Tips for a Successful Anxiety VA Rating

Anxiety can result in restlessness, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, and physical symptoms like a racing heart or twitching. The symptoms of anxiety can impact your ability to engage in social and occupational interactions, and for veterans whose anxiety is service-related, disability benefits are available. The purpose of VA disability benefits is to replace the lost income that your condition results in, and the amount you receive depends on your anxiety VA rating. 

Achieving an accurate and complete anxiety VA rating is essential to collecting the coverage you deserve for your condition. To support the strongest application possible or to successfully appeal an adverse decision, the VA disability lawyers from our VA benefits law firm are available to help. 

Document Your Symptoms and Maintain Regular Mental Health Treatment 

Veterans with even a 0 percent anxiety VA rating are able to receive mental health services from the Veteran’s Health Association, VHA, and their associated clinics. To support your anxiety VA rating, seeing a mental health professional regularly provides you not only with treatment to address your symptoms but also proof of your condition. Pursuing regular mental health treatment supports your quality of life and rating and will impact the amount of tax-free payments you receive each month.  If you do not regularly go to the VA clinic, there is often no way to officially document your symptoms.  We have seen many veterans over the years with very severe symptoms be unable to win an appropriate rating because they never go to the doctor.  When a veteran with an anxiety rating wishes to raise his rating, it is critical that he go to the clinic and verbalize the presence of his serious symptoms.  This forces VA clinicians to write down the symptoms on the veteran’s medical file, documenting them for the VA raters.  

The most direct and accurate source of information about how you experience anxiety is you, and keeping a journal and providing it to the VA helps with your rating. The ways in which anxiety impacts your ability to work and enjoy social interactions determine how it is measured, and self-reported journals are accepted as evidence by the VA. You should also obtain statements from friends and family who have personally observed the seriousness of your symptoms.

Support Your Application with Additional Evidence 

The quality of the evidence you provide with your VA disability application determines how accurate and complete your disability rating is. The nexus letter that you provide to the VA oftentimes determines whether or not your condition is classified as service-connected and thereby eligible for benefits. A nexus letter is a medical opinion from an expert who has reviewed your service records, current medical records, and other information and issued the opinion that your anxiety is connected to your service or a condition that is already service connected. 

Medical documentation from the expert who wrote your nexus letter, your mental health counselor, and even opinions from persons who have witnessed your symptoms are all helpful. Your family may provide statements about how your anxiety impacts you in social situations or when trying to work, and the VA takes all of this into account when setting your anxiety VA rating. If you have really severe symptoms that result in suicidal thoughts, it is extremely important that these symptoms are documented.  The case law from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has determined that suicidal thoughts should result in a high rating for a service connected psychiatric disorder.

Discuss Your Service-Related Anxiety with a VA Disability Lawyer

When your service-connected anxiety impacts your ability to function socially and earn income to support yourself and your family, you are entitled to VA disability benefits at the maximum rate. To learn how we can help, call toll-free at 888-915-3843 or visit our site to schedule a free case evaluation.