chriscond

I think it is a Great sign!
A SSDI award, if VA is aware of it-that is solely for SC disabilities- is Superb evidence for TDIU.
It is,in essense, an independent medical opinion.
 

Them focusing on your childhood is pretty common (that happened to me at 1 or 2 psych exams). I was just direct with them and ended up being service connected. One exam I had, the Psychologist literally STARTED the exam with this statement "So I see you've had anxiety your entire life"...I was kind of shocked and said "No...." lol. I had told the first examiner I saw was an introvert and had anxiety before tests, oral reports, asking girls out, job interviews etc and I think they tried to use that against me. Even when anyone with half a brain knows those are all normal AND appropriate responses.
Do you have evidence in your service treatment records that show a disability during service? If you were accepted into the military and nothing was marked on your entry examination regarding mental health problems then it's a pretty hard thing for the VA to prove it was pre-existing. Even if you flat out said "I had anxiety growing up" but there's no record or diagnosis of treatment prior to service then they would still have to concede service connection or at the very least aggravation. 
Good luck and keep us updated.

Just to clarify some things, since a few of the responses have mentioned it. I am already receiving SSDI based SOLELY on my S/C anxiety/depressive disorder. I've been receiving SSDI since 2010. Actually got SSDI before I was ever rated by the VA, in fact, before I even applied for VA compensation. SSA advised me to apply with the VA (shocking right) and that's the only reason I did. I wasn't even aware that you could get paid for disabilities that happened in or were aggravated by the military at that point. The VA is aware of my SSDI award.
I guess I'm just hoping they will rate me 100% because I truly do believe that it warrants it. I know what I "feel and believe" don't matter at all but just saying. I've been messed up for a long time (over 10 years) with no improvement, just getting worse and that's with weekly therapy, 4 different medications, etc. My VA provider told me she is so out of options that she might have to resort to Electro-Convulsive-Therapy because my anxiety and depression is "Treatment refractory" whatever that means.
With all that said, I'm guessing they will rate me at 70% which I will be grateful for. Everything does help, especially being relatively young (32) with 3 children at a young age (6, 4, 2). It sucks so bad not being able to work and provide for them. There's a lot of guilt with associated with that, especially as they're getting older and are noticing I'm not like other Dads. Especially my 6 year old daughter, she has said "you're a bad daddy! you never do anything fun with us. you always stay home in your room." Pretty insightful for a 6 year old but it's hurtful lol. On top of that my girlfriend is super tired of it. It's like pulling teeth getting me to drive to the grocery store or any other type of thing that involves me being out of the house. It's very hard when a productive and accomplished day to me means I took a shower, brushed my teeth, changed my clothes and went somewhere for 20 minutes. It compounds the guilt and worthlessness when I DO those things and I get told "thank you so much!" and they mean it. Getting thanked for doing something so normal and routine is sickening.
Sorry for the long diatribe, my therapist hasn't been able to see me the last 2 weeks so I'm venting lol.
 
 

This exam happened on 2/25/16 (last thursday). Already service connected at 50% for Anxiety Disorder. Brief facts: It was an appeal because I was denied increase in 2014 and remained at 50%. My VA treating physician has said I cannot work in her records and I am on SSDI since 2010.
Got into my appointment and the first thing the Doc said was "So from what I gather from your records, you have a lifelong history of anxiety..." I responded "No...." He reads over the notes and says "It says here you enjoyed being alone, solitude, and things of that nature growing up"...I said "Yes, that's true...I am introverted by nature. But I also had friends, played sports, had jobs throughout high school and was on the honor roll."
He left it at that and then started asking me about why I joined the Army and when the anxiety started and why it happened (which is weird since i'm service connected already. Is that a pretty typical question? On the QTC exam notice it said under "Opinion: No" and under "Med records: Yes"...so he should have known that.) As we got further along into it I could tell he didn't read any of the VA records because he was asking me about my living situation and had no clue I had a girlfriend and 2 kids with 1 on the way. 
After that he basically wanted to know what my days are like...I told him...he asked if I was drinking alcohol or doing drugs and I said "No" and I expected him to go into it more since I have a history of alcohol abuse and sobriety then relapses...but he just stopped me and said "sounds like its in remission"....he asked me if i had any outstanding legal issues...I said no..but I have had legal issues before...he paused for a second and told me I could tell him about those if I wanted...Lmao
Then he basically said "Okay we're done"....I was kinda shocked so I just brought up some other stuff. At the very end of it (after he said we were done")he stated "Also, I noticed you broke your hand in service by punching a wall. Was that to get out of doing your job?" I said "No"...then it just kind of ended with him giving me a summary of what he interpreted my statements to be and asked me if I agreed with his general assessment....he was pretty accurate so it kind of just ended.
The whole "lifelong anxiety" and "did you punch the wall to get out of doing your job" questions were kind of bizarre to me. I had no history of treatment or diagnosis of anxiety before service. I broke my hand on the wall because I was pissed off at my situation and that was what led to my Commander telling me to go to mental health...and even then that doesn't really have anything to do with my anxiety disorder.  Am I just being another anxious vet who is freaking out over nothing based on an exam?
I told him after service I got a job and only worked for a week because of the same "issues". I was never diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder blatantly in service so I didn't know what was going on with me for a year or two. I just thought I was broken or useless.  I was originally diagnosed with a "personality disorder" and processed out of the Army. 
I'm kind of pissed off at MYSELF because the questions were so broad and encompassing that I answered in general terms. I didn't even mention that I've lost 60 pounds in the last year from lack of appetite and being worried about medication side effects of weight gain. Didn't mention that I burn myself with cigarattes to ground myself or try to snap out of it. He didn't even ask about my panic attack frequency/duration/etc. He seemed "fine" with just saying that in general I stayed by myself because I can't handle external stimulus and that I don't have a good relationship with my children and their mother even though we live together.