Mental Health and Social Security Disability

Mental Health condition guides

• Major Depressive Disorder

  Persistent depressive symptoms may be evaluated under Listing 12.04. A diagnosis does not guarantee benefits; SSA also examines severity, duration, and work-related function.

• Anxiety Disorders

  Anxiety disorders may be evaluated under Listing 12.06 when medical documentation and the required paragraph B or C criteria are present.

• Bipolar Disorder

  Bipolar disorders are evaluated under Listing 12.04, but diagnosis or hospitalization alone does not establish that all listing or RFC requirements are met.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

  PTSD is evaluated under Listing 12.15. SSA requires medical documentation plus the required paragraph B or C criteria, not trauma exposure alone.

• Schizophrenia

  Schizophrenia is evaluated under Listing 12.03. SSA considers psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms, disorganization, longitudinal support, and work function.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder

  Adult autism is evaluated under Listing 12.10, which requires paragraph A medical documentation and paragraph B functional severity. It has no paragraph C route.

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

  OCD is evaluated under Listing 12.06. SSA considers medically documented obsessions or compulsions and their effects on mental functioning and sustained work.

• Panic Disorder

  Panic disorder has no separate listing number. SSA evaluates it within Listing 12.06 for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

• Alzheimer’s Disease

  SSA evaluates Alzheimer-type dementia primarily as a neurocognitive disorder under Listing 12.02. Early-onset presentations may also be considered under Listing 11.17. Young-onset Alzheimer disease appears on the current CAL list; typical late-onset disease does not automatically.

• Intellectual Disorder

  Adult Listing 12.05 requires significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, significant deficits in current adaptive functioning, and evidence that the disorder began before age 22. Paragraph A applies when the person cannot participate in standardized intelligence testing at the required level, while paragraph B uses qualifying standardized intelligence-test scores.

• Frontotemporal Dementia

  SSA evaluates frontotemporal dementia primarily as a neurocognitive disorder under Listing 12.02. Adult FTD / Pick’s disease Type A appears on the current CAL list. A personality-change complaint without a clinical diagnosis is not an approval.

• ADHD

  Adult Listing 12.11 evaluates neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD-type findings of distractibility, disorganization, and/or hyperactivity, plus marked or extreme paragraph B limits. A childhood IEP or a stimulant prescription is not an approval.

• Borderline Personality Disorder

  Listing 12.08 evaluates personality and impulse-control disorders, including borderline personality disorder, using paragraphs A and B only. There is no paragraph C. If the listing is not met, SSA considers supported interaction, adaptation, attendance, and other work-related mental limitations through residual functional capacity.

• Adrenal Disorders

  There is no adult listing titled Addison’s disease or Cushing’s syndrome. Listing 9.00 and SSR 14-3p evaluate adrenal disorders by their effects on bone, heart, weight, and mood—not by a cortisol value alone.

• Cerebral Palsy

  Adult Listing 11.07 evaluates cerebral palsy through extreme motor limitation, a marked physical limitation together with a marked limitation in one specified area of mental functioning, or significant interference with communication due to a speech, hearing, or visual deficit. If the listing is not met, SSA considers the remaining functional limitations.

• Down Syndrome

  Listing 10.06 applies to non-mosaic Down syndrome documented through the listing's karyotype or alternate physician-report pathways. Mosaic Down syndrome and other congenital disorders affecting multiple body systems are evaluated under the listings for the body systems affected and through the remaining disability evaluation when necessary.

• Fibromyalgia

  A medically determinable impairment under SSR 12-2p when diagnostic criteria are documented. There is no fibromyalgia listing.

• Huntington’s Disease

  SSA evaluates Huntington's disease under Listing 11.17. Adult-onset and juvenile-onset Huntington disease are currently Compassionate Allowances conditions. SSA considers the documented motor, cognitive, behavioral, and other functional effects under the applicable disability criteria.

• Long COVID

  Long COVID has no dedicated listing. SSA may establish COVID-19, including its long-term effects, as a medically determinable impairment when supported by objective medical evidence. SSA then considers medical equivalence, any new or worsened impairments caused by COVID-19, and residual functional capacity. SSA's disability duration requirement is generally 12 months.

• Thyroid Disorders

  There is no adult listing titled thyroid disease. Listing 9.00 evaluates thyroid disorders by their effects on other body systems—heart rhythm, weight, stroke, vision, or mood—not by a TSH value alone.

• Traumatic Brain Injury

  Brain damage caused by external trauma. SSA may evaluate persistent physical and mental effects under Listing 11.18 and cognitive findings under Listing 12.02 when appropriate.