CAN SOMEONE GET SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY FOR BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Social Security considers any mental condition or physical condition to be severe if it prevents an individual from performing substantial gainful work activity (SGA) for twelve consecutive months, or is expected to prevent work for twelve months. Of course, all mental or physical impairments must be substantiated by objective medical findings (i.e. medical examinations, laboratory results, and testing), signs, and symptoms. It is not enough for an individual to just make a statement of their impairments and how they prevent work.

So, can someone get Social Security for bipolar disorder? There are basically two ways to win an approval for bipolar disorder. An individual can qualify for disability benefits if A) they meet or equal the evaluation criteria established in the Social Security disability handbook with regard to bipolar disorder or B) they receive a medical vocational disability approval that is based upon their residual functional capacity (what an individual is able to do in spite of the limitations caused by bipolar disorder), age, and education.

What criteria does an individual have to meet to receive an approval? Listing 12.04 A3 (in the social security list of impairments) establishes that an individual with bipolar disorder must have a history of periods of symptomatic manic and depressive syndromes and currently be manifesting one or both syndromes.

In addition to meeting the A3 criteria in the listing manual, an individual’s bipolar disorder must result in two of the following limitations: severe restriction of routine daily activity, significant difficulty with social functioning, or marked problems concentrating, persisting, or keeping pace, or recurring periods of decompensation that last for an extended period of time.

If an individual does not meet or equal the above criteria, they still may qualify under section C of the same listing, which states an individual with a two year medically documented history of any chronic affective disorder (including bipolar disorder) can be approved if their impairment has resulted in more than minimal limitations of their ability to do basic work activity, with symptoms and signs currently controlled with medication and psychosocial support.

This must be accompanied by one of the following: (1) Recurrent periods of decompensation that are of an extended duration or (2) the remaining disease process has caused such a marginal adjustment that even the smallest increase in mental demands or changes of environment would most likely cause the individual to decompensate. Additionally, an individual must have a history of one or more years of being unable to function outside a supportive living arrangement that is not expected to end.

If an individual is unable to meet or equal any of the above criteria perfectly, they still may qualify for Social Security disability or Supplemental Security disability based upon their residual functional capacity, age, and education.

If an individual’s mental residual functioning is so severely restricted that they are unable to meet the demands of simple routine repetitive work activities or if their residual functional capacity is so restricted that they are not able to perform or be trained to perform other jobs, they still may receive a medical vocational disability allowance. As I mentioned above, medical vocational disability allowances are based upon medical information, work history, age, education, and residual functional capacity.

To recap the above information, an individual can get Social Security disability based upon a diagnosis of bipolar disorder if their condition has significantly limited their ability to perform routine daily activities such as work activity.

Social Security Disability and SSI Disability Information