VA Disability Benefits for Panic Disorder

Many veterans experience anxiety and trauma-related disorders. Some veterans have panic disorders that cause panic attacks as a result of their time serving in the military. If you have a service-connected panic disorder, you could be owed monthly compensation from the VA. That’s why it’s important to understand VA disability benefits for panic disorders.

You never know when it’s going to happen. You can be doing something as mundane as walking through the grocery store when suddenly you start feeling overwhelming anxiety and fear. Sometimes you get dizzy, start breathing erratically, or even feel chest pain and think you may be having a heart attack. Your fight-or-flight instinct kicks in, and you must get out of the situation as quickly as possible. 

If you relate to this experience, you may have a panic disorder that causes panic attacks. If the disorder is related to your military service, you can receive a panic disorder VA rating.

What is a panic disorder?

A panic disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes sudden, mostly unwarranted, bouts of severe panic or fear. For a person with a panic disorder, extreme feelings of anxiety, panic, or stress can occur at any time and may seem to come from out of nowhere. These episodes of extreme, intense panic or fear are called panic attacks.

Symptoms of panic attacks include:

• Overwhelming anxiety
• Extreme fear or dread
• Irritability or anger
• Sweating or hot flashes
• Trembling or shaking
• Chills
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Nausea
• Dizziness or feeling faint
• Numbness
• A feeling of a lack of control over yourself or a situation

Doctors are unsure exactly what causes panic disorders, but they think they can be related to genetics, chemical imbalances in the brain, and trauma exposure.

Doctors treat panic disorders with therapy and medication in an attempt to manage symptoms. If left untreated, a panic disorder is likely to worsen. Treatment is more effective if it occurs early in the disorder’s development.

Panic disorders and veterans

Veterans are considered a population more prone to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of their service. It’s the most common mental health disorder veterans get service connected for. Since trauma is linked directly to panic disorders, it’s not unusual for veterans who experience trauma to also have a panic disorder. Veterans with panic disorders may be eligible to receive VA disability compensation for mental health disorders.

It's Time for Veterans to Talk About Their Mental Health Conditions

Panic disorder VA rating

Veterans can receive a panic disorder VA rating if their condition was caused or worsened by military service.

The VA rates panic disorder with diagnostic code 9412 for mental health disorders in the Schedule of Ratings. Panic disorder can be rated at 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100%, depending on the severity of the symptoms.

Description	VA rating	Monthly payment
Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: 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%	$3,938.58
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%	$1,808.45
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%	$1,132.90
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%	$552.47
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%	$180.42
A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.	0%	None

A 100% rating means your mental health condition is considered totally disabling by the VA’s standards. On the other end, a 0% rating means the VA agrees your condition is service connected, but does not agree your symptoms are severe enough to warrant monthly payments. However, having a 0% rating can still be helpful if your condition worsens over time.

Service connecting panic disorder

To receive a panic disorder VA rating and get disability compensation for the condition, you must be able to service connect it. 

You’ll need to be prepared to complete a mental health compensation and pension (C&P) exam. The exam assesses your level of disability and whether it is related to your time in service. The VA uses the information from the exam to determine how severe your condition is and your disability rating. The amount of compensation you receive depends on your diagnosis and overall disability rating.

You can expect a lot of questions from a medical professional during a C&P exam about your condition. You should be ready to speak honestly about your symptoms and how they affect your life. You’ll likely undergo a psychiatric evaluation, where they’ll ask you about your personal history and current symptoms. They want to know how the panic disorder impacts your daily life. 

One of the difficulties in service connecting a panic disorder is proving a triggering or inciting event that happened in the past actually occurred during your service and that it’s impacting your condition today. Any reports you made about the event or feelings of panic and anxiety while serving can help with this.

Other evidence can also support your claim. You can include lay statements, which are statements from family members or friends who have witnessed how your symptoms impact your life. You also may submit a buddy statement from a fellow service member who can speak to how the panic disorder impacts you.

If you’ve been denied benefits for your panic disorder or you think you received an inaccurate rating from the VA, you can appeal the decision. You may consider seeking the help of a VA-accredited attorney.

TDIU for panic disorder

Mental health disorders can be debilitating. Panic disorders are no exception. 

Some veterans may function well with mental health disorders, while others experience severe symptoms that make it difficult to hold down a job. The fear of having a panic attack at any time can make it difficult to even leave your home, let alone be productive in a workplace environment. Panic disorders also can make you afraid of being around people, being out in public, or even driving a car, making it impossible to get to and function in a workplace.

Veterans with service-connected panic disorder severe enough to keep them from maintaining what the VA calls “substantially gainful employment” are entitled to total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU). This tax-free monthly benefit ensures those veterans can still support themselves and their families without working. Veterans eligible for TDIU receive VA disability compensation at the 100% rate without their condition being rated 100% disabling.

Qualifying for schedular TDIU requires you to have:

• at least one service-connected disability rated at least 60% OR 
• two or more service-connected disabilities, at least one disability ratable at 40% or more, with a combined rating of 70% or more. 

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How our VA-accredited attorneys can help

Woods & Woods has worked with thousands of veterans nationwide to get them the VA benefits they deserve. Call us for a free case evaluation to find out how we can help. If we take your case, you only pay us a percentage of your back pay if you win. 

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