Mental Health Claims

Mental health claims follow the same three-part test as any other claim, but the proof works differently and the rating criteria measure something most Veterans misunderstand. VA isn't scoring how bad you feel. It's measuring how much your ability to work and be around people is impaired, which is why a Veteran who holds down a job but has no friends left can still rate high.

 

This page covers what VA needs, the PTSD stressor rules including the route that requires no combat medal, how MST claims are proven without a report ever being filed, why depression secondary to chronic pain is one of the most missed claims in the system, where alcohol and substance use fit, what each rating level actually says, and what changed in 2026.

 

On that last point, two things worth knowing: the rule that would have based ratings on how you function while medicated was published in February 2026 and rescinded ten days later, and the widely discussed five-domain rewrite is still only a proposal.