You're looking at about a year right now for a claim to be assessed and a decision made / payment awarded. It's smart to begin the process as soon as you have some paperwork to start building on.
A VAC claim can be a huge pain in the ***, and the best advice I can give is not to try to do your own. I suggest - strongly - that you enlist the help of one of the Provincial Service Officers at the Legion. They are full time Legion employees whose job it is to represent soldiers and vets with VAC claims. As their full time job, they get quite good at it. They know exactly what VAC is looking for and what it should look like. They know the common pitfalls and shortcomings that result in denied applications and someone burning a level of appeal to remedy something that was avoidable in the first case. You do not have to be or become a Legion member and you do not have to pay a cent, nor do they take a cut. It's simply a bloody awesome service that the Legion provides, funded by the money they take in.
Skip the local Legion branch level- thsoe are part time volunteers, some are excellent, some are garbage, most are decent, but in all cases they'll in any case be referring it up to a full time SO. The service officers can be contacted here:
http://www.legion.ca/support-for-veterans/contact-a-service-officer
The only inaccuracy in that list that I know of is Joseph Waugh; he's just moved on to a different job, which sucks, because he's bloody excellent.
The VAC process will be one big thing going forward, both in terms of accessing financial benefits, as well as accessing care and treatment. It's big, it's slow, it's bureaucratic. Separate to that there are a lot of various supports available for soldiers and vets dealing with PTSD or other operational stress injuries, and without wanting to throw too much at you, I'd be happy to help you out and give you an idea of where to look if you would like. You have a ton on your plate and a lot to think about, and there are a lot of good people who can lend the voice of their experience to help you through it.
If I may ask, are you still serving or released?