First off, thank you for your service. I am active duty Navy and currently going through the MEB/PEB process and have been in 15 years. I will try to answer and help where I can, however, there are a lot of extremely sharp people on this forum that can offer sound advice.
I believe you could argue that your MEB should have been continued "if" your medical conditions made you unfit for continued military service. Since you have been separated the avenue for the Navy and Marines is to petition the Navy through a Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR). At first glance it doesn't appear that would be the best choice, but it's an option.
The majority of mental conditions are rated on the following schedule. Each rating has 5 main categories of symptoms/circumstances. Not every single symptom or circumstance has to be present in order to be assigned the rating, but the rating that most closely defines the condition should always be used.
100% rating: This rating will have the majority of the following circumstances and symptoms:
The Ability to Care for Yourself: This individual cannot take care of himself at all. Constant or near-constant hospitalization and one-on-one supervision is required.
Medications: This individual requires psychiatric medication at all times.
Symptoms: Some or all of the following symptoms will be present.
– Regular or constant delusions or hallucinations and the inability to tell fact from fiction
– Completely inappropriate behavior (like drooling, mumbling, shouting, etc.)
– There is constant danger of hurting self or others (including suicidal tendencies)
– Significant memory loss, including not being able to remember names of close friends, family, or self, and other important information
– The individual cannot understand the idea of time or place
– The individual cannot properly reason, think or communicate logically
– Constant anxiety, fear, suspicion
The Ability to Work: This individual cannot work at all.
Social Relationships: This individual cannot participate in any relationships. In other words, they cannot interact or build a relationship with another person. Family members may care for them, but it is only a one-way relationship. They cannot seek, invite, or encourage any relationships.
70% rating: This rating will have the majority of the following circumstances and symptoms:
The Ability to Care for Yourself: This individual cannot take care of himself most of the time. He is in the hospital or a care facility or is being taken care of by family members all of the time, and requires one-on-one supervision 50% of the time. This person cannot take care of his own personal hygiene.
Medications: This individual requires psychiatric medication at all times.
Symptoms: Some or all of the following symptoms will be present.
– There is the regular possibility of hurting self or others (including suicidal tendencies)
– This individual often cannot communicate logically
– This individual is actively psychotic, but may have intermittent contact with reality
– Obssessive-compulsive behavior that causes repetitive physical actions that interfere completely with daily necessary activities
– Severe, constant anxiety
– Mood often changes radically, without warning.
– Almost constant severe depression or panic, with the inability to function at all in stressful situations
– This individual cannot control impulsive actions like anger, violence, etc.
– Often disoriented to time and place
The Ability to Work: This individual may not be able to work at all or may be severely under-employed (such as a former intelligence analyst now working part time as a custodian).
Social Relationships: This individual cannot participate in any relationships most of the time. In other words, they cannot interact or build a relationship with another person. Family members may care for them, but it is normally only a one-way relationship. They cannot seek, invite, or encourage any relationships the majority of the time.
50% rating: This rating will have the majority of the following circumstances and symptoms:
The Ability to Care for Yourself: This individual is occasionally hospitalized, but can mostly take care of the basic personal needs like bathing or going to the bathroom, although their personal hygiene may not be kept up regularly. They may also be able to function in areas like shopping, driving, cleaning, etc.
Medications: This individual requires psychiatric medication at all times.
Symptoms: Some or all of the following symptoms will be present.
– Trouble expressing or showing emotions (This doesn’t mean that they are just reserved. It basically means that they are completely blank the majority of the time), or shows the wrong or inappropriate emotion for the situation
– Always shows significant signs of anxiety
– Regularly gives unnecessary or unrelated details when communicating
– Two or more panic attacks a week
– Trouble understanding complex directions
– Trouble remembering things (forgetting to complete tasks, etc.)
– Trouble thinking logically and often has poor judgment
– A serious lack of, or a seriously increased, mood or motivation
– Occasional delusions or hallucinations
– Regular to nightly trouble sleeping (nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, etc.)
– Complaints of physical symptoms, like pain, that do not have a physical cause
– Suicidal thoughts, but no definite plan to hurt himself
The Ability to Work: This individual may try to work, but will not be able to hold a job for more than 3 or 4 months because of their inability to remember or follow all directions or other similar reasons based on the symptoms or circumstances described under this rating. (In other words, they wouldn’t lose their job simply because they have anger issues and would regularly get in fights. A person like that could also not hold a job more than 3 or 4 months, but they would still be considered able to work). This individual would only be hired for jobs like cleaning, picking up trash, or other simple-task jobs.
Social Relationships: Like his ability to work, this individual may try to build and engage in relationships, but these relationships would not last long in most situations. Divorce or other breaks in relationships and friendships could occur due to his inability to properly participate in a relationship.
30% rating: This rating will have the majority of the following circumstances and symptoms:
The Ability to Care for Yourself: This individual may have occasional, short hospitalizations, but can entirely take care of himself most of the time.
Medications: This individual usually requires medication to function normally.
Symptoms: Some or all of the following symptoms will be present.
– Spikes or drops in mood, like depression
– Often anxious or becomes easily stressed
– Panic attacks occur, but no more than once a week
– Difficulty sleeping (nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, etc.)
– Mild memory loss could include regularly forgetting names or directions
– Often suspicious of other people, particularly ones he does not know
The Ability to Work: This individual will be able to work and will usually function normally. There may, however, be occasional times where he is unable to properly fulfill all job requirements. This could result in occasionally losing his job.
Social Relationships: Like his ability to work, this individual will normally have fairly stable relationships. These relationships, however, will not be great and will often be strained by the symptoms of his condition. Divorce or breakups could occur, but not in every case.
10% rating: This rating will have the majority of the following circumstances and symptoms:
The Ability to Care for Yourself: This individual will always be able to take care of himself and will very rarely, if ever, be hospitalized.
Medications: This individual may or may not be taking medication. Meds may be taken all the time, or only during stressful times. They satisfactorily keep all symptoms under control.
Symptoms: Some or all of the following symptoms will be present, but only during times of significant stress. The majority of the time there are no symptoms.
– Mild depression or other mood changes
– Mild to moderate anxiety
– Mild panic attacks may occur, but very rarely
– Occasional difficulty sleeping (nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, etc.)
– A range of other, very mild symptoms, which could include suspiciousness of strangers and hyperarousal
The Ability to Work: This individual will be fully employable and will very rarely have any problems at work that are caused by the mental condition.
Social Relationships: This individual will have full, functional relationships with only occasional, mild stresses that are caused by the condition.
0% rating: If a mental condition has been diagnosed but there are no symptoms that impair social or occupational functioning or require medication, then it is rated 0%.