How does the VA rate PTSD?

Details

• Combat, fear-of-hostile-activity, prisoner-of-war, and military sexual trauma (MST) stressors have relaxed verification rules under 38 CFR § 3.304(f).
• For MST claims, VA looks for 'markers' in the record — sudden performance drops, unexplained transfer requests, behavior changes — instead of an incident report.
• The rating reflects occupational and social impairment, so treatment records describing function (missed work, isolation, panic frequency) carry more weight than a diagnosis alone.