How Keeping a Symptoms Diary Can Help Win Your Social Security Disability Claim

July 11, 2025

If you’re applying for Social Security Disability benefits in Alabama, you already know how hard it can be to prove just how much your medical condition affects your daily life.


Many people suffer from serious, disabling symptoms—like chronic pain, fatigue, seizures, or depression—that don’t always lead to a hospital visit or a trip to the doctor’s office.


But here’s the catch: Social Security tends to believe that if you didn’t go to the doctor, your symptoms must not have been that bad.

That assumption can hurt your claim.


But there’s a simple, powerful tool you can use to protect yourself and build a stronger case: a symptoms diary. Here at DisabilityAlabama, we often recommend this simple, yet effective approach to help win your SSDI or SSI appeal. 


Why a Symptoms Diary Matters


The Social Security Administration (SSA) bases its decisions on medical evidence and documentation. That usually means doctor’s records, lab results, imaging, and notes from hospital visits. But what about the bad days when you were stuck in bed all day? Or the panic attack that made it impossible to leave the house? Or the migraine that kept you from being able to think clearly enough to drive, work, or cook?


If you didn’t go to the ER or call your doctor, that day might not show up anywhere in your medical records. SSA might assume it didn’t happen at all.


That’s where a symptoms diary comes in.


A well-kept diary fills in the gaps. It creates a consistent, detailed picture of how your symptoms affect your ability to function on a day-to-day basis. And that’s exactly what Social Security needs to see when deciding whether you qualify for benefits.


Who Should Keep a Symptoms Diary?


If your medical condition causes symptoms that come and go, fluctuate in severity, or don’t always require emergency care, you should keep a diary.

Here are just a few examples of people who can benefit from keeping one:


  • People with seizure disorders, like epilepsy

  • People with chronic pain (such as fibromyalgia, back injuries, or arthritis)

  • People with mental health conditions, including major depression, anxiety, PTSD, or bipolar disorder

  • People with chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, long COVID, or similar illnesses

  • People with migraines or other recurring neurological issues

  • People with diabetes, especially when it causes frequent hypoglycemic episodes or complications

Even if you already have regular medical appointments, a symptoms diary can add valuable context that your doctor’s notes may not fully capture.


What Should You Include in Your Symptoms Diary?


A symptoms diary doesn’t have to be fancy. You can use a spiral notebook, a simple pad of paper, a calendar, or even a computer file. The key is to be consistent and detailed.


Here’s what your entries should include at a minimum:


1. The Date

Always write the date for each entry. This shows a timeline of how often your symptoms occur and helps demonstrate patterns over time.


2. Your Symptoms That Day

Be specific. For example, instead of saying “I felt bad,” write something like:


  • “Woke up with stabbing pain in lower back (8/10). Radiated down left leg. Couldn’t sit or stand for more than 10 minutes at a time.”

  • “Severe fatigue all day—slept 16 hours. Couldn’t shower or eat full meals.”

  • “Had a panic attack around noon. Heart racing, shortness of breath, shaking. Took an hour to calm down.”

3. What You Did (or Couldn’t Do) That Day


This is where you explain how your symptoms affected your ability to function. Did you miss work, cancel plans, stay in bed, or need help from a friend or family member?

Examples:

  • “Missed my daughter’s school event because I couldn’t get out of bed.”

  • “Needed help from spouse to cook and do laundry.”

  • “Stayed in bed all day due to migraine. Wore sunglasses indoors. No screens or noise.”

4. How Long It Took to Recover


Include how long the symptoms lasted and what recovery looked like. Did you feel better after a few hours? Was the whole day wiped out? Did you need a few days to get back to baseline?

Example:

  • “Pain started at 9:00 a.m., didn’t ease up until after 8:00 p.m. Next day still groggy and sore. Back to ‘normal’ pain level by the third day.”

5. Medications or Treatments


It can also help to include what medications or treatments you tried and whether they helped.

Example:

  • “Took gabapentin at 10:00 a.m.—mild relief by noon. Still unable to concentrate or drive.”

The more detailed your diary, the more useful it will be to your lawyer, your doctors, and the SSA.


Tips for Keeping a Helpful Diary

Here are a few practical tips to help you keep a diary that supports your claim:


✦ Be Consistent


Try to write in your diary every day, even if it’s just a quick note like “good day—minimal symptoms.” That way, you’re not just recording the bad days, which can seem exaggerated when viewed in isolation.

✦ Be Honest


Don’t exaggerate your symptoms, but don’t downplay them either. Tell the truth about what you’re going through—your diary should reflect the full reality of your condition.

✦ Write Clearly


If your handwriting is hard to read, consider typing your entries on a computer or phone. Clear, legible entries are more helpful in the long run.

✦ Date Every Entry


This cannot be overstated. A diary without dates is almost useless to Social Security. It needs to be clear that these events happened at specific times.


✦ Bring It to Doctor Appointments

Share your diary with your doctor. It can help them better understand your condition and write more accurate records. It also shows that you’re actively tracking your health—which can improve credibility in your case.


How a Symptoms Diary Helps Your Attorney


If you’re working with a Social Security Disability attorney (and you should be, especially if you’ve been denied), your diary gives them real, concrete details they can use to build your case.

Here’s how:


  • It helps illustrate the frequency and severity of your symptoms.

  • It backs up what you say on disability forms and during your hearing.

  • It can show why you didn’t always go to the doctor (e.g., symptoms were recurring, treatment was already prescribed, etc.).

  • It can highlight “bad days” that may not show up in medical records but still prevent you from holding a job.

In short, your diary can bridge the gap between your medical records and your lived experience—and that’s often the key to winning a disability appeal.


A Real-Life Example from Alabama


Let’s say you live in Huntsville and have been dealing with fibromyalgia for years. You’ve seen your primary care doctor a few times, maybe even a rheumatologist. But you don’t run to the ER every time your pain flares up—and why would you? You already know they’ll just tell you to rest and take your meds.


When you file for disability, though, the SSA looks at your records and sees only a few doctor visits. They assume your pain must not be that bad. So, they deny your claim.


Now, imagine if you’d kept a symptoms diary for the last six months.

That diary shows that you had pain flare-ups three times a week, lasting 8–12 hours each. You often couldn’t drive, cook, or walk your dog. You slept excessively during bad flare-ups and had days where even reading or talking was exhausting.


With that diary in hand, your attorney can paint a much clearer—and more accurate—picture of your disability.


Final Thoughts: A Small Effort with a Big Impact


If you’re dealing with chronic, disabling symptoms and trying to get Social Security Disability benefits in Alabama, keeping a symptoms diary might feel like just one more thing to do while you’re already overwhelmed.


But this one small habit—writing a few sentences each day—can make a huge difference in your case.


It shows Social Security what your day-to-day life is really like. It fills in the blanks that medical records alone can’t explain. And it gives your attorney powerful, detailed evidence to fight for your benefits.

You don’t need a special app or an expensive notebook. You just need to start.


So whether you’re in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, or right here in Tuscaloosa—take the first step. Open a notebook. Write today’s date. And begin.


Need help with your Social Security Disability appeal?

We’re here for you. Our Alabama-based law practice focuses exclusively on helping people win the disability benefits they deserve. If you’ve been denied—or you’re thinking about applying—contact us today for a free consultation.


Let us help you build the strongest case possible, starting with something as simple (and powerful) as your own words. Contact experienced Alabama disability attorney Jason Bailey today!