How To Get Social Security Disability Benefits In Florida For Combined Physical And Mental Health Conditions

Are you struggling with both physical and mental health challenges that prevent you from working? Multiple impairments are common and may entitle you to Social Security disability benefits in Florida. However, claims involving combined conditions are typically more complex and more likely to be denied. Our experienced Jacksonville Social Security disability lawyer explains what you need to know to build a strong case.

Social Security Disability Five-Step Process: Common Barriers to Getting Benefits For Multiple Conditions

The Social Security Administration (SSA) follows a five-step evaluation process when reviewing long-term disability claims. The first two steps focus on the severity of your condition and how it impacts your abilities when it comes to work or daily activities. The third requires that your condition fall under the SSA’s listing of impairments.

The fourth and fifth steps in the process examine whether your combination of conditions prevents you from performing past work or adjusting to any other type of job. This is where claims involving multiple conditions often fail. Common barriers:

• Lack of documentation showing how each condition affects daily functioning.
• Mental health issues that are downplayed or not treated consistently.
• Doctors who fail to connect multiple conditions to work limitations.
• Assumptions by the SSA that one condition doesn’t “count” if the other is more visible or severe.

An example is someone with chronic back pain, anxiety, and fatigue. While these issues may not meet the SSA’s criteria for any single condition, taken together, they may make full-time work impossible.

How to Strengthen A Florida Social Security Disability Claim When You Have Physical and Mental Health Impairments

How you feel physically directly impacts your mental health and well-being. The National Institutes of Health reports that it is common for people with physical impairments to suffer from anxiety disorders, depression, and other mental health issues as well.

If you are filing for Social Security disability in Florida based on multiple conditions, you must show how they interact and prevent you from working. To build a strong claim, take these steps:

• Get a firm diagnosis and treatment for both physical and mental health conditions that cause impairments.
• Gather medical records and test results documenting each condition.
• Keep a journal showing how your symptoms interact and impact your daily life and ability to perform different tasks.
• Have providers complete a Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) form assessing your ability to work despite your conditions.

The SSA doesn’t require you to be bedbound, but you must be able to show that your symptoms prevent full-time work on a long-term basis.

Contact Our Experienced Florida Social Security Disability Lawyer For Help In Filing A Claim

Social Security disability benefits in Florida provide a lifeline for people who suffer physical and mental health conditions that prevent them from working. At Farrell Disability Law, we guide clients through complex claims processes and fight to get the benefits you deserve.

To protect your rights, contact our experienced Florida Social Security disability lawyer today and request a consultation in our Jacksonville or Orlando office.

Sources:

ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/AdultListings.htm

ssa.gov/disability/step4and5.htm

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11650190/

secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0424510000