Not all battle scars are visible.
An estimated 30% of veterans receive disability benefits for a mental health condition and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) saw an estimated 80% increase in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) claims from the early 2000s to today. Many veterans who have returned home continue to battle PTSD, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse disorder, and these mental health conditions impact their day-to-day lives.
With more and more of our military veterans impacted by these mental health conditions, many have questions like — how does the VA rate mental health conditions? We have answers at QRF Legal Services in Lakeland, FL.
What Are the VA Disability Ratings for Mental Health Conditions?
Veteran mental health conditions are rated based on their severity and how much they impact a veteran in terms of their occupation and social lives. Service-connected mental health conditions each carry a different rating system that is based on a General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders used by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
To be claimed as a disability, a veteran must be able to establish a connection between their years of military service and their mental health disorder. In general, disability ratings are based on the severity of the mental health conditions in three key areas — occupational and social impairment, cognitive and emotional symptoms, and the impact on daily life.
Here is a closer look at specific mental health conditions and the VA disability ratings for each:
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) VA Disability Ratings
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder can carry a disability rating from 0% to 100% based on the severity of the symptoms, how it impacts the veteran’s daily life, and medical evidence. Veterans who are discharged from the military due to PTSD will receive an automatic 50% disability rating.
- 0% Rating: Diagnosed with PTSD with no significant impairment in day-to-day function.
- 10% Rating: Mild or transient PTSD symptoms that can interfere with social and occupational relationships.
- 30% Rating: Marked decrease in social and occupational function at intermittent periods with symptoms that include depressed mood, anxiety, weekly panic attacks, chronic lack of sleep, and more.
- 50% Rating: Veterans struggle to maintain relationships, have multiple panic attacks weekly, and are markedly less reliable and productive.
- 70% Rating: The veteran has significant social and occupational impairment in many areas with severe symptoms that include suicidal ideas, continuous depression, neglect of personal appearance, and inability to maintain relationships.
- 100% Rating: The veteran has total and complete social and occupational impairment with severe symptoms that can include hallucinations, danger of hurting themselves or others, memory loss, and an inability to perform daily tasks.
Depression VA Disability Ratings
Many studies estimate that 33% of veterans have some symptoms of depression and 12.5% have severe depression. The Department of Veterans Affairs rates depression on a 0% to 100% rating system based on the severity and impact of symptoms.
- 0% Rating: Depression is diagnosed with minimal impact on day-to-day life and mild, random periods of depression. Symptoms can be controlled by medication.
- 10% Rating: Veterans have periods of mild depression with symptoms that can include difficulty sleeping, anxiety, and impaired social function that can be controlled with medication.
- 30% Rating: Veterans will have mild symptoms that are more significant than veterans with a lower rating and include periods of overeating or loss of appetite, chronic difficulty sleeping, memory loss, difficulty maintaining relationships, and a lack of motivation.
- 50% Rating: This disability rating represents an increase in the frequency and severity of symptoms with more cognitive issues. Symptoms include reduced reliability, longer periods of depression, weekly panic attacks, and more.
- 70% Rating: A disability rating that represents severe symptoms and almost constant depression with symptoms that can include ideas of suicide, obsessive compulsive behaviors, lack of impulse control, and a difficulty maintaining relationships.
- 100% Rating: A 100% disability rating for depression represents constant and severe depression that impairs every aspect of life with symptoms that include suicide attempts, hallucinations, social isolation, being a danger to yourself and others, and more.
Anxiety VA Disability Ratings
Anxiety can take many forms for military veterans — Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder (panic attacks), specific phobias, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Disability ratings for anxiety can range from 0% to 100% based on the severity of symptoms.
- 0% Rating: Anxiety has been diagnosed with no severe symptoms that cannot be managed by medication.
- 10% Rating: Veterans have mild anxiety symptoms that can decrease effectiveness at work and the ability to perform daily tasks with symptoms that can be controlled by continuous medication.
- 30% Rating: Moderate impairment to day-to-day life with reduced productivity and symptoms that include depression, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, and memory loss.
- 50% Rating: Veterans have moderate to severe symptoms with a significant impact on work and social relationships with regular panic attacks, a flattened effect, and impaired judgement.
- 70% Rating: This rating represents severe anxiety with a major impact on daily life and symptoms that can include ideas of suicide, a continued state of panic or depression, and an inability to maintain professional or personal relationships.
- 100% Rating: A 100% rating indicates complete social and occupational impairment with poor behavior, bad communication, disorientation, and an inability to function in day-to-day life.
READ MORE: How To Avoid Common Pitfalls in the VA Disability Process
Are you a veteran who struggles with mental health issues? Have you been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, or depression? You may have questions about how the VA rates mental health conditions and QRF Legal Services is here to help answer your questions about veteran disability claims for mental health disorders.
Contact QRF Legal Services today for more information about your disability claim!
