While these ailments may not seem like a severe condition on the surface, they have the potential to dull your energy and decrease your effectiveness in essential areas of your life. If that occurs, you may become disabled and unable to perform even your most basic daily duties, so much so that you may have to seek disability benefits.
To begin with, it is essential to address the basics first. Some of the most important things to do include addressing any underlying health issues, such as diet, getting enough exercise, and ensuring that you have adequate rest.
What Can You Do to Feel Better?
One of the best ways to influence and enhance your mood is by ensuring that you take time throughout the day to enjoy healthy meals and relax. For example, if you generally skip breakfast and make poor choices for other meals throughout the day, your poor mood may be the result of some degree of hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia, which relates to your blood sugar levels, can influence how you feel both emotionally and physically. You can avoid these mood swings and feelings of low energy by eating balanced meals at regular intervals.
Another common issue that can aggravate your emotional symptoms is poor sleep hygiene. Most people need a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep every night. If restlessness is a problem for you, you may find relief if you take some extra time in the evening to relax and release the stress of the day before retiring to bed.
Among all the natural remedies for mood issues, one that consistently ranks high on the list is exercise. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, it has the potential to contribute to low-energy feelings and can aggravate your condition.
Even if you are not someone who enjoys working out at a gym, you can try out some form of milder exercise, such as walking, yoga, or swimming. You may notice a difference in your mood if you perform these types of activities three to five times per week.
With a doctor’s approval, you can also try out herbal remedies and nutritional supplements that may help you address symptoms relating to your mood. Natural remedies that soothe our nerves and promote energy can work as gentle aids to ease symptoms. Getting disability for depression is not an easy task because not all people who experience depressive symptoms have a disabling condition.
Key Qualifying Factors
Millions of U.S. citizens file a disability claim every year, which points toward the fact that natural cures do not help in some cases, and some people need to seek professional help. Mood disorders are conditions that fall under the category of mental illness. If properly diagnosed and documented, a person with a severe mood disorder may qualify for benefits.
However, to qualify for benefits, there are four requirements that an applicant must meet:
- Your depression or mood disorder must be “medically determinable”
Medical determinability means that you have been medically evaluated by experienced doctors who have used industry-standard testing to determine your mental illness’s true nature. Your doctor will have to provide an official diagnosis and a prognosis concerning your future ability to function in daily life and, most importantly, your capability to function at work. A doctor must have performed tests and prescribed medication, if indicated, in an honest attempt to ameliorate your situation.
2. Your condition must meet a durational test
Concerning duration, the Social Security Administration will require that your mental illness meets the same standards as disabilities caused by physical illness or accidents. This means that you will need to have experienced severe depressive symptoms for at least a year. This requirement alone makes it a wise decision to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. If you are experiencing serious depression, it is important to consult a doctor and create a proper documentary record of your condition.
3. The severity must be documented
While many people suffer from depressive symptoms but do not face disabling limitations in their work or social relationships, some people are unable to function in their daily lives despite every effort to treat their conditions. These inabilities should be documented thoroughly to improve your chances of qualifying for benefits.
- You must have a diagnosis from a licensed psychiatrist
Most patients initially seek the help of their family doctor when they experience symptoms of depression. However, if you feel like your condition may force you to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you should seek treatment and advice from a psychiatrist.
Following all of the rules mentioned above may increase your chances of qualifying for Social Security disability benefits for your depression.
SSA Evaluates Applications to Ensure Deserving Candidates Get Benefits
To help disabled people, there are organizations like the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the American Council of the Blind, and the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation. These associations exist to help people with disorders by providing resources, education, and accommodations for people who have disabilities.
If the Social Security Administration (SSA) initially rejects your application for disability benefits, the appeal process involves extensive paperwork through which the individual can demonstrate the effects of their condition on their life. The SSA will carefully review the application and the medical reports that the applicant submitted against its established eligibility criteria. If the applicant meets the requirements, the SSA will assign benefits to that individual.
In some cases, as a result of missing data or errors in the application process, the SSA will reject an individual’s request for benefits. When this occurs, a person may not know how to proceed further. To avoid unnecessary denials of benefits, it is a good idea to consult an Disability Lawyers in Kentucky who has sufficient experience handling similar cases.
