Social Security Disability for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
How to Qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) When PTSD Affects Your Ability to Work
Many of us will experience at least one traumatic event in our lives.
Exposures to events such as car wrecks, workplace accidents, physical assault, sexual abuse, war, natural disasters, and other crimes can happen when you least expect it.
How we handle this trauma varies from person to person.
Some of us will have strong emotions such as anger, sadness, frustration, guilt, or fright that lessen or disappear with time.
But others may have these feelings for weeks, months, or even years. Indeed, you may repeatedly experience the traumatic event long after it happened, resulting in a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The recurring thoughts, memories, flashbacks, and dreams that accompany PTSD may cause you to be overwhelmed and unable to cope with activities of daily living and work-related tasks.
If so, you should consider applying for Social Security disability for PTSD.
Read on to learn more about Social Security claims based on PTSD.
Then call a top-rated disability lawyer for a free consultation: 804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614. Our law firm represents disabled adults in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, D.C., West Virginia, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
We will explain your legal rights and what steps you can take to get approved.
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
PTSD is a mental condition that may develop when you experience or witness a traumatic event that threatens your life, liberty, or limb.
The traumatic event is one outside your usual realm of experience. Examples of events resulting in PTSD include car crashes, commercial truck accidents, workplace events, threatened or actual sexual violence (rape, sexual molestation, etc.), assault and battery, childhood neglect, physical abuse, exposure to war, being threatened with a knife or gun, and natural disasters.
PTSD causes you to relive memories from the trauma.
These memories may cause symptoms as distressing as the initial trauma or worse.
What are Other Names for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
We have seen doctors use other terms to diagnose PTSD, such as:
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- Extreme stress response
- Chronic post-traumatic stress
We have also seen physicians diagnose acute stress response or acute stress disorder when a person has the symptoms of PTSD, but the symptoms have yet to meet the duration requirement for a PTSD diagnosis. Your emergency department or urgent care center records will give this information.
Symptoms: How Does PTSD Affect You?
Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms include:
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- Aggression
- Angry outbursts (to the point of threatening others)
- Anxiousness
- Avoidance of environments, situations, or people that remind you of the situation
- Decreased self-confidence
- Dissociation (losing or forgetting self-awareness)
- Feeling blame
- Feeling hopeless
- Feeling shame
- Flashbacks (reliving the incident)
- Gastrointestinal (indigestion, etc.)
- Guilt
- Hypervigilance (constantly alert, easily startled, feeling others want to harm you, etc.)
- Impulsive behavior
- Inability to concentrate
- Irritability
- Isolation (withdrawing from others socially)
- Memory problems
- Nightmares (bad dreams)
- Sleep problems (trouble getting to or staying asleep)
- Trouble expressing emotions
PTSD symptoms often disrupt relationships with others.
These disruptions may lead to unemployment, divorce, or alcohol and drug use.
They can also lead to self-harm.
PTSD and other psychiatric disorders put you at a higher risk of suicide.
How Soon Do Symptoms Appear After the Traumatic Event?
Common PTSD symptoms often appear within one to three months of the triggering event and worsen.
One reason symptoms may worsen several months after the incident is that many people who develop PTSD assume they will feel better and delay treatment.
This delay in treatment may aggravate the symptoms and how they affect your ability to work, get along with others, and enjoy life.
Does Everyone Develop PTSD After a Traumatic Event?
No.
Not everyone who lives through a traumatic event will develop post-traumatic stress disorder. For example, the National Health Service reports that about one in three people who experience severe trauma develop PTSD.
Unfortunately, scientists and medical researchers do not know why some people develop PTSD and others do not.
But they have identified risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
These PTSD risk factors include:
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- A history of childhood trauma, neglect, or abuse
- A personal or family history of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or other mental illness
- Extra stress after the trauma, such as losing a job or home
- Lacking social or emotional support after the event
- Suffering a physical injury (such as a back injury, concussion, head trauma, burns, or amputation)
- Witnessing a traumatic event, such as seeing someone else held hostage, hurt, or killed.
