''mental impairment'' under the ADA

The 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. The current edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (now the fourth edition, DSM-IV) is relevant for identifying these disorders. The DSM-IV has been recognized as an important reference by courts and is widely used by American mental health professionals for diagnostic and insurance reimbursement purposes. Not all conditions listed in the DSM-IV, however, are disabilities, or even impairments, for purposes of the ADA. For example, the DSM-IV lists several conditions that Congress expressly excluded from the ADA's definition of ''disability.'' While DSM-IV covers conditions involving drug abuse, the ADA provides that the term ''individual with a disability'' does not include an individual who is currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs, when the covered entity acts on the basis of that use. The DSM-IV also includes conditions that are not mental disorders but for which people may seek treatment (for example, problems with a spouse or child). Because these conditions are not disorders, they are not impairments under the ADA. Even 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.