Before discussing work disability due to depression, it is necessary to explain what we call work disability. Work disability is defined and evaluated by the National Institute of Social Security. Depression can make it impossible for an employee to perform work, thus it can be a cause of disability as long as the situation is recognized by a professional who has the ability to determine such a situation.

As an employee, you are protected in a series of situations that could result in your inability to work and the need for medical and healthcare attention from your social security system. Basically, there are two reasons or groups of causes for disability: illness or accident.

Depression, on the other hand, can be defined as an illness or mental disorder characterized by profound sadness, hopelessness, low self-esteem, loss of interest in anything, and impaired mental functioning.

The most characteristic symptoms of depression include repeated crying accompanied by persistent fear or emptiness, loss of interest in activities that previously brought pleasure, loss of libido, extreme fatigue, weakness in strength and muscles, loss or increase of appetite, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness, and insomnia or inability to sleep and stay asleep.

Treatment of Depression

Cognitive models view humans as a system that processes information from the environment before responding. The individual classifies, evaluates, and assigns meaning to the stimulus based on their experience of interaction with the environment and their beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, worldviews, and self-evaluations. Emotional disorders tend to express a bias in information processing that generates irrational thoughts, which are the cause of depression. In cognitive-behavioral therapy, it is important to set goals to assess each situation realistically, learn to take into account all the data of each situation, as well as challenge irrational thoughts by engaging in different behaviors. Among the behavioral techniques, we can highlight activity scheduling and step-by-step task assignment, as well as assertiveness training. In cognitive techniques, we focus on training in observation and recording of cognitions, demonstrating to the patient the relationship between cognition, affect, and behavior, etc.

Psychological Evaluation: How to Obtain Work Disability Due to Depression

The work disability claim form is extremely important as this type of evaluation examines how the illness affects your daily life and hinders your ability to perform your work normally and effectively.

The task of the expert is, therefore, to establish causality and technically explain that the illness experienced by the individual renders them incapable of properly engaging in any work activity, as the symptoms directly impede their performance and competence as a professional.

Types of Work Disability Due to Depression

Clearly, when assessing possible work disability, the nature of the disorder must be considered. Generally, a person suffering from depression tends to have temporary disability. In these cases, the person’s symptoms have appeared over a short period of time, and treatment is initiated to alleviate these symptoms.

If the symptoms persist for a long period of time, the situation of temporary disability should be reviewed, and permanent disability should be evaluated. This assessment should be conducted to determine the extent of the pathology, its severity, the duration of symptoms, how it affects the person’s life, and the emotional harm caused by this disorder.

In this regard, permanent disability can be total (preventing the employee from performing tasks related to their professional activity) or absolute (preventing the employee from engaging in any type of professional activity), depending on the impairment it represents and the person’s inability to cope with normalcy on a chronic basis in daily life.

Lastly, we can discuss Great Disability. This type of disability, in addition to the aforementioned problems, implies that the person suffering from the disorder requires the assistance of a third party to carry out their daily activities.

All disabilities of this kind should be reviewed after a certain period of time, as the development of the disorder and its impact on the person’s life and emotional state need to be evaluated, and improvements or deterioration can be assessed.

We must not forget that the psychological report is an effective proof that technically reflects the possible disability. The psychological report is a snapshot of the person’s emotions and cognitive and psychological state and is as relevant as a medical report relating to a broken bone, for example, an injury or a fracture.