Getting What Is Rightfully Yours

What You Should Know About Filing For Social Security Disability Benefits For Dissociative Identity Disorder

2 September 2015 by Penny Fisher

Dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as "multiple personality disorder") is a complex psychological problem that can make retaining a job impossible. This is what you should know about filing for Social Security disability benefits based on DID.

You may encounter skepticism.

DID is a controversial diagnosis. Because it was sensationalized in a few famous cases and became a subject of popular culture and media focus in the 1990s, there are many people who are skeptical about the diagnosis. There are even people who blame therapists for "inducing" the disorder on impressionable subjects.

However, the disorder is specifically identified in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is the guidebook for diagnosing mental conditions. As such, the condition is treated seriously by Social Security disability examiners when making decisions about your case.

Be specific about your problems.

When you file for disability benefits, make sure that you are extremely specific about how DID affects your everyday life and ability to maintain a job. Because one of the hallmarks of DID is that there are two or more distinct "personalities" that take control of your body and behavior, that creates some specific problems common to victims of the disorder:

• the inability to recall day-to-day events, including things like what car you drive or where you currently live. For example, one or more of your personalities may not remember if you've recently moved or changed cars.

• an erratic ability to perform certain skills. For example, one of your personalities may not know how to drive while others may have no problems doing it.

• a problem remembering basic personal information, such as where you bank or what your email password is. Not all of your personalities may share information with each other.

• difficulty maintaining personal relationships. Some of your personalities may not know the same people that other personalities do, making you appear erratic and unreliable to others.

When you file for benefits, you'll be asked to describe how your disorder affects you. The more specific that you make the examples, the better your odds of being approved for benefits because you'll be able to paint a verbal picture for the disability examiner reviewing your case.

List all other additional disorders.

Make sure that you list any and all problems you experience on your disability forms, even if you consider DID to be your "main" problem. It isn't uncommon for people with DID to suffer from a variety of other emotional, psychological, and physical problems:

• obsessive behavior and rituals

• depression

• problems sleeping, including insomnia and night terrors

• eating disorders

• panic attacks and social anxiety

• memory gaps and "lost" time

• migraine headaches

• irritable bowel syndrome

The reason that it's important to list all your problems is that the SSA will consider your situation as a whole. Under SSA guidelines, there is no specific listing that makes DID a disabling condition. However, you can be approved based on your symptoms if they fall under the guidelines of an anxiety-related disorder or an affective disorder (such as depression).

Enlist the aid of your therapist and attorney.

Filing for disability benefits can be a stressful process, which could exacerbate your symptoms. Having an attorney who can consistently advocate for you (since you may not be able to do so for yourself) can make the process easier.

Because of your unique problems, it may be helpful to give permission for your attorney and therapist to communicate directly with each other. Your therapist may have a better ability than you to describe all of your symptoms to your attorney (since each of your personalities may have different perceptions of your problems), making it easier on your attorney to present your case as a whole.

For more information, contact J W Chalkley III PA or a similar legal professional.

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