The Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress was characterized by agitation, distressing and intrusive thoughts and dreams, depressed mood, anxiety, chronic sleep impairment, flattened affect, and obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities. Despite these symptoms, the Veteran had good relations with her family, including husband, children and siblings; engaged in hobbies and activities with her husband; and was actively engaged in activities with her community, ministry and tutoring. The Board found that a disability rating higher than 50 percent is not warranted for the entire period on appeal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's overall functioning did not meet the severity of a 70 percent rating as she had good relations with her family, including her husband, children and siblings, and was actively engaged in activities with her community. Although she complained of depression and not wanting to get out of bed, the May 2022 examiner found that her depression, anxiety, and stress scores fell within the minimal range.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- March 17, 2026
- Citation
- A26023642
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A26023642.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress and alcohol abuse, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability or a link to active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's disability picture, primarily due to Parkinson's disease and related manifestations, does not meet the criteria for SMC at the statutory housebound level as his other disabilities do not yield a combined rating of 60 percent.
- Denied
The Veteran's disability picture, primarily due to Parkinson's disease and related manifestations, does not meet the criteria for SMC at the statutory housebound level as his other disabilities do not yield a combined rating of 60 percent.
- Granted
The Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress is found to be proximately due to his service-connected coronary artery disease, and thus granted on a secondary basis.
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