Is Schizophrenia a Disability & How Can You Claim Benefits?

Many mental health professionals still find the categories helpful in understanding the condition and choosing the most appropriate treatment for each patient, even though they are no longer used to diagnose schizophrenia. Even though a person presently displays symptoms connected to one of the categories, it’s crucial to comprehend that these symptoms can alter swiftly and that there’s no such thing as low-level schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia Statistics

A mental disorder called schizophrenia is characterized by disturbances in thought, perception, emotional responsiveness, and social interactions. Although each person’s experience with schizophrenia is unique, the condition is typically chronic and can be both severe and incapacitating.

---

---

If a person is unable to engage in substantial gainful activity, they are likely to meet the SSA’s criteria of disability. The schizophrenia disability approval rate in 2019 was 1.8%.

Is Schizophrenia Considered a Disability? How Does Schizophrenia Affect the Capacity to Work?

Schizophrenia is typically diagnosed in patients between the ages of 16 and 30. Schizophrenia symptoms might differ from person to person. However, the three types of symptoms are cognitive, negative, and psychotic.

A person’s capacity to work can be negatively impacted by these symptoms. According to a 2021 study, few persons with schizophrenia are employed. Additionally, it claims that quickly after the initial diagnosis, the employment rate of persons with schizophrenia fell.

Disability Schizophrenia: Schizophrenia symptoms

Schizophrenia symptoms generally fall under three categories:

• Positive symptoms: this includes psychosis (including hallucinations and delusions), disordered thinking and speech, altered sensations
• Negative symptoms: these symptoms include reduced motivation, difficulty planning, suppressed emotions, social withdrawal
• Cognitive symptoms: this can include trouble with attention or concentration, memory loss, difficulty absorbing information, trouble making decisions

Psychotic symptoms or positive symptoms can affect how a person thinks, acts, and experiences reality. Psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia include:

• Hallucinations, which may include seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling things that are not there
• Delusions, where a person has strong beliefs that are not true
• Ways of thinking that are unusual or not logical
• Abnormal body movements

Negative symptoms can impact a person’s daily activities and social life. Symptoms include:

• Difficulties in planning and carrying out activities
• Trouble feeling pleasure
• Avoiding social interactions and activities
• Having low energy
• Being socially awkward

Cognitive symptoms can impact a person’s attention, memory, and concentration. Symptoms include difficulty:

• Processing information
• Making decisions
• With focusing and attention
• Using information directly after learning it

Causes of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that is thought to be caused by a number of factors, including:

• Genetics: Although genetics alone does not cause schizophrenia, having a parent, sibling, or another close relative who has the disease increases the likelihood of having it by nearly six times.
• Environmental: Interactions with particular surroundings may enhance the incidence of schizophrenia in those with genetic risk factors. Stress can lead to schizophrenia, even though it is not the cause. Additionally, a person’s risk is increased if they have poor nutrition or are exposed to a virus before to birth.
• Brain chemistry: According to research, the sizes of particular brain regions, the connections between them, and the interactions of neurotransmitters like dopamine in the brains of persons with schizophrenia are all different from those of people without the disorder.
• Drug use: Cannabis and other mind-altering substances can raise the risk of schizophrenia in teenagers and young adults.

It is impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of schizophrenia in any one person because multiple factors may play a role in its onset.

Schizophrenia Disability Benefits: Can You Get Disability for Schizophrenia?

Can Someone With Schizophrenia Get Disability? Blue Book criteria

The Blue Book outlines the criteria someone with schizophrenia must meet to be eligible for social security benefits. A person can find these criteria in the mental disorders section under listing 12.03. To qualify, they must satisfy either the criteria under A and B or A and C.

A requires that a person must have medical documentation of one or more of the following:

• Delusions or hallucinations
• Disorganized thinking (speech)
• Grossly disorganized behavior or catatonia

B requires an extreme limitation of one, or a marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning:

• Understanding, remembering, or applying information
• Interacting with others
• Concentrating, persisting, or maintaining pace
• Self-adapting or managing oneself

C requires that the mental disorder is serious and persistent and that there is a documented history from a medical professional regarding the condition over at least 2 years. Medical evidence that a person may use to support this includes:

• Medical treatment
• Mental health treatment
• Psychosocial support

A person will also need to show that they have minimal capacity to adapt to changes in their environment or demands that are not already part of their daily routine.

Applying for social security benefits – Getting disability for schizophrenia

If a person believes that they meet the above criteria for schizophrenia, they may apply:

• Online using the SSA portal
• At their local social security office
• By calling 1-800-772-1213 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday

A person can also appoint an advocate, attorney, or third-party representative to make an application on their behalf. The SSA provides information for people representing SSA claimants. It is also important to check the SSA checklist of documents that a person will need to provide when making a disability application.

