These days, more and more places have come to acknowledge the fact that mental health illnesses can cause just as much disability in a person as physical ailments.
Thus, more people with issues like anxiety ask the same question: is their mental illness eligible for benefits?
Categorized disorders
The Social Security Administration looks at mental health problems that can result in disability benefits. Anxiety disorders do make up one category of illnesses that qualify for benefits.
This category includes disorders like panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It may also include other disorders not listed here, which a person would have to contact SSA about.
Shared symptoms and characteristics
These disorders differ in some ways but typically share a few major symptoms that can include muscle tension, sleep disturbances, fatigue, panic attacks, restlessness, hyper-vigilance, trouble concentrating, obsessions and compulsions, and other physical complaints.
The general characterizations that define these disorders also include many shared traits such as excessive worry, fear, apprehension or anxiety. It also includes the avoidance of thoughts, people, places, objects, activities or feelings that might evoke the aforementioned excessive emotions.
Anxiety can make it difficult or even impossible for a person to work in the same way that someone without an anxiety disorder could work. Someone may struggle to interact with customers or could end up distracted from productivity or work due to uncontrollable worries or even bouts of panic attacks or panic episodes.
Because of that, it is possible and even recommended for some with anxiety disorders to get help through these benefits.
