VA Disability for Anxiety | Veterans Disability Lawyers
Do you or someone you know and love suffer from anxiety caused by military service? Did you know that more than one million veterans are able to receive disability for anxiety?
Working in the military can leave veterans with mental disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression, which can cause them to have issues with their daily lives. Sometimes, those with anxiety find it hard to maintain relationships or conduct work activities. If so, there is help available for veterans through the VA.
So how can veterans claim VA disability for anxiety? Please continue reading below to find out!
We'll cover everything you need to know about VA disability for anxiety, how to increase your rating, and who veterans can speak with for more assistance with disability benefits from the VA.
Living With Anxiety
Many veterans all around the world are living with service-connected generalized anxiety. Anxiety affects different people in different ways, but for most veterans, it presents itself through symptoms like depression, social impairment, and pervasive feelings of worry. When anxiety is particularly severe, it may look a lot like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other impairing disorders.
Anxiety and PTSD can affect your ability to work and socialize. It may make it harder for you to secure employment, and it may make you more likely to suffer from other mental health conditions or substance abuse issues. Social impairment due to your anxiety disorder could cause you to feel lonely and isolated, which often exacerbates symptoms of anxiety and depression.
If you’re suffering from a service-connected anxiety disorder, seeking treatment for your anxiety should be your first priority. Common treatments for anxiety disorders include drugs and therapy.
These treatments should be combined with a healthy lifestyle that promotes good physical and mental health to reduce the symptoms of anxiety in veterans. If you’re claiming VA disability benefits, you could cover the cost of these treatments with your disability compensation.
Veterans suffering from acute anxiety and in need of immediate help, can call a veterans helpline or a crisis center to receive immediate advice and support for their anxiety. Talking to friends and family members about how you’re feeling could also help to ease the symptoms of anxiety in the short term.
Veterans Disability for Anxiety
If you're a veteran with social anxiety, you may be eligible to receive compensation and disability benefits from the VA. Social anxiety disorder, depending on your level, can be extremely debilitating, leaving you struggling to complete normal daily activities.
Those who've served in the military notice that their environment could play a part in the development of their anxiety. For example, if you or your loved one served in combat, some events are traumatizing and troubling, causing anxiety. Depending on the severity of the anxiety, some veterans may develop a fear of the dark, heights, and being in small, confined spaces.
What To Prove for Anxiety
If you've tried to apply for benefits on your own, but you received a denial, there are a few things you must send back to the VA for your appeal. For example, you must send proof that you have a diagnosis of anxiety and that there is some type of correlation to your service that caused or intensified the anxiety.
Anxiety Diagnosis
To receive your veterans disability benefits from the VA, you must have record of a disabling medical condition per the VA's standards. Social anxiety and depression are conditions that meet the VA's handbook for benefits.
Traumatizing Event in Military Service
As mentioned earlier, you must have proof that you developed or had your condition exaggerated by a specific event while you served in the military. If you are unsure of what situation caused your anxiety or depression, you can rely on the help of a reputable disability attorney to help you figure it out.
Suppose there isn't a particular event, but your symptoms started while you were in the military. In that case, your attorney can reach out to friends and family members who can establish that your condition began while you were in service.
VA Disability Rating for Anxiety
PTSD and social anxiety aren't the only mental health disorders that veterans can seek support from VA. Veterans may be diagnosed with a multitude of other mental disorders, even in addition to an existing PTSD diagnosis.
Today, mental health is better understood than ever before. The VA offers disability ratings and benefits to veterans suffering from many different mental health disorders like anxiety or depression that result from military service.
It is important to note that the higher your VA disability rating, the more you can receive in benefits. The VA rates disabilities from 0 percent to 100 percent. Veterans that have been rated with 100% disability mean that they have hallucinations, impairment in their thoughts and communication, and they are completely disabled from work.
Other factors that contribute to a 100% disability rating for anxiety:
- Disorientation of place or time
- Unable to remember their own name
- Unable to remember their occupation
- Minimal personal hygiene maintenance
- Inability to perform daily activities
10% Rating
Very mild symptoms requiring medication, and/or decreased work efficiency in high-stress situations.
