When people think about Veterans with mental health disorders, they typically consider posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD. PTSD became better known after the Vietnam War and was recognized as a diagnosed condition by the American Psychiatric Association beginning in 1980. Prior to 1980, the condition was commonly referred to as “shell shock.” The diagnosis has become far more prevalent since the onset of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and with increased access to mental health treatment through the VA and the branches of the military. However, PTSD is just one diagnosis of the numerous mental health disorders that the VA recognizes.
The reality is that not all Veterans are exposed to the traumas and/or stressors that result in a diagnosis of PTSD. However, the VA recognizes somatic symptom disorder resulting from other service-connected disabilities. Somatic symptom disorder is characterized by an extreme focus on physical symptoms, such as pain or fatigue, that cause major emotional distress and problems functioning. Pain is the most common symptom, but whatever a Veteran’s symptoms may be, they result in excessive thoughts, feelings or behaviors related to these symptoms that can potentially cause significant problems, making functioning difficult.
Somatic symptom disorder can result in the following responses:
- Constant worry about potential illness
- Viewing normal physical sensations as a sign of severe physical illness
- Fearing that symptoms are serious, even when there is no evidence
- Thinking that physical sensations are threatening or harmful
- Feeling that medical evaluation and treatment have not been adequate
- Fearing that physical activity may cause damage to your body
- Repeatedly checking your body for abnormalities
- Frequent health care visits that don’t relieve your concerns or that make them worse
- Being unresponsive to medical treatment or unusually sensitive to medication side effects
- Having a more severe impairment than is usually expected from a medical condition
How does somatic symptom disorder relate to Veterans and disability ratings from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs? 38 CFR § 3.310 provides that a disability which is proximately due to, or the result of a service-connected disease or injury shall be service connected. When service connection is established for a secondary condition, the secondary condition shall be considered a part of the original condition. This means that if medical evidence establishes a diagnosis for somatic symptom disorder, and this diagnosis is related to another service-connected physical disability or a condition such as chronic fatigue syndrome, then the somatic symptom disorder is thereby service-connected and subject to compensation as a service-connected disability from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
If a Veteran is experiencing symptoms like those listed above, it is essential that they seek medical evaluation of their condition and symptoms. If the Veteran’s treatment results in a diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder that is related to a service-connected disability, then filing a claim for somatic symptom disorder on a secondary basis is the appropriate action to take. If your claim is denied by the VA, please contact Gustad Law Group for assistance in the appeal of the decision from the VA.