How Common is PTSD?
Various studies have tried to determine how many people have PTSD.
Here are the estimates for how common PTSD is in the United States:
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- Five to six percent of adults will have PTSD at some time in their lives. But most will recover with treatment.
- Roughly five percent of men will develop PTSD at some point
- Approximately 10 percent of women will have PTSD at some point
- About five percent of adults have PTSD in any given year (more than 10 million Americans)
- Women are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than men due to the increased likelihood of sexual violence.
- Military veterans are more likely to develop PTSD than civilians.
- Military veterans deployed to combat zones are more likely to have PTSD than veterans deployed elsewhere.
How is PTSD Diagnosed?
A medical provider gives a diagnosis of PTSD based on mental status examinations, interviews, your reported history, and other medical records.
The current edition of this publication, the DSM-5,
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders, Fifth Edition, says a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder is proper when these criteria exist:
Part A: Exposure to Trauma
You must have exposure to a traumatic event to receive a PTSD diagnosis.
This exposure may be direct or indirect. For example, witnessing the incident or learning that a relative or close friend suffered harm or death qualifies.
Part B: Symptoms
You must show that you continue to relive or reexperience the traumatic event in one of these ways at least one month after the incident:
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- Memories that happen without warning and cause distress and interrupt your ability to function.
- Flashbacks that cause you to feel as though the event is happening again.
- Vivid nightmares that wake you up
- Physical responses to thoughts, memories, or reminders of the trauma, such as loud sounds in the case of war combat. These physical responses include sweating, dizziness, and rapid heartbeat.
Part C: Avoidance
Your doctor will ask if you avoid any reminder of the traumatic event by:
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- Avoiding memories, feelings, or thoughts of the incident
- Avoiding settings or activities that remind you of the traumatic event
Criteria D: Changes in Mood and Cognitive Abilities
You must show that at least two of these symptoms continued to occur at least one month after the trauma:
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- Negative beliefs about yourself (lower self-esteem) or others
- Feeling isolated and detached
- Decreased interest in activities, such as sports, reading, or traveling.
- Frequent feelings of fear, guilt, horror, or shame
- Difficulty staying positive
Criteria E: Changes in Arousal and Reactions
You must show at least two of the following since the trauma:
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- Risky behavior
- Irritability or aggression
- Hypervigilance
- Heightened startle reaction
- Trouble concentrating
- Trouble sleeping
What Medical Treatment Can I Get for PTSD?
Treatment options for post-traumatic stress disorder include:
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- Individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Individual psychotherapy
- Family psychotherapy
- Group psychotherapy
- Prescription medication (antidepressants such as sertraline, fluoxetine, and paroxetine, as well as beta blockers)
Therapy for PTSD often involves exposure to the event and retelling of what happened and how it made you feel. This treatment’s goal is to desensitize you and help you face the negative feelings associated with the incident.
What Types of Health Care Providers Treat PTSD?
Although your primary care provider (family physician), physical therapist, orthopedic surgeon, or pain management doctor may diagnose PTSD, they will likely refer you to a specialist.
PTSD specialists include:
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- Licensed clinical psychologists
- Licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs)
- Licensed professional mental health counselors
- Psychiatrists
- Psychiatric nurse practitioners
Recovery: What is the Prognosis for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
The PTSD prognosis varies from person to person.
Research and our experience handling workers comp claims for PTSD shows that recovery occurs within three to six months in about half of the cases.
Others, however, have PTSD symptoms for more than one year. Indeed, it often takes three to six years for full recovery for some patients – even with treatment. And PTSD symptoms can cause permanent disability. In fact, one study suggests that one-third of people with PTSD never recover fully.
Further, new stress or exposure to similar events in the future may cause recurrent PTSD symptoms.
