A decade ago I did a paralegal internship with an attorney who handled SSDI appeals. Much of my job consisted of photocopying very thick files to support the need for SSDI. The clients usually had years and years of medical records.
Someone else has already mentioned that you actually need to be out of work for a period of time, and your condition needs to be such that it prevents you from working for at least a year or will result in death.
It is a bit of a myth that people are invariably turned down at first. The problem is that people don't have the correct documentation. Or they think it's easy to get. I used to have a co-worker who'd say she should just go on disability. She did have some health issues, but not ones that kept her from working. You need to be truly unable to work in your field, and there is nothing else appropriate that you could do. The barriers are pretty high. At the risk of sounding somewhat callous, have you considered getting a different job? Even if you take a pay cut, continuing to work will ultimately improve your Social Security amount.
In all honesty, being stressed out because of the job probably won't cut it. You'd be expected to get a job with another company. The bipolar diagnosis is slightly helpful, but if it can be treated with medication, then you won't be deemed disabled.
There are some people who do game the system, but that's not really as common as people think.
I will also add that a good SSDI appeals attorney will not take your case unless they feel very strongly it can be won. When I worked for the attorney, I saw how often she turned down people. She did always tell them that if they felt strongly they should be able to get SSDI, then by all means contact another attorney. But since the attorneys only get paid when the appeal is won, they won't take even marginal cases for the most part. The semi up side is that by the time SSDI is approved, you've been on the clock so to speak, and will get retroactive money. The attorneys have a very strict limit on how much they get of that, so you'd still wind up with a tidy lump sum. Meanwhile, you won't be working and have no money coming in. That might ultimately be even more stressful than your current job.
Here is a link to a pamphlet from the Social Security Administration that tells you everything you need to do to start the application process.
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10029.pdf
I wish you the best.
= new reply since forum marked as read