Severe mental disorder with loss of contact with reality (e.g., schizophrenia)
Medical records documenting your diagnosis and the specific symptoms you experience are central to establishing a rating. Clinician notes that describe the frequency and severity of symptoms — such as how often panic attacks occur, whether delusions or hallucinations are persistent, or whether speech is illogical or irrelevant — directly correspond to the criteria that separate one rating level from the next.
Psychiatric evaluation findings matter at every level. Records showing impaired memory, impaired judgment, flattened affect, or disorientation to time or place support the middle to higher rating levels. Evidence of suicidal ideation, inability to maintain personal hygiene, or spatial disorientation points toward the higher levels. Documentation of a persistent danger of hurting yourself or others, or memory loss for the names of close relatives or your own name, supports the highest level.
Statements from you, family members, or coworkers describing how symptoms affect your ability to keep a job, manage daily tasks, maintain relationships, or care for yourself can help show the real-world impact of your condition. Records showing whether your symptoms are controlled only through continuous medication are also relevant, particularly at the 10% level.
Conditions that are often caused or made worse by this one. If you have any of these, they may be claimable as secondary service connection.
