Agoraphobia can be quite dangerous when this crippling anxiety disorder prevents you from visiting certain places, crowds, public scenes, and so on. You may also find difficulty leaving your home in the first place if you have agoraphobia.
However, with accurate documentation regarding this psychiatric disorder, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. You must also demonstrate that your condition prevents you from performing a significant amount of work for pay.
Agoraphobia may qualify you for disability benefits if it meets the SSA listing of anxiety disorders. A Hawaii disability lawyer may help you get social security disability benefits for agoraphobia.
A brief description of agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is defined as a fear of public places where panic attacks occur, often accompanied by anxiety. If you don’t know what a panic attack is, allow us to give you a short introduction.
- Panic Attacks: These occur when a surge of anxiety overwhelms you, stemming from a fear of nothing at all, leaving you feeling terrorized or apprehended. Panic attacks can also manifest in a variety of physically unsettling symptoms. You might experience physical symptoms such as trembling, shortness of breath, an increase in heartbeat rate, a sensation of lightness in your head, and a start to sweat. All of these symptoms are indicative of a panic attack.
However, when a panic attack triggers your agoraphobia, you experience a fear of triggering more panic attacks. You may start searching for places and situations that could potentially trigger another panic attack. Frequently, this occurs in a crowd of unfamiliar individuals.
This may negatively impact your daily life by restricting your ability to leave your house. Shopping, going to the office, visiting family and friends, etc. become very difficult in such situations. Fewer visits to your family and friends’ homes may not affect your financial condition, but not visiting your workplace will.
When agoraphobia gets severe, you might withdraw yourself from society and get homesick. You may not be able to leave the house without family and friends at your side.
How is agoraphobia diagnosed?
It will help if you get a thorough physical evaluation, explain your issues from your perspective, and get a physical examination to diagnose agoraphobia. Antidepressant or anti-anxiety medications may cure agoraphobia. Your mental health professional may prescribe these medicines along with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): It is a therapy that focuses on understanding your illness and the symptoms regarding the condition. Your mental health professional may try to “desensitize” your anxiety attacks by gradually but carefully exposing you to the situations that cause you anxiety. Your problem may get better with these treatment sessions at the early stage of your disorder.
What are the Social Security laws regarding agoraphobia?
You can find Listing 12.06 for anxiety disorders in the Social Security Administration’s “bluebook.” You may qualify for this listing if you meet the criteria for agoraphobia. One or both of the following symptoms must be present to qualify:
- Worry or concern about the potential consequences of more panic attacks drives panic attacks.
- You are getting anxious or fearful about more than one different situation. That may include waiting in a line, taking a train or bus, being in a public place, going out of your house, etc.
You must also demonstrate your limitations and elaborate on the following conditions, either severely or in two cases:
- You cannot adapt or manage yourself, such as by regulating your emotions, controlling your behavior, or adapting to changes.
- You cannot interact with others. That includes social approaches.
- You cannot concentrate and present any task without being productive.
- You are unable to remember or understand information and apply that knowledge to persistent tasks.
How Can You Prove That Your Agoraphobia Is Serious Enough?
The Social Security Administration takes into account your mental health professional’s opinion about your condition. So, your doctor plays an essential role in disability benefits cases. He/she must fill out a Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) form to state your work-related limitations.
Your RFC form should clearly state your diagnosis and address the following issues:
- How much is your ability to interact with supervisors and the public?
- What is your capacity to maintain essential attendance? Suppose you cannot attend more than one working day that is harming your full-time employment.
- How much can you handle stressful situations?
- Are you able to make your work-related decisions or not?
- Are you able to give proper attention to something and concentrate or not?
- Can you follow any of the simple or complicated instructions, or not?
What if your problems are more than just agoraphobia?
Do you have other mental health issues besides agoraphobia? Tell your doctor. That may include the above-mentioned conditions where you are unable to perform tasks. As a result, the Social Security Administration may classify you as “disabled” because your daily needs limit your ability to live.
Your friends and family can also help by providing feedback to improve your approach to disability. They can share their observations of you in public settings. Lastly, you may also submit a “statement of the claimant” to the SSA about your condition. It could be very helpful. A Social Security Disability Attorney can help you fill in the blanks. We will also increase the likelihood of approving your application.
