Social Security Disability Benefits Can Offer Financial Stability for OCD
You can qualify for disability benefits for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but only if you successfully convince Social Security that your symptoms are severe enough to stop you from working.
Many people with OCD can hold a job despite the symptoms. Those aren’t good cases for Social Security Disability. You need to show Social Security that your situation is different.
The Dallas disability lawyers at Morgan Weisbrod have been helping people gain access to financial relief for more than 50 years, including people struggling with OCD. We can help you make your claim for OCD disability benefits to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Don’t assume that you can’t get approved for benefits because you don’t have a physical impairment.
A large portion of people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) qualified with mental conditions.
Getting approved for benefits is an uphill battle, but it’s easier with an experienced disability attorney by your side.
Morgan Weisbrod doesn’t just take Social Security Disability cases sporadically. We handle only disability cases—all the time, every day. We know the system well, and we know the special considerations needed for claims like OCD.
You’re worried about your finances right now. So you should know that you won’t pay an attorney’s fee until you get approved for benefits.
It won’t cost you anything just to talk to us about how our team could help you win benefits for work-stopping OCD and restore stability and peace to your life.
How Does Social Security Evaluate OCD Disability Claims?
The SSA keeps a list of qualifying impairments. OCD is included under 12.00 Mental Disorders – Adult, specifically listing 12.06 for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Because obsessive-compulsive disorder is on the list, Social Security has a specific way of evaluating OCD. This also gives you a roadmap for building your claim.
First, your application needs to show that you exhibit one or both of these symptoms:
1. Involuntary, time-consuming preoccupation with intrusive, unwanted thoughts
2. Repetitive behaviors you use to try to reduce anxiety
Then you need to meet one of the following two criteria:
1. Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning:
a. Understanding, remembering or using information
b. Interacting with other people
c. Keeping your focus and pace on tasks
d. Coping with your environment and controlling your emotions and behavior
OR
2. Your mental disorder is “serious and persistent,” meaning you have medical documents showing at least two years of evidence that:
a. Medical treatment, mental health therapy, psychosocial supports or a highly structured setting diminishes symptoms of your OCD
b. Despite this help, you struggle to adapt to changes in your surroundings or unexpected demands that interrupt your daily routine
Once you identify your path through these requirements, you’ll need to back up your OCD disability claim with a large amount of high-quality evidence.
Evaluations from mental health professionals, information about your treatments and evidence that you’ve had difficulty with work tasks can all help make your application for disability benefits more convincing.
If you’re not sure that you meet all of these standards exactly, you may still have a valid OCD disability claim. Your case may come down to showing how your symptoms hinder you in everyday activities.
The Texas disability attorneys of Morgan Weisbrod can help you start by figuring out how likely you are to be eligible for disability benefits. There is no charge to talk to us and explain what you’re going through.
Are There Other Ways to Qualify for Disability with OCD in Texas and Nationwide?
If you don’t meet the exact requirements in listing 12.06, you need to show Social Security that you meet the general requirements for disability.
Your OCD disability claim should confirm that:
- Your symptoms stopped you from working your current or most recent job.
- You can’t switch jobs due to your health and other factors.
- Your OCD will stop you from working for 12 months or longer, or already has.
The key to your claim could be what Social Security calls your, “residual functional capacity,” or RFC.
Simply put, this is Social Security’s measurement of what you’re capable of despite your OCD symptoms.
Be prepared to answer questions about your mental limitations like:
- Can you perform tasks on schedule?
- Can you interact with others?
- Can you make routine decisions or judgments?
- Can you hold on to information and apply it to tasks?
- Can you manage your emotions?
- Can you tolerate stress well enough to get through a workday?
- Can you adapt to changes in your daily routine?
It can be tough to talk about your symptoms and be specific enough about how they interfere with work tasks for a disability claims examiner.
Intrusive thoughts can distract you. Compulsions can take up significant time, making it impossible to manage your workload or even your disability benefits application. These obstacles cause additional distress, making full-time work even more out of the question.
Our Dallas disability lawyers take the time to really listen to your story about your day-to-day life with OCD.
Then we can help you make a thorough and compelling case for Social Security.
Do I Need a Texas Social Security Disability Lawyer When I Claim Disability for OCD?
You’re not required to have a lawyer when you apply for disability benefits. You can fill out forms and make your case to Social Security on your own, but it’s tough to recommend this path.
Getting approved for disability benefits is a challenge. Denials are built into the process. Disability claims for mental health issues, like obsessive-compulsive disorder, can be even more complicated.
Our Texas Social Security Disability lawyers want to help you from the first steps of this application process.
Our team can:
- Assist with application forms
- Help you avoid common mistakes that lead to denials
- Identify evidence that strengthens your OCD disability claim
- Listen to your situation and help you identify specific ways your symptoms interfere with work tasks
- Answer questions you have about Social Security Disability
- Keep you updated on the status of your claim
- Support your appeal if your initial claim gets denied
- Let you know what to expect from a disability hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ), so you can walk in prepared
- Represent you at your hearing
- File your appeal with the Social Security Appeals Council or in Federal District Court if needed
Morgan Weisbrod is one of the top disability firms in Texas on Social Security’s list of disability representatives winning the most for clients.
We’ve helped thousands of people in Dallas, Tyler, Arlington and across the state of Texas fight for benefits that made a real difference in their lives.
If your OCD symptoms are severe enough that you can’t work, talk to us to start on a better path forward.
by Paul B. Burkhalter Managing Partner of Morgan Weisbrod, Board Certified in Social Security Disability Law.
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