Most common symptoms of BPD
Those suffering from BPD will often have a number of the following, including:
- Thinking in extremes, everything being either really bad or really good.
- Frequent and wide mood swings.
- A rapid change in interests and values.
- An intense fear of being abandoned.
- Having frequent intense but unstable relationships.
- Frequent displays of intense and inappropriate anger.
- Behavior sometimes leading to fights and disputes
- An impulsiveness that sometimes leads to risky behavior.
- Short but very intense feelings of depression or anxiety, usually lasting only a few days.
Beyond the symptoms, overlapping conditions
Approximately 85 percent of those suffering from BPD also have other mental conditions including:
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Bipolar disorder
Qualifying for Social Security disability benefits
Given these various symptoms and overlapping mental conditions, is borderline personality disorder a disability that qualifies you for benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA)?
The answer is yes, but as with many other illnesses and disorders, the requirements for qualifying for benefits are extremely stringent and not easily met. To qualify for benefits – either Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) – you must either meet a SSA listing or convince the SSA of your inability to work.
Meeting a Listing
To qualify for SSA disability benefits in this way you must show that you have medical documentation for one or more of the criteria for a medical listing found in section 12.08 of the SSA’s Blue Book. These include:
- Distrust and suspiciousness of others
- Detachment from social relationships
- Disregard for and violation of the rights of others
- Instability of interpersonal relationships
- Excessive emotionality and attention seeking
- Feelings of inadequacy
- Excessive need to be taken care of
- Preoccupation with perfection and orderliness
- Recurrent, impulsive, aggressive behavioral outbursts
Additionally, an extreme limitation of one, or a marked limitation of two of these areas of mental functioning:
- Understand, remember, or apply information
- Interact with others
- Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace
- Adapt or manage oneself
Medical evidence
Your effort to secure disability benefits by meeting a Blue Book listing must be supported by substantial medical evidence that includes:
- Medical records that include
- Mental status examinations
- Psychological testing
- Personality measures testing and/or
- Neuropsychology testing
- A statement in your own words about how your BPD makes it difficult to work
- Statements from others having close contact with you, including other health care workers, friends, and family members
It would also be helpful to provide the SSA with a history of your treatment over time.
Inability to Work
If you are not able to qualify for benefits by meeting the requirements for a listing under section 12.08 or the SSA’s Blue Book, you still might be eligible for benefits by showing that your BPD prevents you from performing any kind of job. In this situation, the SSA will conduct a residual functional capacity (RFC) evaluation.
The evaluation will consider your age, work history, and experience to see what job-related tasks if any, you can still perform. If your RFC establishes that you cannot do your previous work or other jobs because of BPD, you may be granted disability benefits.
