Many veterans struggle with mental health disorders as a result of their time on duty. Recent data from the National Institutes of Health show that 17.8% of vets have been diagnosed with depression, 15% with anxiety, and 3.4% with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The VA offers disability compensation for veterans who have certain service-connected mental health disorders.
In order to qualify for disability compensation from the VA, you'll need to establish that your mental illness is service-connected, meaning that it was caused or exacerbated by your time in the service. Service connection can be direct, aggravated, presumptive, or secondary. Each type of service connection requires a different set of evidence.
You can get VA disability compensation based on a direct service connection if you have a current diagnosis of a mental health disorder, proof of an accident or event on active duty that caused the disorder, and medical records connecting your diagnosis with the incident in service.
For example, if you were diagnosed with major depressive disorder following the death of a close friend while on duty, you can establish direct service connection by providing a Presidential Memorial Certificate for the deceased veteran as well as clinical notes from your psychologist or counselor.
Some veterans have mental health disorders before going into the service and their experiences on active duty make the condition worse ("aggravated"). You can establish aggravated service connection if you have a current diagnosis from a VA doctor, psychiatrist, or psychologist, evidence of an occurrence in service that made your disorder worse, and medical records showing a connection between your worsening mental health and the in-service event.
You'll also need to prove that you had your mental health disorder before going into the military—such as having your symptoms noted during your enlistment exam. If it wasn't, you must provide medical records showing a pre-service diagnosis of your condition. Furthermore, you must have a VA doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist state in writing that your condition got worse specifically as a result of your military service.
You can sometimes establish service-connection for a mental illness service-connected without having to prove that it was caused by your military service. For example, veterans who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during their time on active duty and receive a diagnosis of depression within three years of the TBI will have the VA "presume" that the depression is linked to their military service. Prisoners of war with a diagnosis of an anxiety or dysthymic (persistent depressive) disorder are also presumed to have a service-connected mental disability.
Veterans often develop mental impairments stemming from a physical disability that occurred during active duty. For example, amputees may develop major depressive disorder as a result of their loss of limb and resulting functional limitations.
If you have a service-connected physical condition that causes a mental health disorder, you're entitled to an additional disability rating ("secondary service connection") for your mental illness. To establish secondary service connection, you must have a current mental illness diagnosis, a physical disability that has been service-connected, and medical evidence of a connection between the service-connected physical condition and your mental illness.
In addition to your medical treatment notes, you'll typically need a written opinion from a doctor to prove that your mental health condition was caused by your physical impairment.
The VA evaluates mental health disorders under the VA Schedule of Ratings Disabilities (38 CFR 4), which follows the criteria set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Some examples of mental illnesses that are eligible for disability compensation include:
If you have a diagnosis of multiple mental health disorders but the symptoms from each illness are similar, you will receive one disability rating. All mental disorders are rated in accordance with the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders (Section 4.130 in the Schedule of Ratings). When it comes to your disability rating, your exact symptoms don't matter as much as how your symptoms affect your ability to function socially or at work.
Compensable mental health illnesses are rated at 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100%. The more severe your impairment, the higher your percentage rating will be. For example, you can only receive a 100% rating if you cannot function at work or socially in any way at all. Below, you can find the VA chart showing the allowable percentage rating and the corresponding symptoms.
Mental Disorder Symptoms |
Percentage Rating |
Total occupational and social impairment. Symptoms can include: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name. |
100% |
Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. |
70% |
Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. |
50% |
Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events). |
30% |
Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. |
10% |
If you are diagnosed with a mental illness and have symptoms, but your ability to function is not impaired, you will be eligible for only a 0% rating. A 0% rating won't get you monthly cash benefits, but it may make you eligible for VA health care and other benefits.
The VA has a variety of resources available to help veterans with mental illnesses such as PTSD, major depressive disorder, and the psychological effects of military sexual trauma. You don't even need to be enrolled in VA health care in order to access many of these resources. If you'd like to schedule your first appointment for mental health treatment, you have several options.
If you find it hard to get to a VA center in person, you can access some mental health services online. The Veteran Training portal offers anger management techniques, and the VA's app store offers many therapeutic tools to help you address behavioral and cognitive issues.
You can find more detailed information about programs (both inside and outside of the VA) designed to help veterans with their mental and behavioral well-being on the VA mental health services webpage.
To start the process of getting VA disability benefits, you'll need to complete Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits. You have several methods to choose from when submitting the application.
To learn more about the filing process, including what additional information you need to submit and how long it will take to get a decision, see our article on applying for VA disability benefits.
Need a lawyer? Start here.