he Social Security Administration, also called the SSA, can sometimes give you disability benefits if you have a mental condition that prevents working at a conventional job. We will talk about that in detail right now.
SSI and SSDI
The first thing that must happen for you to get 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 have a particular 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 for Social Security Disability Insurance, abbreviated as SSDI.
If you’re eligible for both of them, you can get money to help you support yourself and pay for your basic needs, such as food, utility payments, etc. You can also get healthcare instead of getting it through a conventional employer or buying it through the marketplace as part of the Affordable 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 have 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 agree on what kind of jobs you can hold with different mental health diagnoses.
For instance, you might get 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 design 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 get 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 for these programs as well.
Trauma-related disorders like PTSD can usually get you help through these programs. You see that a lot with combat veterans. Some eating disorders can also get you on the list for benefits.
