Last Updated September 17, 2026
Conditions Center · Mental Health · Social Security Disability
Also called posttraumatic stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
PTSD may support SSDI or SSI when medically documented symptoms and functional limitations prevent sustained work for the required duration. Experiencing trauma does not itself establish PTSD or disability. SSA considers diagnosis, symptom course, treatment, triggers, and the person’s ability to function in and outside structured or familiar settings.
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing trauma. Symptoms may include intrusive memories, avoidance, changes in mood or thinking, and heightened arousal or reactivity. Not everyone exposed to trauma develops PTSD, and symptoms differ in type and severity. Co-occurring depression, anxiety, or substance-use disorders should be evaluated separately when documented.
Common symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Intrusive memories, nightmares, or flashbacks
- Avoidance of reminders, conversations, places, or people connected to trauma
- Hypervigilance, exaggerated startle, or sleep disturbance
- Negative changes in mood, beliefs, or interest
- Dissociation or feeling detached in some people
- Difficulty concentrating when triggered or sleep deprived
How can Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affect a person’s ability to work?
- Inability to tolerate particular environmental or interpersonal triggers
- Difficulty working near unfamiliar people or in crowded settings
- Reduced concentration and pace after intrusive symptoms or poor sleep
- Disproportionate response to sudden noises, conflict, or unexpected change
- Time away from work to recover after flashbacks, panic, or dissociation
Does Social Security have a Listing for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Social Security currently has listing criteria that may apply: 12.15 (Trauma- and stressor-related disorders). Meeting a listing requires the specific medical findings in that listing, not only the diagnosis.
Listing 12.15 requires paragraph A medical documentation plus either paragraph B or paragraph C. Paragraph B requires an extreme limitation in one or marked limitations in two of the four mental-function areas. Paragraph C is available only when the serious-and-persistent-disorder requirements are all documented.
SSA evaluates PTSD under Listing 12.15. Paragraph A addresses medical documentation of a trauma-related disorder. Paragraph B requires one extreme or two marked limitations across the four mental areas. Paragraph C alternatively requires a medically documented history of at least two years, treatment or structured support that diminishes symptoms, and marginal adjustment under SSA’s definition. If neither route is met, SSA assesses mental RFC.
Can you qualify if you do not meet an SSA Listing?
Yes. PTSD that does not meet Listing 12.15 may still result in an RFC that eliminates past work and other work, particularly when interaction, adaptation, pace, or attendance limits are well supported.
What medical evidence may help document Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
- Mental-health records documenting diagnosis and symptom clusters
- Therapy notes describing triggers, avoidance, grounding, and response to treatment
- Mental-status examinations showing attention, behavior, mood, or thought changes
- Crisis, emergency, or inpatient records when applicable
- Consistent evidence of how symptoms affect travel, interaction, pace, and attendance
Testing, imaging, and laboratory studies
- Clinical interview and mental-status examination
- Trauma-focused or general symptom measures when used by a clinician
- No laboratory or imaging test alone diagnoses PTSD
Treatment records can be difficult to develop because discussing trauma may itself increase symptoms. SSA should consider supported reasons for delayed, interrupted, or limited treatment. Improvement in a safe therapy setting does not necessarily establish tolerance for workplace triggers or demands.
How SSA may evaluate residual functional capacity
Paragraph B findings describe listing severity; mental RFC separately identifies sustained workplace capacities. The analysis should consider triggering conditions, recovery time, and whether restrictions can realistically be maintained in ordinary work.
Mental RFC may limit public contact, close teamwork, conflict, fast-paced quotas, independent travel, sudden changes, or certain environments when the evidence supports those limits. It may also address off-task time and attendance caused by intrusive symptoms, dissociation, or disrupted sleep.
Common issues that can weaken a disability claim involving Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Relying on trauma history without medical evidence of PTSD; using a general diagnosis without documenting functional effects; or alleging broad trigger restrictions that treatment notes do not identify.
What may strengthen the medical documentation
Longitudinal therapy or psychiatry records that identify symptom frequency, triggers, recovery time, coping support, and observed effects on the paragraph B areas.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and related medical conditions
- Anxiety Disorders — Anxiety disorders may be evaluated under Listing 12.06 when medical documentation and the required paragraph B or C criteria are present.
- 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.
- Migraines — A primary headache disorder with no dedicated SSA listing. SSR 19-4p explains when a documented disorder may medically equal Listing 11.02 or require an RFC assessment.
- Panic Disorder — Panic disorder has no separate listing number. SSA evaluates it within Listing 12.06 for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
- 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.
How Brock & Stout may help
We can develop PTSD claims with appropriate sensitivity, gather missing treatment and crisis records, compare the evidence with Listing 12.15, and frame supported work restrictions without requiring unnecessary public detail about the trauma.
Frequently asked questions
No. SSA needs medical evidence of a medically determinable disorder and evidence that its severity and duration satisfy a listing or prevent sustained work.
Adult PTSD is evaluated under Listing 12.15 for trauma- and stressor-related disorders.
Yes, when treatment and other evidence support specific triggers and resulting functional limits. The RFC must describe practical work restrictions rather than rely on the diagnosis alone.
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Speak with a Social Security Disability attorney
If Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is affecting your ability to work, Brock & Stout can review the claim, look for missing medical evidence, and discuss next steps. We do not charge a fee for SSD representation unless we win.
This page is general educational information about Social Security Disability as of the date of this publication. It is not legal or medical advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee results. Eligibility depends on individual facts and current Social Security rules.
