Anxiety

Dedicated Florida Anxiety Disability Attorneys Serving Florida

The Social Security Administration (SSA) doesn’t always make it easy for those with an anxiety disorder to get the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income benefits they deserve. Many claims are denied because SSA says:

(1) Your anxiety doesn’t meet the requirements of or is the equivalent of a Medical Listing,

(2) You can return to the lightest job you held in the 15 years before you became disabled, or

(3) There is other work you can do in the mythical national economy based on your age, education, transferable skills and your residual functional capacity.

Not all cases of anxiety are severe enough to make you eligible for Social Security Disability benefits, but Nancy L. Cavey has successfully represented many SSA applicants with anxiety disorders. She works to overcome the claims denial by working closely with you and your physician to show that you:

Meet the requirements for a disability listing for anxiety, or that
Your limitations are too great for you to work at your old job or any other job in the national economy in view of your age, education and transferable work skills.

She offers a free initial consultation and welcomes the opportunity to speak with you about your Social Security disability claim.

What Are The Different Types Of Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety is fear associated with the expectation of being physically or mentally injured by some real or imagined danger. Anxiety disorders can include:

Generalized anxiety disorder;
Various phobic disorders like simple phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia;
Panic disorder;
Obsessive compulsive disorder; and
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

What Are The Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorder?

Symptoms of people with an anxiety disorder include:

Feelings of panic, fear and numbness;
Problems sleeping;
Cold or sweaty hands and/or feet;
Shortness of breath;
Heart palpitations;
An inability to be still and calm; and
Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet.

When Your Anxiety Disorder Meets A Listing

Anxiety-related disorders are included in the SSA’s “Listing of Impairments.” If you meet or have the equivalent of a Listing, your Social Security disability benefits will be awarded at Step 3 of the Five-Step Sequential Evaluation.

Your medical records must establish that you meet every element of the Listing for your anxiety disorder to be considered disabling. SSA will review your medical records and look for at least one of the following conditions:

Generalized anxiety, with muscle tension, apprehension, hyperactivity and/or hyper-alertness,
Panic that is severe, ongoing, with recurrent panic attacks that occur on average at least once a week,
OCD that is continued, ongoing obsessive or compulsive behavior that causes significant distress,
PTSD that is continued, ongoing and intense recollections of a traumatic event, or
Phobia that is an ongoing dread or fear that is not rational, and compels the individual to avoid the situation, person, or activity causing that fear.

Additionally, you must either be completely unable to function outside of your home or experience serious interference with two of the following:

Daily life,
Proper social function,
Concentrating, persisting in a task or functioning at an appropriate pace, or
Having continual periods of decompensation that last for long times.

It can be difficult to get the medical proof you need. It isn’t uncommon for those with anxiety disorders to get treatment at mental health clinics. Mental health clinics often refuse to release your clinical notes, which the SSA uses to evaluate the severity of your condition. Instead the clinic offers a letter summarizing what they think SSA wants to know. That is not helpful.

Some with anxiety disorders get treatment at the VA. The records there do include some detail about your symptoms, but VA doctors refuse to fill out RFC forms.

Many medical records just don’t have the necessary detail to establish that your anxiety is disabling enough to meet or equal a listing.

As a result, SSA is forced to have you undergo, at their expense, a consultative mental status examination. This is a one-time short examination by a consultant who doesn’t know you and who won’t take the time to develop details about how your anxiety disorder impacts your ability to function on a daily basis.

If possible, have family or friends provide your treating provider and any consultative examiner with detailed information about what you can and can’t do. Unfortunately, because of these medical proof problems, many claims are denied at a Listing level.

Don’t worry. SSA will then determine your entitlement to benefits based on medical and vocational criteria at Steps 4 and 5.

When Your Anxiety Disorder Makes It Impossible To Work

If you anxiety disorder doesn’t meet a listing, you will have to prove that you:

Can’t return to the lightest job you held in the 15 years before you became disabled (PRW), and
There isn’t any other work you can do in the mythical national economy based on your age, education, transferable skills and your residual functional capacity (RFC).

