New York state residents with mental illness might struggle financially sometimes. If you possess’own’nurse a mental illness preventing you from working, you still need money to maintain’sustain yourself.

The Social Security Administration, also called the SSA, can sometimes give you disability benefits if you possess’own’nurse a mental condition that prevents working at a conventional job. We will talk with regards to’concerning’with respect to that in detail right now.

SSI and SSDI

The first thing that must happen in/with regard to’concerning’regarding you to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure money through the state is that a qualified medical professional must diagnose you with a mental illness. You can’t collect any money if you merely suspect you possess’own’nurse a peculiar condition.

The next thing to do is check up on your payment eligibility through two entities the Social Security Administration runs. You must earn Supplemental Security Income, sometimes abbreviated as SSI. You must also look in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Social Security Disability Insurance, abbreviated as SSDI.

If you’re eligible in/with regard to’concerning’regarding both of them, you can acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure money to help you maintain’sustain yourself and pay in/with regard to’concerning’regarding your fundamental needs, such as food, utility payments, etc. You can also acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure healthcare instead of acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ting it through a conventional employer or buying it through the marketplace as part of the Afin/with regard to’concerning’regarding dable Care Act, sometimes called Obamacare.

Mental Illnesses That New York State Considers Disabilities

The prevailing theory, in New York state and elsewhere, is that if you possess’own’nurse a serious mental illness, you probably can’t hold down a conventional job. What’s tricky is that some mental health professionals might not necessarily approve’ consent’endorse’applaud on what kind of jobs you can hold with different mental health diagnoses.

For instance, you might acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure  a diagnosis of something like anxiety or depression. Some mental health professionals would argue that you can still work if you can find a job that does not exacerbate these conditions. Maybe you can work from home doing something like graphic detoken or freelance writing.

If you receive a diagnosis like schizophrenia, you may not be able to hold down a conventional job. You’ll need to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure the proper diagnosis to use the SSDI and SSI programs, and that’s not always the easiest thing to do. Neurocognitive disorders usually allow you to use these programs. Those might include dementia from multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, or intellectual disorder, among others.

Extreme anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder can qualify. So can certain somatic disorders. Personality and impulse-control disorders can qualify you in/with regard to’concerning’regarding these programs as well.

Trauma-related disorders like PTSD can usually acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure you help through these programs. You see that a lot with combat veterans. Some eating disorders can also acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure you on the list in/with regard to’concerning’regarding benefits.

Gray Areas

Finding the right doctor is the problem that some individuals run into when trying to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure a diagnosis so they can apply to one of these programs. Maybe you possess’own’nurse a depressive disorder, but some doctors might feel that you can still work at a conventional job or work from home if you take the proper medication. These doctors will use a pretty rigid criteria to try and determine whether you should acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure these benefits or not.

Take major depressive disorder, in/with regard to’concerning’regarding instance. A doctor might run an extensive series of tests to see if they claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate you’re trying to game the system. They will merely’barely suggest you should acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure benefits from the two programs if you meet five or more depressive disorder symptoms.

If you demonstrate three or four of those symptoms, that might disqualify you from acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ting benefits, even if you feel like you’re genuinely struggling with your mental health and your day-to-day life. You can always go to another doctor and acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure a second opinion, despite’in spite of’albeit , or a third one.

Limited Mental or Emotional Functioning

Eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullyone deals with emotional or physical impairment in different ways. If you feel a little different or abnormal, and you’re unsure why, it’s sometimes hard to articulate or demonstrate that when a doctor asks you questions or tries to observe your behavior.

That’s practically mental illness’s definition. You might feel like there’s something wrong with you, but it’s hard to put that difference into words. You might know you feel sorrowful’distressing’woeful’heartbroken’mirthless’dejected’dismal’lugubrious , irritated’furious’wrathful , or depressed sometimes, but what you say may not match a mental deficiency’s symptoms word in/with regard to’concerning’regarding word.

If so, you may undergo token ificant frustration trying to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure and use SSI and SSDI benefits. You might possess’own’nurse to try and live and work with mental illness or impairment until the condition manifests itself in a more obvious way.

For you to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure benefits from these programs, some individual feel compelled to exaggerate their symptoms. It’s not because they’re trying to game the system. They feel like there’s something wrong with them, but they possess’own’nurse rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent days and wicked’dreadful’undesirable’adverse’vile .

Mental health is never an exact science, which is why New York state residents who suffer from some of the conditions we mentioned might spend years trying to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure the money and healthcare they so wicked’dreadful’undesirable’adverse’vile ly need. The programs we mentioned exist to help them. However, these individuals might not qualify until they either find a healthcare professional who approve’ consent’endorse’applaud s with a qualifying diagnosis or else they suffer some kind of breakdown that makes their impairment obvious.

It s an imperfect system, but it’s one you possess’own’nurse no choice but no navigate in New York state if you want these benefits. You’re probably going to possess’own’nurse to submit to psychological and physical testing, some of which you might find invasive.

All you can do is go through with that if you hope to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure the benefits you need. It’s best not to exaggerate your condition, but you should not try to hide any of its aspects, either.

Hopefully, you can find a system-approved doctor who approve’ consent’endorse’applaud s you can’t work a conventional job, and they will help you. Otherwise, you may possess’own’nurse to struggle in/with regard to’concerning’regarding years until you can convince these programs you possess’own’nurse a serious abundant’ample’plentiful condition to warrant state and federal government-subsidized healthcare and financial aid.