Is Bipolar a Disability? Get Social Security Help in Oregon.

What Do I Need for My Social Security Disability Application for Bipolar Disorder?

Understanding the ins and outs of your bipolar disorder is the first step toward successfully collecting disability benefits.

While Social Security recognizes it as a debilitating mental illness, you must prove your symptoms keep you from holding down a job. Only folks who can’t work can collect disability benefits.

Strong documentation of your medical records, history and treatments will be key components of your application.

So what symptoms does Social Security look for?

Social Security has several checklists that qualify your condition for benefits.

First, you must show you suffer from five of the following symptoms:

• Depressive mood
• Little to no interest in daily activities
• Eating too much or too little, impacting your weight
• Trouble sleeping
• Challenges connecting your thoughts to your body’s movements (psychomotor activity)
• Low energy
• Feeling worthless
• Difficulty concentrating
• Morbid or suicidal thoughts

Those must then be paired with three of the following signs of bipolar disorder:

• Talking too fast
• Rapidly jumping from one idea to another
• Feeling overly confident
• Seeming not to need sleep
• Easily distracted
• Engaging in risky behavior that can hurt you without thinking about the consequences
• Over-focus on achieving a goal

At that point, you must either show you have an extreme limitation in one, or a marked limitation in two, of the following functions:

• Remembering or applying information
• Interacting with others
• Concentrate or persisting in an activity
• Managing or adapting yourself in changing situations

OR you can show that you have tried to treat your illness for at least two years.

This requires you to provide documentation of your treatment and therapy, as well as evidence that you struggle with adjusting to changes in your environment or to demands beyond your daily routine.

You can see the evaluation process is complicated. You need someone who sees you for who you are and gives you the personal attention you deserve.

Our disability lawyers pride themselves on helping Oregonians just like you. Tell us your situation and let us help you find financial relief that can make a real difference in your life.

How Do I Prove to Social Security that My Bipolar Disorder Qualifies Me For Benefits?

You can’t just walk into Social Security, say you have bipolar disorder, and walk out with a monthly payment.

You have to show the work you’ve put into dealing with your condition. This is where your medical history is essential.

You have to tell your story. Records of doctor visits, the treatment plans you’ve tried, the medications you’ve taken, and reports from your psychiatrist and other medical professionals all become chapters in your personal book of how bipolar disorder has upended your life.

Your work history is important, too. The jobs you’ve had, the skills you learned, and the demands that have become too much to manage alongside your condition all play a part.

That’s a lot to sort through on your own. But you don’t have to.

Our team at Wells, Manning, Eitenmiller & Taylor knows how to listen, understand your situation, and best approach Social Security to help you get the financial relief that disability benefits can provide.

Let us help you get the support you need to take care of yourself and your family.