If you have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD, regardless of whether your stressor event occurred as the result of military service, an automobile or work accident, or a violent crime committed against you or a loved one, you may be unable to work as a result of your PTSD’s effects on your social and occupational functioning. Though many people with PTSD avoid leaving their home as much as possible because they feel unsafe outside of it or in the presence of other people, including people they already know, many people with PTSD know from experience that they are likely to misperceive the words or actions of others as a threat to their personal safety and thus will react angrily, aggressively, or even violently. This knowledge further cements their strong preference to avoid leaving their house or having to be in the presence of other people as they often know no matter how hard they try to control their anger and aggression in response to the actions of other people, which are often innocuous but misperceived, in the moment they are unable to do so, which compromises both their safety and the safety of the other person or people involved. An individual with such limitations cannot maintain regular attendance, which precludes their ability to obtain and sustain even a part-time job, much less perform substantially gainful activity, which generally constitutes full-time employment.
Moreover, even if they were somehow able to leave and stay outside their house for a significant period of time on a regular basis, people suffering from severe PTSD often find that they are unable to interact effectively with other people, especially supervisors and coworkers who are charged with providing instructions and critical feedback about their performance. In this context, people suffering from severe PTSD are often unable to tolerate the stress of having to follow instructions or respond to criticism of their performance; instead, they often react to such interactions with anger and aggression, which typically results in their termination after even only one instance. An individual with PTSD who cannot effectively interact with his or her supervisor cannot work any job, including part-time employment, because every worker in every job has a supervisor.
If you or a loved one have PTSD that prevents them from leaving their home on a regular basis or interacting effectively with other people, Viner Disability Law’s attorneys can help. Whether your claim for Social Security disability benefits has already been denied or you have yet to file an initial application, our office can assess your claim via a free consultation either in-person or over the phone.
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