The emotional stress that military service members can experience may lead to some veterans developing severe anxiety. But can veterans obtain VA disability benefits for anxiety? Furthermore, how does the VA evaluate anxiety claims to determine the amount of benefits owed to veterans?
Can You Get VA Benefits for Anxiety?
The VA recognizes anxiety as a mental health condition that can cause disabling symptoms for veterans. As a result, a veteran can qualify for VA disability benefits for anxiety if they can obtain an official diagnosis from a medical or mental health professional and show that their military service caused or aggravated (worsened) their anxiety. A veteran can also qualify for VA disability benefits for anxiety as a secondary condition – if another service-connected medical or mental health condition causes a veteran to develop anxiety or aggravates a pre-existing anxiety disorder or an anxiety disorder that develops after military service.
Understanding VA Disability Ratings for Anxiety
The VA rates disabilities on a scale of 0 to 100 percent at increments of 10. For anxiety and many other mental health conditions, the VA rates conditions at 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, or 100 percent, depending on the severity of a veteran’s symptoms. The higher a veteran’s rating, the higher their monthly disability compensation payment. Higher disability ratings may also qualify veterans for other benefits, such as Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) or free VA healthcare.
Criteria for VA Anxiety Ratings
The VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) provides criteria for each anxiety rating:
- Zero percent: Formal diagnosis of anxiety, but symptoms do not interfere with occupational and social functioning or require continuous medication.
- Ten percent: Mild occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work function only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.
- 30 percent: Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in working ability and intermittent periods of inability to perform work.
- 50 percent: Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to various symptoms such as panic attacks more than once per week, impairment of short- and long-term memory, impaired judgment or abstract thinking, and disturbances of motivation and mood.
- 70 percent: Occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas due to symptoms such as suicidal ideation, obsessional rituals that interfere with routine activities, near continuous panic affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately, or effectively, or difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances.
- 100 percent: Total occupational and social impairment due to symptoms such as gross impairment in thought processes, intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living, disorientation to time or place, or memory loss.
Evidence Needed to Support a Claim
Evidence you may need to establish that you have service-connected anxiety or anxiety as a secondary condition and ensure an accurate disability rating of your condition include:
- Medical documentation, including an official diagnosis, treatment history, and medication records (if applicable)
- Nexus letters from medical or mental health experts linking your anxiety to your military service
- Statements from people in your life that describe the effects of your anxiety on your daily functioning
- Service records to document in-service events that led to your anxiety
Tips for Strengthening Your Claim
Best practices that can help you strengthen your VA disability claim for anxiety include:
- Make sure to seek ongoing treatment and regularly document your symptoms
- Discuss your symptoms honestly and in detail during C&P exams
- Utilize buddy statements from family members, friends, and co-workers to support your claim
Contact a VA Disability Lawyer Today
When you suffer from debilitating anxiety caused or aggravated by your military service, you may have the right to obtain VA disability benefits. Contact Veterans Law Attorneys today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a VA disability attorney to learn more about your eligibility for VA disability benefits for anxiety and discuss what kinds of benefits you might receive for service-connected anxiety.
