In a Social Security disability case involving depression, you need to prove one thing – that you are not able to work. Depression is a common allegation on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability claims. Sometimes depression is found to be disabling and sometimes it isn’t. Your underlying mental health condition - depression of any other mental or medical health condition is only important to the Social Security Judge if your depressive symptoms limit you from performing a job eight hours a day, five days a week.

The Social Security Administration uses a process called sequential evaluation to determine who receives benefits. This process implies that the depression disability must be severe enough to significantly limit your ability to perform basic work activities needed to do most jobs such as walking, standing, sitting, lifting, pushing, pulling, reaching or handling, use of judgment, dealing with changes in a routine work setting and responding appropriately to supervision in a routine work setting.

Further, in assessing a depression disability severity of a listing level impairment, activities of daily living, social functioning, concentration, persistence, pace and repeated episodes of decompensation are evaluated. Also, when evaluating your claim for Social Security disability benefits, the Social Security Administration will also look at how your depression affects your daily activities. To do this, SSA will look at how you describe your daily activities. SSA will look at any letters that you have submitted from family and friends describing how your depression affects your daily activities.

After all of the evidence is in your disability file, your case will be reviewed by your disability determination specialist and either a psychologist or psychiatrist. In further evaluating your claim for Social Security disability benefits, SSA will look at the signs and symptoms of depression you have and how severe the signs and symptoms are. Basically, to be diagnosed with depression, you must have at least four of the following signs and symptoms: sleep disturbance, appetite disturbance with change in weight, psychomotor agitation or retardation, decreased energy, difficulty concentrating or thinking, thoughts of suicide, feelings of guilt or worthlessness and hallucinations, delusions or paranoid thinking.

If, however, your depression does not meet or equal the requirements of the Social Security Administration it still may be disabling if it precludes the claimant from performing any prior work or any other work for which you are suited. To make this determination, it is necessary to determine what you can still do and compare it with the requirements of your past work and other work for which you are suited.

Keep in mind that only severe cases of depression are eligible for Social Security disability benefits.