social security disability lawyers in Tallahassee

Recent Changes to Regulations Related to Mental Disabilities

Struggling with mental illness can be as frustrating and challenging as struggling with a physical impairment. Our social security disability lawyers in Tallahassee understand this and keep up with the changes in social security law. The Social Security Administration has recently modified the rules for assessing you mental disorder earlier this year. Some of these changes include titles and classifications of mental disorders and the language applied when a judge determines your case. Some of these changes include: requirements to prove that you have an “extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning”:

  • To understand, remember, or apply information
  • Interact with others
  • Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace
  • Adapt or manage oneself

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You must have your mental illness for 2 years or longer, and it must be an illness that needs persistent and special accommodation. You must also demonstrate that you have taken measures to lessen the symptoms of your mental illness for at least 1 year. This can be interpreted in various ways and discussing the matter with a Tallahassee disability lawyer is a good idea before moving forward with your social security appeal.

Overall, the mental illness titles have been expanded, from 10 sections in the previous listings, to 15 sections in the new listings. Namely, eating disorders and trauma now have their own specific guidelines for determining social security cases. For example, eating disorder cases will require that your eating behaviors severely alter your consumption and absorption of food and present a serious risk to physical and psychological health. For trauma-related claimants, you will have to produce medical evidence that:

  • You experienced a traumatic event that threatened your life
  • You have recurring, involuntary re-experience of the traumatic event
  • You avoid situations that remind you of the traumatic event
  • The traumatic event alters your mood or behavior
  • You experience hyper-reactivity as a result of the traumatic event

If you have questions concerning any SSA modifications related to mental illness cases, do not hesitate to contact one of our social security lawyers in Tallahassee.