In addition to evidence regarding their medical condition, a person may also need to include information such as:

• Their doctor or healthcare professional
• Names and dates of medical tests
• Names of medication and reason for medication
• Job history, including dates when their medical condition began to affect their ability to work

A person will also need to include identity documents such as a birth certificate and proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful alien status.

Is Schizophrenia a Permanent Disability?

How much disability do you get for schizophrenia? How much disability will I get for schizophrenia? Despite the fact that schizophrenia can be incapacitating, it is frequently manageable with the right medicine. But if your signs worsen to the point where you can no longer work, you can qualify for long-term disability benefits.

How to Get Disability for Schizophrenia? The Application Process

After a person files their application, the SSA will check it to see if it complies with the fundamental criteria for disability compensation. The SSA will also assess the claimant’s current employment activities and determine if they have worked for sufficient years to be eligible for SSA payments.

The Disability Determination Services office in the applicant’s state receives the application once it has been sent by the SSA. It will make a decision regarding the application for disability and notify the applicant in writing.

A letter informing the applicant of the SSA’s decision, the number of monthly benefits they can anticipate, and the date that payments would start will be sent to them if their application is accepted.

The SSA frequently rejects a person’s initial application. The claimant has the option to challenge the judgment in this situation. A person has 60 days from the date they get the initial decision letter to submit a written appeal request. There are four different appeal levels.

Paranoid Schizophrenia Disability: Steps to take to improve your case

Anyone applying for social security benefits needs to ensure their application is thorough and provides all the necessary evidence. This includes ensuring that all necessary paperwork is present to prevent processing delays in their application. A person should follow the checklist provided by the SSA to ensure they meet the basic requirements.

Similarly, a person should ensure that their doctor evidences all treatment plans and provides extensive medical evidence to help strengthen the application for disability.

Can you work if you have schizophrenia?

While schizophrenia symptoms can seriously impair a person’s capacity to work, there are a number of treatment options that can help patients control symptoms, avoid relapses, and lead satisfying lives that include work. Antipsychotic medications, which can help lessen the severity and frequency of psychotic symptoms, are among the potential therapy choices.

Find out more about schizophrenic patients’ treatment options here. People with schizophrenia can find jobs as a component of their recovery with the aid of psychosocial treatments like assisted employment.

A supported employment program called Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is available for those with severe mental diseases like schizophrenia. The IPS Employment Center collaborates with 26 US states to put supported employment programs into action.

Schizophrenia Treatment

Schizophrenia typically first manifests in early adulthood and has no known treatment. Treatment is therefore required to guarantee that individuals can manage the illness. Therapy and antipsychotic medicines are examples of these treatments.

Antipsychotic Drugs

Antipsychotic drugs lessen the severity and duration of schizophrenia symptoms and are often taken as a daily pill or liquid. They could, however, cause unwanted side effects like weight gain and tiredness. Even though antipsychotic drugs have side effects, once someone starts taking them, they shouldn’t stop because doing so could make their symptoms worse.

Therapy

For patients with schizophrenia, cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the types of treatment available to them.

Another choice is assertive community treatment. People with schizophrenia who are at high risk of homelessness and institutionalization can benefit from assertive community treatment. It also involves regular interactions with patients.

We Level Up Dual Diagnosis Treatment

The exact definition of dual diagnosis (also referred to as co-occurring disorders) can differ between institutions.  However, it is generally described as the specific treatment of someone who has been diagnosed with a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder at the same time.

Treating dual-diagnosis clients is a critical aspect of our inpatient treatment experience because co-occurring disorders are strongly correlated with instances of substance abuse. Creating a treatment plan that addresses the physical aspects of withdrawal, the psychological connection with drug use, and managing underlying mental health disorders is part of setting clients up for success. 

A thorough mental health analysis identifies possibilities for treatment.  Meeting with mental health counselors and medical care providers means access to behavioral therapy and medication treatment.

At our dual diagnosis treatment center, We Level Up can implement the highest quality of care. We recognize the fragile complexities of how mental and substance abuse disorders can influence others and sometimes result in a vicious cycle of addiction.  That’s why we offer specialized treatment in dual-diagnosis cases to provide the most excellent chance of true healing and long-lasting recovery.

It can be challenging to accept that you may be living with a mental illness, but once it is properly diagnosed and treated, treating the presenting case of substance abuse can be magnitudes easier. Only a properly trained medical professional can diagnose these underlying conditions.  If you believe you are suffering from a disorder alongside addiction, we urge you to seek a qualified treatment center to begin your journey to recovery. Call We Level Up today.