The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) rule defines “mental impairment” to include “[a]ny mental or psychological disorder, such as emotional or mental illness.”
Examples of “emotional or mental illness[es]” include major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders (which include panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder), schizophrenia and personality disorders.
If a condition is an impairment, it is not automatically a “disability.” To rise to the level of a “disability,” an impairment must “substantially limit” one or more major life activities of the individual.
Traits or behaviors are not, in themselves, mental impairments. For example, stress, in itself, is not automatically a mental impairment.
Stress, however, may be shown to be related to a mental or physical impairment. Similarly, traits like irritability, chronic lateness and poor judgment are not, in themselves, mental impairments, although they may be linked to mental impairments.
