Returning from a deployment often means dealing with an overwhelming rush of emotions. Mood swings are a common occurrence for men and women just back from a tour in a war zone. Military servicemembers and their families have a new tool to help figure out if recurring emotional ups and downs are part of the normal re-adjustment to life at home or the warning signs of a larger problem.
The National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2) has just released a smart phone application called the T2 Mood Tracker that allows users to monitor and track their emotional experiences over time using a visual rating scale. The app comes loaded with baseline rating scales for some of the most common deployment related behavioral health challenges like post-traumatic stress, brain injury, depression and anxiety. The Mood Tracker also allows users to add notes about what was going on around them during moments of emotional stress.
The goal of the T2 Mobile Tracker is to gather more accurate information on a servicemember’s overall mental well being post deployment. Mental healthcare providers say many cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Traumatic Brain Injury go undiagnosed. Subtle behavioral symptoms associated with both conditions are either shrugged off or forgotten by patients and their family members until something triggers a major mental health problem.
T2 Mood Tracker is available for download on android phones now. Developers expect to release an iPhone version early next year.
