -- far too many times I saw cases denied for individuals with well-documented histories of mental impairment that, in my opinion, effectively ruled out the option to work.
