Can You Get Disability for Bipolar Disorder in Wisconsin?

What You Need to Show to Get Disability Benefits for Bipolar Disorder

People mistakenly think Social Security Disability is only for physical illnesses or injuries.

It’s not true—mental health conditions, including bipolar, anxiety, depression, and PTSD, are absolutely covered. They’re even among the most common reasons people receive benefits.

Applying for disability benefits for bipolar disorder takes special care, though, because of how complicated mental health impairments are to document and explain.

You’ll need medical evidence from sources other than yourself confirming that you have symptoms Social Security sees as blocking you from working, such as:

• Depression or hopelessness that regularly keep you home from work
• Manic or elevated moods that scramble your ability to focus
• Irritability or loss of impulse control that doesn’t fit in a workplace setting
• Trouble following through on tasks
• Rapid speech patterns that interfere with getting work done
• Sleep disruptions slowing your productivity
• Social withdrawal hindering your ability to work with others
• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide that need immediate attention
  

At a fundamental level, Social Security will look at how well you function in key areas needed for a job:

• Understanding and using information
• Interacting well with co-workers, bosses, customers and others
• Keeping up with the pace of a job
• Adapting smoothly to changes in your routine
• Regulating your behavior under pressure in a work setting

It sounds like a long list of things you have to prove. It is.

Social Security is always trying to weed out people who don’t need benefits. It puts every disability claim through multiple tests. It doesn’t start out trusting your claim for disability benefits. You have to establish that your bipolar disorder severely impacts your ability to work.

But you don’t have to figure out how to do that by yourself. Social Security Disability lawyers work with this process every day. Geary Disability Law is your guide through the system in Wisconsin.

First, get a FREE initial evaluation of your disability claim for bipolar.

How to Prove Your Bipolar Symptoms Qualify for Social Security Disability

While it couldn’t be clearer to you how much bipolar impacts your life, Social Security requires outside evidence to prove you qualify for benefits.

Examples of evidence that can strengthen your claim:

• Reports from your psychiatrist, psychologist or therapist
• Results of psychological testing
• Treatment and therapy notes
• Description of medications you take and side effects
• Documents showing that your symptoms continue despite treatment
• Records showing your symptoms have lasted at least two years
• Statements from family, friends or coworkers who have witnessed your struggles
  

What do these documents look like? How do you ask for them? How do you know you’re getting the right information to satisfy Social Security’s requirements for disability benefits?

Your energy and focus are already strained by bipolar disorder. Digging for all this documentation is overwhelming.

Geary Disability Law relieves the pressure. Our Wisconsin disability lawyer and support team know which records Social Security expects, how to highlight the right evidence, and how to present your claim for the best chance of success.

When you’re struggling with bipolar disorder, get the support you need to fortify your life.

Contact Geary Disability Law.