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The Hidden Challenges of Proving an Invisible Disability

There are many disabilities which are not visible to the naked eye. Many ailments are internal or or mental in nature but prevent the sufferer from working just the same.

Invisible Physical Ailments

People can spot a broken arm or mangled leg by using just their eyes. A permanent physical injury can easily be examined and documented by medical staff. However, there exist conditions which show no outward manifestations. The pain is real and excruciating to the sufferer but invisible to the onlooker.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic medical condition characterized by widespread pain throughout the body, along with other symptoms like fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive difficulties. It’s often classified as a disorder of the central nervous system because it involves how the brain and spinal cord process pain signals.

People with fibromyalgia may experience heightened sensitivity to pain (a condition called hyperalgesia) and even feel pain from stimuli that wouldn’t typically hurt (allodynia), like a light touch. Cases can be mild or very severe. The condition may leave the sufferer bedridden and unable to work. It is one of the harder illnesses to prove in disability cases.

Chronic pain is an unseen illness and like fibromyalgia, is unseen and only felt by the victim. Often this condition requires the patient to be on very strong doses of medication for an indefinite period of time.

Mental Illnesses

As we have mentioned before, conditions like OCD, severe depression, and bi-polar disorder can prevent you from working and as a result you may qualify for disability assistance. However, a long documented, well studied case file must be presented in your application.

A person’s mental disorder may be so intense they simply cannot fend for themselves and cannot engage in meaningful and profitable activities. A person with OCD may spend hours on end having to touch surfaces, doorknobs or repeating numbers over and over again in their head or face suffering a full-on panic attack. It sounds absurd to some people who don’t have the illness but it is very real and very serious to the sufferer.

When to Contact an Attorney

Attorneys like us specialize in helping our clients file applications. We also help with appeals. We understand what the SSA is looking for an can spot missing items or weaknesses in your application. We use our many years of training and experience to give you the best chance at winning your case.