For example, we have represented an injured worker who suffered recurrent PTSD symptoms after giving a deposition about the traumatic event.
What Other Medical Conditions Commonly Exist with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
You may deal with other medical conditions (comorbidities) while battling post-traumatic stress disorder. Indeed, the traumatic events that result in PTSD may cause further medical conditions.
Comorbid conditions with PTSD include:
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- Acute stress disorder
- Agoraphobia
- Alcoholism
- Anxiety disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Dementia
- Dysthymia
- Major affective disorders
- Major depressive disorder
- Malingering
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Panic attacks
- Psychosis
- Social phobia
- Substance abuse
You Have Two Ways to Get Disability for PTSD
You have two ways to qualify for disability for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will allow a disability claim for PTSD if you:
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- Meet Medical Listing 12.15 or
- Prove that no job exists in significant numbers in the national economy based on your age, education, and residual functional capacity (RFC). Your RFC is the most you can do physically and mentally sustainably (working five days a week, eight hours daily).
Most claimants who get disability benefits for PTSD qualify under the second method.
Satisfying Social Security’s Listing 12.15 for PTSD
The SSA publishes a document known as The Blue Book.
The Blue Book, also called the Listing of Impairments, lists different physical and mental conditions that the SSA considers disabling regardless of your age, education, or work history.
But you must meet the criteria for the listing for the impairment you have.
Social Security Listing 12.15, titled Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders, covers PTSD.
Under this listing, Social Security will find you disabled by PTSD if you meet criteria A and B, or criteria A and C.
A. Medical documentation showing all the following:
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- Exposure to actual or threatened death, injury, or violence;
- Subsequent re-experiencing of the traumatic event (dreams, nightmares, flashbacks, or intrusive memories you can’t control);
- Avoidance of reminders of the event;
- Changes in mood and behavior; and
- Increased reactivity (arousal) to reminders of the traumatic event
B. Extreme limitations of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas regarding mental functioning and abilities:
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- Understanding, remembering, or applying information to complete tasks
- Interacting with other people
- Maintaining concentration and focus on the job so that you are on-task and working at the required pace
- Adapting to change and managing your emotions
An “extreme limitation” means you cannot function in this area independently, appropriately, and on a sustained basis.
A “marked limitation” means your ability to function in this area independently and appropriately on a sustained basis is seriously limited.
C. The SSA considers PTSD as “serious and persistent” if you have a medically documented history of PTSD for at least two years and evidence of both:
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- Ongoing mental treatment or a highly structured support system that diminishes your symptoms and
- Minimal ability to adapt to changes in your environment.
Getting Disability for PTSD Through a Medical-Vocational Allowance
You can still get SSDI or SSI for post-traumatic stress disorder if Social Security finds you do not meet the listing for this condition.
Indeed, the SSA will review the evidence below to determine if the combination of symptoms from PTSD and other physical and mental impairments you may have affects your ability to work full-time:
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- Doctor disability letters
- Medical records and reports
- Results of physical or mental status examinations, clinical interviews, or psychiatric or psychological tests
- Type, dosage, and impact of medications you take
- Side effects of prescribed medications, such as drowsiness or fatigue
- Type, frequency, duration, and helpfulness of therapy you receive
- Observations of how you act and answer questions during office visits, neuropsychological testing, or consultative examinations
- School records
- Employment records
- Written statements or live testimony from family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and clergy
- Your testimony at the disability hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) about your symptoms and difficulties with activities of daily living (ADLs).
Hire a Top-Rated Lawyer for Your PTSD Disability Claim
We understand how difficult and frustrating it is to deal with your mental illness while you are trying to function day to day and get back to life before the traumatic event.
And we can help.
While you focus on getting better, we focus on helping you get Social Security disability benefits for PTSD.
Contact us today for help with your PTSD disability application.
You pay nothing unless you win.
We have represented wounded warriors, accident victims, and injured workers in Social Security claims for PTSD. And we are ready to work for you.
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