U.S. Military Has New Online Mental Health Resource

WEDNESDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. military personnel and their families now have a free, anonymous Web-based mental health and alcohol self-assessment program. The service is available worldwide and provides immediate results, plus referrals to military mental health services.

The program -- offered through the nonprofit organization Screening for Mental Health -- is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Health Affairs and screens for a number of common problems that often go undiagnosed. It enables users to identify their individual symptoms and to seek help before the situation becomes urgent. Program users can do self-assessments for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and alcohol abuse.

Questions include:

• Have you lost pleasure in the things you used to enjoy?
• Do you have trouble eating or sleeping?
• Does your mood fluctuate between overly "high" to sad and hopeless?
• Are you keyed up and anxious all the time?
• Are you having nightmares about something that happened in the past?
• Do you suffer from unexplained aches and pains?

When they''ve completed the self-assessment, users are provided with information about where they can go for a full mental health assessment.

More information

Here''s where to find the self-assessment program.

-- Robert Preidt

SOURCE: Screening for Mental Health, news release, March 16, 2006

Last Updated: March 29, 2006