30% Rating
The VA's most common rating is around the 30% mark, but depending on your severity, you may lean more on the higher side of the spectrum. Those with 30% ratings have social impairment with a decrease in work efficiency. It also includes chronic sleep issues, mild memory loss, and panic attacks.
50% Rating
With a 50% rating, the conditions cause veterans to experience moderate to high occupational and social impairment and reduced reliability and productivity, along with symptoms like flattened effect and dull speech, frequent panic attacks, difficulty following instructions, and impaired judgment.
70% Rating
Suppose you or someone you know has a 70% rating for VA disability. In that case, it means that there is a deficiency in areas such as thinking, work, family relationships, suicidal thoughts, and the inability to function independently. This rating also includes issues with spatial disorientation and the inability to maintain or establish meaningful relationships.
Regardless of the rating the VA provides you; there are ways to increase your rating. Of course, you don't want to falsely send the VA information to raise your rating, but you want to ensure you include all information relevant to your situation.
Sometimes the VA does not give you a higher rating based on the information provided. So if you know that you or your loved one should have a higher rating, it could be because there isn't enough evidence to prove that level of disability.
What Happens if I Have a 0% Rating?
Those who receive a 0% rating from the VA are unable to collect benefits. It means that even if the veteran has the diagnosis, there aren't enough symptoms shown that can impair work or other social situations.
What Type of Compensation Can A Military Veteran Receive?
Depending on your VA disability rating, you could receive up to $3,000 per month in benefits if you have 100% disability. As the rating decrease, the amount you receive each month also dramatically reduces.
How To Receive VA Disability for Anxiety
If you want to receive VA disability for anxiety, you must send in your application to the VA. If you cannot do so or need help with the process, you can reach out to a reputable VA disability attorney for assistance.
When you work with a disability attorney, they will help you fill out the application and provide the necessary medical documents to prove your level of disability.
VETERANS DISABILITY for anxiety SOLUTIONS
FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
When assessing military veterans for anxiety, factors that might affect a veteran’s disability rating include their ability to perform daily activities and their ability to work efficiently, which may also increase unemployability.
As an example, a 50% disability rating for anxiety presents as occupational and social impairment and reduced productivity and reliability. Panic attacks more than once a week and difficulty understanding complex commands are also present, as are impairments in both short and long-term memory and impaired judgment. This rating reflects a relatively serious form of anxiety, but veterans with much milder symptoms are also able to claim monthly compensation at a lower rate.
Yes, if you feel that your initial evaluation underestimated the severity of your symptoms it’s possible to undergo a reassessment with a view to obtaining an increased rating. Legal experts can help you to identify which features of your illness are more likely to result in a higher anxiety rating and which problems most accurately demonstrate the extent of your disability.
However, proceed with caution, as filing for an increase can trigger a reduction under certain circumstances, especially when there appears to be an improvement or the evidence doesn’t continue to reflect the level of severity required by the ratings.
Why Choose Wettermark Keith?
At Wettermark Keith, we’ve got years of experience working with veterans to secure veterans' disability benefits for a huge range of VA conditions including veteran anxiety and Gulf War Syndrome.
Military veterans with a VA rating for anxiety of more than 10% are eligible for compensation. The higher your percent disability rating, the higher your monthly compensation could be.
If you’re a veteran with a diagnosis of anxiety that may be connected to your military services, we can work with you to maximize your chances of securing VA disability if you've had a benefits decision made in the past. We support you throughout the entire appeals process and our VA law experts can assess your case on an individual basis, taking into consideration your total disability rating and symptoms.
Help With VA Disability for Anxiety
If you or someone you love suffers from anxiety or depression, please know there is help for veterans. Sending in the information needed to receive an accurate VA disability rating can be a tedious task that you shouldn't do alone.
To obtain the VA benefits you deserve, it is best to partner with a reputable VA disability attorney for more assistance. If you need help with your VA disability case or appeal, contact us. We are here to answer any questions or concerns you may have about your situation.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS ALONE
CONTACT DISABILITY FOR ANXIETY VA DISABILITY LAWYERS
To learn more about our law firm, our services, how to access our veterans law resources, and more, contact us today.
You get a free consultation and we won’t charge you a dime until we’ve won your case.