SSA or, ultimately the Administrative Law Judge, will answer those questions by determining your residual functional capacity. Your RFC is what you can do despite your anxiety disorder.

Residual Functional Capacity For Anxiety Disorders

The SSA will review your medical records at the Initial Application and Reconsideration stage of the claims process and determine your functional capacity to perform work.

SSA medical consultants often opine that a Social Security Disability applicant with anxiety disorder still can work because there isn’t a significant interference with your ability to do normal activity. For example, if you are anxious but can still shower, get dressed, make meals, go grocery shopping and interact with the public, you probably are not eligible for benefits. There must be a marked interference with your ability to function.

The more limited you are in your ability to function on a daily basis the lower your RFC will be and the more likely that you can’t return to work. SSA doesn’t tell applicants or mental health providers about the existence of RFC forms for each of the anxiety disorders and the importance of properly completed RFC forms that explain the severity of your symptoms and impact on:

Your activities of daily living, including cleaning, shopping, cooking, using public transportation, paying bills, maintaining your home, caring for yourself, using the phone and the post office,
Social functioning, including your ability to interact independently, appropriately, effectively on a sustained basis with family, friends and the public,
Concentration, persistence and pace that allows you to have focused attention and concentration long enough to timely and appropriately finish tasks in the work setting, and
Repeated episodes of decompression, which are exacerbations or temporary increases in symptoms with loss of functioning.

This is not an exhaustive list of all of the questions on an anxiety disorder RFC forms. But you can see that having an explanation of what you can do physically, cognitively and emotionally is key to winning your case.

Many SSA cases are lost because the applicant did not obtain an RFC or the right RFC form, or because their treating physician didn’t properly complete the RFC form, or it wasn’t signed by the supervising physician. Those are just some of the reasons you should have an experienced Social Security attorney like Nancy L. Cavey represent you in your claim.

HOW YOUR RESIDUAL FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY IS USED AT A SOCIAL SECURITY HEARING

Many claims are denied both at the Initial Application and Request For Reconsideration stages of the claims process.

At the hearing stage, the Administrative Law Judge will determine your mental RFC and give hypotheticals to the vocational evaluator (VE) who will testify at your hearing. The judge will ask the VE to take into consideration your RFC, as determined by the judge, your age, education and prior work experience in determining:

Whether you can return to the least demanding job you held in the last 15 years,
Whether there is other work you could do or learn to do.

It is crucial that you are represented at a hearing to make sure the right questions are asked of the VE.

How Do I Get The Social Security Disability Benefits I Deserve?

Anxiety disorders can interfere not only with your daily activities but with your ability to work. If you no longer can work or your doctor has told you to apply for Social Security disability, you should hire Nancy Cavey to help you:

File your initial Social Security Disability application. The Social Security application process is confusing and designed so that you make mistakes that can result in a delay or even a denial of your benefits.
Appeal a wrongful denial of your Social Security disability application or Request for Reconsideration.
File an Application for Hearing and represent you at the hearing with the Administrative Law Judge who will decide if you get benefits. She will have your physician, if possible, complete the right RFC(s), prepare you and any friends or family members who will be testifying on your behalf for the hearing, prepare a hearing brief, and be prepared to cross-examine the VE.

The SSA is in the business of denying claims and will use any reason to deny your benefits. The odds of getting your Social Security benefits are greater when you are represented by an experienced Social Security Disability attorney like Ms. Cavey.

CONTACT SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY ATTORNEY NANCY L. CAVEY, WHO CAN HELP YOU REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU LIVE IN FLORIDA

An anxiety disorder can make it difficult, if not impossible, to work. You owe it to yourself and your family to get help today. Ms. Cavey can explain the Five-Step Sequential Evaluation process used in every claim, the claims process and how to get your disability benefits. Call today for a free consultation at 727-477-3263 .