Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects millions of people worldwide who’ve survived a deadly or traumatic event, and it’s a mental illness that is all-inclusive – striking anyone regardless of gender, race, and other socioeconomic markers.

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF PTSD?

The Mayo Clinic defines PTSD as “a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.”

PTSD isn’t curable. Symptoms of the illness may not show up till months following a trauma, but they can be controlled by most people through a combination of clinical care and medication, such as ketamine, if needed.

WHAT IS A DISABILITY?

If you suffer from PTSD, you know all too well the symptoms can be debilitating, even disabling. You avoid people and places with the goal of suppressing traumatic memories. Many others have different opinions with regards to mental health illness, but experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) say a disability is any condition of the body or mind (“impairment”) that makes it tougher for anyone suffering the condition to take part in certain activities (“activity limitation”) and interact with the world around them (“participation restrictions”).

The WHO defines these “disability dimensions” as:

• Impairment of a person’s mental operation like memory loss, or body function or structure such as loss of vision, or loss of a limb.
• Activity limitation, like trouble walking, seeing, hearing, or problem-solving.
• Participation restrictions in everyday life, such as going to work, partaking in social and recreational activities, and seeking preventive and medical care as needed.

CAN YOU GET DISABILITY FOR PTSD?

Yes. In fact, studies as recently as 2016 show that nearly one-third of all Social Security Disability Insurance recipients got benefits because of several kinds of mental illnesses, including:

• Anxiety is a part of everyday life, like being at work and suddenly being stressed because you must make a presentation to the company president.
• PTSD is a mental illness brought on by a traumatic situation, where a person either witnesses death or is threatened by it, and has recurring thoughts or memories about it for months or years after the event happened.

Depending on the severity of the PTSD and your overall health, your doctor or therapist may recommend different treatment options, including the use of ketamine to treat the condition’s symptoms.

• Bipolar disorder symptoms include mood swings, trouble eating, or problems sleeping.
• Depression is defined by The Mayo Clinic as “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.” It’s also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression.
• Eating disorders are characterized by abnormal eating routines, like anorexia nervosa, where you have an intense fear of gaining weight and severely restrict food consumption. The opposite is bulimia nervosa.
• Obsessive compulsive disorder is a mental health illness where you have unwanted thoughts about performing an action repeatedly.
• Personality disorders are behaviors that deviate from normal, acceptable behavior, like paranoid personality disorder.
• Psychosis is a mental disorder where you see and/or hear something that doesn’t exist and feel like you’re at risk all the time.
• Schizophrenia is experiencing hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized behavior and speech.

Receiving disability benefits for PTSD depends on proving your condition. Nearly two-thirds of all claims are rejected. To obtain a successful ruling and receive benefits, your application must prove:

• That your PTSD makes it unreasonable for you to return to work.
• That your PTSD makes it unlikely that you could handle a different job or kind of work.
• That your PTSD is expected to persist for at least a year.

HOW DO I PROVE THAT I AM DISABLED BECAUSE OF PTSD?

To prove that you have become disabled by posttraumatic stress disorder, you must provide clear, indisputable evidence of your condition in two ways:

• Assertions from a licensed medical doctor or mental health provider. This could be in the form of test results, notes compiled during an exam or therapy, or because of a formal diagnosis.
• Statements or confirmation by someone who knows you or with whom you’ve interacted – family members, friends, or co-workers for example.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Whether you qualify for disability because of PTSD or not, its symptoms can be treated if you act quickly and are committed to long-term treatment. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has cited many studies about the therapeutic success of ketamine and other related drugs. If you think you suffer from PSTD, contact us today to learn more about the innovative new treatments we offer.