Mental Health MEB?

anonymouse

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
Hi,
Several years after I got back from Afghanistan, I had a reemergence of some mental health symptoms. Because the wonderful mental health folks at my base are worthless, I am being treated at a base down the road. Over the last year or so, my symptoms and quality of life have continued to plummet. While I haven't been suicidal recently, I feel as though I may be starting to head back down that road. I have been seeking treatment for over a year, and the drugs sometimes stabilize my symptoms, but there are times when things get bad again. I haven't received any results from any therapy. I don't know if I can complete my current enlistment this way, much less go to 20. I have been considering asking for a MEB, but I don't know the ins and outs of this. Can anyone make any suggestions? thanks
 
Just taking a chance here but...If you are on Camp Pendleton try the Warrior Deployment Health Clinic (or something like that??) located over near the old Naval Hospital or go to mental health at NH Camp Pendleton. Both places take walk ins. If you don't click with your provider, ask to see someone else. If you feel like you may have PTSD or major depression (I have both) I suggest you seek out help with a "long term" psych or therapist, aka--if I were you I would not go to one of those places on base that have social workers or therapist who are there solely to see servicemembers a few times in order to help them through a temporary rough patch, etc. My doctor is a trauma specialist, I got her because I needed her, and I'm really glad I did. She saw me a handful of times before she mentioned the MEB, at first I thought she was crazy but once I did my research I realized it was the best decision I could make for myself. Good luck.
 
Thanks,
I am purposefully being vague here, but I may have left out to much detail. I am active duty AF. I have seen several people, including, most recently, a social worker. Not sure if this person is one of the short-term folks that you speak of, or is more long-term as I have been under this person's care for most of the year. I have several diagnosis from several evaluators for my issues. What I have been doing is not working, and I don't know where to go from here. I don't know if I can continue on in my career, and am trying to figure out the best way to make any sort of recovery. I'm willing to trade a good career for any kind of recovery so that I can enjoy my family once again.
 
I must be nutty, I swear I read in your post that you were a Marine. Ha. Ok. I feel the same way about getting help. I've been in treatment since Feb of this year but I wish I went back in 2011 upon my redeployment. I have to say that I still struggle to see the light at the end of this mental health treatment tunnel but I finally mentally and physically came to my rock bottom this year and now I'm completely focusing on fixing myself and being the best "me" I can be because I feel like I don't know who I am anymore. One thing I'm looking forward to is attending an outpatient program. Is there an outpatient program available on your base or a local base? I'm not sure if you think that would help in your situation but it's an option that allows you to step away from work for a moment and focus on you. Good luck.
 
Tons of info here on mental health mebs. Do your homework and don't stop reading here until the day you are out. You could
Literally learn something new here everyday that would help your case.
The form used to Ulimately determine your rating will be

http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-0960P-3-ARE.pdf

Notice
Block 4A. This is how you will be rated and compensated for the rest of your life. The verbiage in 4a exactly matches the vasrd below:


VA mental health Rating criteria key wording:
Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: grossimpairment in thought process or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriatebehavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others;intermittent inability toperform activities of dailyliving (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time orplace; memory loss for names of close relatives, ownoccupation, or own name…………………..100%

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 worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships ...................................... 70%

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 ………………..50%

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) ............................ 30%

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 .................. 10%

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 .............................. 0%
 
I must be nutty, I swear I read in your post that you were a Marine. Ha. Ok. I feel the same way about getting help. I've been in treatment since Feb of this year but I wish I went back in 2011 upon my redeployment. I have to say that I still struggle to see the light at the end of this mental health treatment tunnel but I finally mentally and physically came to my rock bottom this year and now I'm completely focusing on fixing myself and being the best "me" I can be because I feel like I don't know who I am anymore. One thing I'm looking forward to is attending an outpatient program. Is there an outpatient program available on your base or a local base? I'm not sure if you think that would help in your situation but it's an option that allows you to step away from work for a moment and focus on you. Good luck.
I plan to ask my current providers at my next appointments about my options. But, I don't trust the military mental health system to put my needs first....
 
Tons of info here on mental health mebs. Do your homework and don't stop reading here until the day you are out. You could
Literally learn something new here everyday that would help your case.
The form used to Ulimately determine your rating will be

http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-0960P-3-ARE.pdf

Notice
Block 4A. This is how you will be rated and compensated for the rest of your life. The verbiage in 4a exactly matches the vasrd below:
Thanks Tony. According to that, I would be rated somewhere between 50% and 70%. However, what is more important to me is getting real help. A 70% rating and being suicidal isn't a goal of mine.
 
The block they check in 4a will determine your rating, period.... The rest is just fluff in my opinion. 4A is your overall occupational and social impairment and it forces the provider to choose only one statement and that statement clearly matches up with what the vasrd says about mental Heath. You can also go to your current provider and ask them to fill it out as the treating providers dbq carried more weight. I did this and got a MH increase from 50-70.

I uploaded that Dbq via Ebenefits then did a VARR. During the VARR I noted the new Dbq and a letter my psych wrote where he sprinkled in some of the VA language above. The real kicker was that I then pointed out the fact that I had told six providers on six different occasions over a two year period about suiccidal ideations with intent and plans and provided copies of those documents in my VARR, so it was a slam dunk. Hope this helps.
 
How do I find real help for my issues? I'm tired of suffering through various therapies and medications that provide little help. I have to work much harder to maintain my career and education goals than my peers in order to appease my chain of command. I'm about ready to snap. Do I need to stop working so hard to not be a fukup in order to attain real help? Does real help even exist?
 
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