When you deal with depression for long periods of time, it can affect how you're able to manage life, including very important details such as supporting yourself with steady employment and keeping a roof over your head. This is called persistent depression disorder, or Dysthymia, and trying to juggle this condition and all of life's demands is often a losing battle. Is it time to look for long-term, permanent help? Do you think you should finally file for disability support or is there some other avenue of treatment you should try, first? These are difficult questions, but your life demands that you ask them and above all else, that you find definitive answers.

Evaluate Your Work And Financial History

If you're like a lot of people with depression, the disease causes you to withdraw from responsibilities at certain times, making holding a job difficult. Of course, if you can't hold a job, paying bills becomes impossible, so you may also have a history of moving a lot. Don't be ashamed of this past; rather, document it clearly so that you get a good picture of how depression is a real threat to your ability to sustain yourself.

Your work and financial history may also help to demonstrate your qualification for disability, as there is a set criteria Social Security will use to judge your circumstances—mainly, how severely depression impairs your ability to:

• Comprehend, recall, and apply information, such as job-related instructions
• Interact with peers, coworkers, subordinates, and bosses
• Make decisions and handle pressure
• Take care of yourself and your home

If you know your depression is the reason for so many poor decisions and outcomes in your life, it may be time to accept the fact that continuing to fight through life is not in your best interests. Although this is often a tough decision to reach, it's better to be honest with yourself and get the help you need.

Evaluate Your Treatment History

Social Security will look at how you've addressed your disability, such as seeking regular treatment and possibly, taking prescribed medications. In addition to their scrutiny, ask yourself if you've done all that you can do for yourself from a medical standpoint. Have you tried recommended therapy? Have you tried to apply the advice of doctors to your personal daily life?

Because this is such a major decision, you need to answer these questions now, both for yourself and the disability application process. You will be questioned and your history examined; thus, it's better that you know the answers going in and can account for what you've done for yourself up to this time. You might decide to try a new option before filing, in which case, you should accurately document how it goes. Optimally, it works well for you, but if not, you need to show how you have exhausted all methods of treatment available to you.

Anticipate A Future Of Positive Change Or Continued Decline

Especially if you've been diagnosed as bi-polar, where sometimes, you feel like you're on top of the world and can do anything, while other times leave you discouraged and defeated, you should look at the big picture of your life as you decide whether or not to apply for disability. Be realistic and even tough on yourself, as facing a futile battle against the invisible forces of depression may just keep you in personal and financial ruins. If you believe you can actually change your future in a positive way without disability, go for it. On the other hand, if you're tired of going around in circles and feel optimism is often deceitful, applying for disability may be the best thing you've ever done for yourself.

Talk To Your Doctor, No Matter What You Decide To Do

Whether or not you choose to file for disability, if you feel your depression is affecting your quality of life, ask your doctor for guidance. Medications could be changed or therapy could be added, in an attempt to help you "normalize" your moods and help you to enjoy life more. Just because you're not depressed to the extent that you need Social Security Disability doesn't mean you shouldn't get the help you need to feel better.

If you do opt for disability, you're going to need your doctor to vouch for your claims, so bring this issue up. Ask the doctor about your medical history, the treatments you've received and the records you'll need for the case. In the unlikely event that your doctor disagrees with your decision to seek disability, look for a second opinion. Because the role of a physician is so vital in applying for disability, you need that voice on your side and verifying your statements.

Find A Good Social Security Disability Attorney

Although finding an attorney could be the first step you take, if you're still struggling between filing and trying other options, wait until your decision is final. Once you do decide to apply for disability, you're going to need the guidance of an attorney familiar with the intricate process of filing and quite possibly, appealing. You should have a doctor's statement, your detailed medical history, and your personal recollection of how your depression has been haunting you, since it first began. Include the details of how many jobs you've had and how having depression has kept you down financially. It's hard to support yourself when you're constantly in the grip of depression and that's an important point to make in your filing.

Other odds and ends a social security disability attorney will help you with include the deadlines, forms, and appointments you'll be dealing with, along with good advice on how to keep yourself afloat as you go through the filing process. Many filers must appeal their initial denial (of benefits), meaning you may have a long road ahead of you and you don't want to take that long road without a trusted lawyer helping you.