Having anxiety can often become a burden, even when dealing with daily tasks. Add on the stress of finances, and you find yourself in one heck of a battle. With programs such as SSDI, that added strain can become a breath of fresh air. SSDI is a program that offers financial aid to those with disabilities and can become the lifeline you or others may be looking for. Let’s check out how it helps those with anxiety and what you need to qualify. 

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

So, what is the SSDI program? Well, SSDI stands for Social Security Disability Insurance. This program is offered through the Social Security Administration or SSA for short. SSDI focuses on helping those with disabilities find financial aid when they are unable to work. To qualify, an applicant needs to have a medical condition that meets the SSA’s definition of disability, and have worked in a job covered by Social Security/paid Social Security taxes. Among the disabilities that qualify are, of course, anxiety and those following:

• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Bipolar disorder
• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Immune disorder
• Schizophrenia 
• Skin conditions and More 

Defining Disability 

You might be asking how they decide what conditions are on the list, or if every kind of these conditions is included. The thing is, SSDI looks at disabilities in a special way, different from other programs. They only give money for disabilities that are really serious and affect you all the time. So, if your answer is ‘yes’ to any of the next questions, it probably means you have the kind of disability that SSDI helps with:

1. Are you unable to perform work at the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level due to your medical condition?
2. Are you unable to engage in the work you did previously or adjust to other types of work because of your medical condition?
3. Has your condition lasted, or is it expected to last, for at least one year, or is it expected to result in death?

Application Process for SSDI

Now that you know what counts as a disability for SSDI, let’s look at how to apply. The good news is that applying for SSDI is not too complicated. There are a few different ways you can do it. You can apply online, call and do it over the phone, or go to a Social Security office and apply in person. Here’s a basic idea of how the application process works:

1. Start by collecting all the important medical papers and information about your work for the application. A good place to find help with this is the SSA’s official website.
2. Next, check your application carefully to make sure everything you put down is right. After you send in your application, the SSA will look it over and decide if you meet their rules. 
3. If they say yes, they will send your application to the Disability Determination Services office, where they will do some more checking.

Figuring Out Your SSDI Benefit Amount

A lot of people want to know, ‘How much money will I get from SSDI?’ The answer is different for each person because it depends on a few things that are unique to you. In 2024, the most money someone could get from SSDI each month is $3,822, but not everyone will get this much. On average, people get about $1,537 a month. The money you get is worked out based on how much you earned when you were working. They use something called your ‘Primary Insurance Amount’ or PIA to figure this out. To figure out your PIA, they first look at how much you earned each month while you were working. They change these numbers a bit to match how paychecks have changed over the years. After that, they use a special math formula to work out how much your SSDI payment will be.

So When Do You Start Getting Money?

If you’re thinking about when you’ll start getting money from SSDI, you should know about the waiting time. This is how long you have to wait after your disability starts before you can get your SSDI money. For SSDI, you usually have to wait about 5 months. This means that even if SSDI says you have a disability that they can help with, you won’t get your money right away. You’ll start getting it 5 months after your disability began. 

Conclusion

Having anxiety or a big disability can be really hard, not just in how you feel, but also with money problems. The SSDI program from the Social Security Administration is there to help during these tough times. It’s made to help people whose disabilities make it really hard for them to work. To get SSDI, your disability needs to be serious and something that lasts a long time. This can be things like anxiety, arthritis, asthma, and more.

If you qualify for SSDI, how much money you get will depend on your situation. But remember, the most you can get is $3,822 a month, and most people get around $1,532. Don’t forget, there’s also a waiting time of 5 months before you start getting money. If you or someone you know has these kinds of challenges, looking into SSDI might be a really important step to making life more stable and easier to handle. It’s good to know what choices you have and what rights you have. That’s the first step in dealing with a disability with confidence. For more info or to apply, make sure to talk to the Social Security Administration.