Can I Get Social Security Disability for My Bipolar Disorder?

Disability claims based on bipolar disorder can be approved if the medical evidence substantiates the severity of your alleged symptoms

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by drastic shifts in mood, energy level, and overall ability to function. Bipolar disorder is also referred to as manic depressive illness. The manic phase can include poor judgment, reckless behavior, racing thoughts, inability to effectively communicate. The depressed phase can include sadness, difficulty remembering, lack of energy, feeling of guilt or worthlessness, suicidal ideations or attempts, etc. These symptoms can limit your ability to function normally and to maintain employment.

Does Social Security consider bipolar disorder to be disabling?

The short answer is, “It depends.” And it depends on many factors, most notably the severity of your symptoms, the effectiveness of treatment options, the strength of your medical evidence, your age, your education level and the type of work you have done. A challenge with disability claims based on bipolar disorder is that the underlying cause of the symptoms is oftentimes not medically determinable, meaning there are no tests that can objectively confirm the existence of the disorder. This makes it difficult for Social Security to assess the severity of the alleged conditions.

Bipolar disorder claims typically come down to your credibility and, relatedly, the strength of your medical treatment. The more specialized your medical professional, and the more convincing his or her medical treatment records, the more likely your claim is to being approved. Treatment can include psychiatric treatment, hospitalizations, medications, etc. If you suffer from severe bipolar disorder, it can be difficult to adhere to treatment regimens, make appointments, etc., which can hurt the credibility of your claim by limiting the availability of compelling medical evidence.

How exactly does Social Security evaluate a disability claim based on bipolar disorder?

Social Security employs a 5-step sequential evaluation process to determine if you qualify for disability benefits under the SSDI and/or SSI programs. At each phase of a disability claim, there is an adjudicator, or decision-maker. At the Initial Application and Reconsideration phases, the decision-maker is a Disability Determination Service (DDS) Examiner in consultation with a DDS Physician. At the Hearing phase, the decision-maker is the Administrative Law Judge who often consults with a Medical Expert (ME). The following evaluation is employed by the adjudicator at each phase.

Step 1: Non-Medical Criteria

First and foremost, you cannot be working above what Social Security calls a Substantial, Gainful Activity (SGA) level. Basically, you cannot be earning more than $1,090 on a gross (pre-tax) monthly basis. The SGA rule is the most important non-medical criteria, but there are other non-medical criteria that also must be satisfied in order for the claim to progress to a complete medical review at Step 2.

No matter how severe and debilitating your bipolar disorder might be (even if it is well-supported by years of medical evidence), if you do not meet the non-medical eligibility requirements, your claim will not advance to Step 2 and your claim will be technically denied. You can appeal a technical denial, but generally speaking if the facts are correct, the appeal will be unsuccessful.

Step 2: Severe Impairment

The question at Step 2 is whether or not your symptoms are severe. To determine whether your impairments are severe, all medical evidence is assembled. If you have an Attorney or Non-Attorney Representative, they should be heavily involved in this process. The adjudicator can also request that you complete Activities of Daily Living and Vocational Questionnaires, which provide an opportunity for you to communicate how your symptoms have impacted your ability to function normally.

The adjudicator may also schedule a Consultative Examination (CE) with a doctor who is contracted by DDS to perform medical evaluations on their behalf. Once all evidence has been assembled, the adjudicator reviews the information and decides whether or not your symptoms are severe. To be considered severe, the symptoms must limit your ability to perform basic work-like activities. Severity can take many forms, including physical limitations, such as limited ability to walk, stand, lift, push, carry things, etc. Severity can also encompass the inability to speak, hear, see, concentrate, follow basic instructions, get along with co-workers, etc. If your symptoms are determined to be severe, your claim progresses to Step 3, otherwise it is denied at Step 2 and you have the opportunity to appeal.

Step 3: Medical Listings

At Step 3, the question is whether your bipolar disorder meets or equals a medical “Listing.” Social Security has broken down the human body and mind into 14 different Impairment categories, called the Listing of Impairments. Bipolar disorder claims are evaluated under Listing 12.04 Affective Disorders. Disability under this section requires a disturbance of mood (a prolonged emotion that colors the whole psychic life, generally involving either depression or elation, accompanied by a full or partial manic or depressive syndrome). The required level of severity for these disorders is met when the requirements in both A and B are satisfied, or when the requirements in C are satisfied:

A. Medically documented persistence, either continuous or intermittent, of one of the following:

 
1. depressive syndrome characterized by at least four of the following:

1. anhedonia or pervasive loss of interest in almost all activities; or 
2. appetite disturbance with change in weight; or 
3. sleep disturbance; or 
4. psychomotor agitation or retardation; or 
5. decreased energy; or 
6. feelings of guilt or worthlessness; or 
7. difficulty concentrating or thinking; or 
8. thoughts of suicide; or 
9. hallucinations, delusions, or paranoid thinking; or

 
2. manic syndrome characterized by at least three of the following:

1. hyperactivity; or 
2. pressure of speech; or 
3. flight of ideas; or 
4. inflated self-esteem; or 
5. decreased need for sleep; or
6. easy distractibility; or
7.  involvement in activities that have a high probability of painful consequences which are not recognized; or 
8. hallucinations, delusions or paranoid thinking; or

