VA Compensation for Derealization Disorder — Everything You Need To Know
Recovering benefits for derealization disorder can be difficult. If the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) denied your claim for derealization disorder veterans’ benefits, you have the right to appeal that decision. A veterans’ disability advocate can help you navigate this process.
Call today for a free case evaluation: (888) 373-4722.
VA Disability Benefits for Derealization Disorder
Traumatic or troubling events during your military service can lead to derealization disorder, a type of dissociative disorder in which you have the feeling of being separated from your physical self.
Patients with derealization disorder often report the feeling of being outside their body, observing themselves as they would another person. Others feel as though they are constantly in a foggy trance, similar to living in a dream.
Derealization disorder can interfere with your ability to work and earn a living. When severe, it can be totally disabling, preventing you from carrying out basic daily living activities on your own, such as eating, bathing and dressing.
Causes of Derealization Disorder
Doctors and researchers are not entirely clear on what causes derealization disorder. But most agree the condition has a genetic or hereditary component, and that it can also be triggered by environmental factors, such as severe trauma, severe stress, or heightened states of fear.
A number of events common to military personnel may trigger derealization disorder or other dissociative disorders. These include combat (particularly when one is exposed to violence or sees friends and teammates lose their lives) and rigorous training exercises.
An Advocate Can Help You Submit a Compelling VA Disability Appeal for Derealization Disorder
A successful disability appeal needs to prove three things:
- You have a valid diagnosis of derealization disorder from your doctor.
- You experienced a triggering event or symptom onset during your military service.
- A nexus (or connection) exists between the event and your diagnosis.
A Diagnosis of Derealization Disorder
Your appeal must first show that you received from your doctor a diagnosis of derealization disorder.
An Event in Your Military Service
Your appeal must also identify a specific event during your military service that was traumatizing or troubling, such as a combat deployment or training exercise or that your symptoms began while you were in the service.
A Nexus Between the Two
The third thing a successful appeal must show is a medical nexus between the event and your diagnosis. This means you must demonstrate that your condition at least as likely as not arose because of something that happened or something that started during your service.
The VA Disability Compensation Scale for Derealization Disorder
The VA rates derealization disorder using their scale for psychological conditions. This information comes directly from the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations:
- 100% Impairment Rating: “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.”
- 70% Impairment Rating: “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 work-like setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.”
- 50% Impairment Rating: “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.”
- 30% Impairment Rating: “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).”
- 10% Impairment Rating: “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.”
- 0% Impairment Rating: “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.”
The following are the monthly disability compensation rates as of December 2019 for single veterans with no dependents:
- 0% rating: $0 per month
- 10% rating: $142.29 per month
- 30% rating: $435.69 per month
- 50% rating: $893.43 per month
- 70% rating: $1,426.17 per month
- 100% rating: $3,106.04 per month
Call (888) 373-4722 Today for a Free VA Disability Evaluation
Talk to a veterans’ disability advocacy group today. Call (888) 373-4722 for a free case evaluation.
