A Look Inside Social Security Listing 12.04

There are really two types of disability claims, physical and mental-health related. Many times those suffering from one experience the other, but sometimes a disability claimant can suffer just mental health disabilities and no physical disabilities. One of the most common types of mental illness is depression, and along with depression comes anxiety and other types of mood disorders. It is difficult to explain how Social Security evaluates a claim based on depression or other types of similar mental health disorders. As is the case with all types of disability claims, impairments must limit an individual’s ability to work. At the end of the day, adult disability claims come down to whether impairments are significant enough to severely limit an individual’s ability to work. To determine this Social Security looks at a set of questions and outcomes to answer these questions. This is an in-depth looks at Social Security Listing 12.04 Depressive, bipolar and related disorders.

12.04 Depressive, bipolar and related disorders (see 12.00B3), satisfied by A and B, or A and C:

1. Medical documentation of the requirements of paragraph 1 or 2:
2. Depressive disorder, characterized by five or more of the following:
3. Depressed mood;
4. Diminished interest in almost all activities;
5. Appetite disturbance with change in weight;
6. Sleep disturbance;
7. Observable psychomotor agitation or retardation;
8. Decreased energy;
9. Feelings of guilt or worthlessness;
10. Difficulty concentrating or thinking; or
11. Thoughts of death or suicide.
12. Bipolar disorder, characterized by three or more of the following:
13. Pressured speech;
14. Flight of ideas;
15. Inflated self-esteem;
16. Decreased need for sleep;
17. Distractibility;
18. Involvement in activities that have a high probability of painful consequences that are not recognized; or
19. Increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation.

AND

12. Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning (see 12.00F):
13. Understand, remember, or apply information (see 12.00E1).
14. Interact with others (see 12.00E2).
15. Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace (see 12.00E3).
16. Adapt or manage oneself (see 12.00E4).

OR

1. Your mental disorder in this listing category is “serious and persistent;” that is, you have a medically documented history of the existence of the disorder over a period of at least 2 years, and there is evidence of both:
2. Medical treatment, mental health therapy, psychosocial support(s), or a highly structured setting(s) that is ongoing and that diminishes the symptoms and signs of your mental disorder (see 12.00G2b); and
3. Marginal adjustment, that is, you have minimal capacity to adapt to changes in your environment or to demands that are not already part of your daily life (see 12.00G2c).