3. bipolar syndrome with a history of episodic periods manifested by the full symptomatic picture of both manic and depressive syndromes (and characterized by either or both syndromes); and

B. at least two of the following:

1.  marked restriction of activities of daily living; or 
2. marked difficulties in maintaining social functioning; or 
3. marked difficulties in maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace; or
4. repeated episodes of decompensation, each of extended duration; or

C. medically documented history of a chronic affective disorder of at least two years' duration that has caused more than a minimal limitation of ability to do basic work activities, with symptoms or signs currently attenuated by medication or psychosocial support, and one of the following:

1.  repeated episodes of decompensation, each of extended duration; or 
2. a residual disease process that has resulted in such marginal adjustment that even a minimal increase in mental demands or a change in the environment would cause the individual to decompensate; or 
3. current history of one or more years' inability to function outside a highly supportive living arrangement, with an indication of continued need for such an arrangement.

If the adjudicator reviews your medical records and determines you meet a medical listing, you are found to be Disabled at Step 3 and you are eligible to receive disability benefits. If, however, you do not meet a medical listing, the claim proceeds to Step 4.

Step 4: Past Work

The objective of Step 4 is to determine whether you have the ability to perform work you have performed previously. To determine this, the adjudicator determines your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC). Your RFC identifies what your body and mind can still do after considering your medical symptoms. In developing your RFC, the adjudicator will consider all impairments and symptoms, including mental and physical.

The adjudicator will estimate your ability to perform such functions as sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, reaching, handling, stooping, crouching, remembering, understanding, etc. Your RFC might contain some of the following limitations: inability to stand and walk for greater than 4 hours total out of an 8 hour workday, inability to sit for longer than 2 hours, inability to lift and carry more than 10 pounds, inability to climb ropes or ladders, inability to maintain concentration, persistence or pace, etc.

Once the adjudicator has developed your RFC, they will then list your Past Relevant Work (PRW), which is any job you performed during the 15 year period immediately preceding the Alleged Onset Date (AOD) of your disability. In general, if there is a job that you performed within 15 years of your AOD in which you worked close to full-time for a period of at least a few months, that job will likely be considered Past Relevant Work.

After finalizing your list of Past Relevant Work, the adjudicator must now classify it. The type of work you have done in the past will be classified by both exertional level and by skill level. For example, a Nurse works at the Medium exertional level and the position is considered Skilled, while a Security Guard works at the Light exertional level and the position is considered Semi-Skilled. Once all of your PRW has been classified, the adjudicator must then determine whether you have the functional ability to perform any of your past work.

For example, if the Security Guard’s impairments prevent him or her from being able to stand and walk as is required for jobs at the Light exertional level, he or she would be unable to perform Security Guard work due to the limitations found in the RFC and the claim would advance to Step 5. If, on the other hand, the adjudicator determines you can still perform the functions required in you past work, you will be found Not Disabled and denied. You would then have the opportunity to appeal this denial.

Step 5: Other Work

Step 5 considers whether you can perform any other type of work, even if you have not performed it in the past. The adjudicator utilizes the same Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) developed in Step 4, and also considers your Age, Education, and Work Experience.

To start, Social Security classifies your Education level as follows:

• Illiterate (or unable to communicate in English)
• Marginal (generally 6th grade or less) 
• Limited (generally 7th through 11th grades)
• High school (and above)

The Education level is important as it affects the skill level of different jobs that you might be able to perform. For example, if you have a Marginal education, then you would be limited to performing Unskilled jobs, but if you have a High school education then you would be expected to be able to perform both Semi-Skilled and Skilled jobs.

The adjudicator will then consider the next factor, Work Experience. Work Experience means any skills and abilities that you acquired from your past work. The fact that you are now at Step 5 means that the adjudicator determined at Step 4 that you can no longer perform your past work. However, the adjudicator will consider whether any of the skills and abilities you learned from your past work would transfer to a different job.

For example, a Nurse who performed her job at the Medium exertional level and who can no longer perform her past work might have acquired skills which would transfer to a position as a Medical Assistant, a job which she could perform at the Light exertional level.

Finally, the adjudicator will consider the last factor, Age. Social Security evaluates adults in several Age categories:

• Younger (ages 18-49) 
• Closely approaching advanced age (ages 50-54)
• Advanced age (ages 55-59)
• Closely approaching retirement age (ages 60+)

While Younger individuals have the burden of proving they are unable to perform any type of work, the burden is lessened in the more advanced age categories. Social Security refers to this premise as the Medical-Vocational Guidelines, or the “Grid Rules” because the key factors are laid out in a grid with the final column being a determination of either Disabled or Not Disabled. Basically, the older, less educated and the fewer transferable skills you acquired in your past work, the more likely you are to be found Disabled.

If the adjudicator determines you can perform some other type of work, based on your age, education, and prior work experience, you would be found Not Disabled and denied. You would have the opportunity to appeal this denial. If, however, the adjudicator determines you cannot perform any other type of work, you would be found Disabled and approved for disability benefits at Step 5.

Conclusion: Will my disability claim be approved?

Social Security disability claims based on bipolar disorder are never easy to get approved. Mental health claims require expert understanding of the above evaluation process, as well as compelling medical evidence. If the medical evidence does not support the alleged severity, the claimant is often found to be less than credible and denied. If you would like to discuss the specifics of your case with a disability expert now, please contact us. We will do everything possible to get your claim approved.

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