Screenings
Taking a screening is one of the quickest and easiest ways to determine whether you are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition.
Mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, are real, common and treatable. And recovery is possible. But not all of us think about our mental health enough.
If you’ve had trouble sleeping lately, if you’ve been experiencing racing thoughts, or if you’re just curious – the screens below can help you understand more about your mental health.
If you’re looking for some ways to boost your mental health right now, here are some tips.
- Alcohol and Substance Use (Adolescent or Adult) - for individuals who feel like alcohol or drugs affect their day-to-day life.
Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the United States. Nearly 24 million Americans are addicted to alcohol and drugs. That’s approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12. Fortunately, with the right support and guidance, drug and alcohol addiction is a highly treatable disease with sustainable recovery (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).
Go To Screening - Anxiety - will help if you feel that worry and fear affect your day-to-day life.
Most people experience feelings of anxiety before an important event such as a big exam, business presentation or first date. Anxiety disorders, however, are illnesses that cause people to feel frightened, distressed and uneasy for no apparent reason. Left untreated, these disorders can dramatically reduce productivity and significantly diminish an individual’s quality of life.
Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illnesses in America; 18.1% of adults – more than 44 million – are affected by these debilitating illnesses each year. (Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Walters EE. Prevalence)
Go To Screening - Bipolar Disorder - for individuals who have mood swings - or unusual or extreme shifts in mood and energy.
Bipolar disorder, is an illness involving one or more episodes of serious mania and depression. Sometimes a person might only experience symptoms of mania. If a person only experiences feelings of sadness, this is considered depression. During episodes of bipolar disorder, a person’s mood can swing from excessively “high” and/or irritable to sad and hopeless, with periods of a normal mood in between. More than 3.3 million American adults (1.7%) suffer from bipolar disorder in a given year. (KESSLER, R. C., PETUKHOVA, M., SAMPSON, N. A., ZASLAVSKY, A. M., & WITTCHEN, H.-U. (2012))
Bipolar disorder typically begins in adolescence or early adulthood and continues throughout life. It is often not recognized as an illness and people who have it may suffer needlessly for years.
Go To Screening - Depression - for individuals who are feeling overwhelming sadness.
Depression is very treatable, with the overwhelming majority of those who seek treatment showing improvement. The most commonly used treatments are antidepressant medication, psychotherapy or a combination of the two. The choice of treatment depends on the pattern, severity, persistence of depressive symptoms and the history of the illness. As with many illnesses, early treatment is more effective and helps prevent the likelihood of serious recurrences. Depression must be treated by a physician or qualified mental health professional.
Major depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, affecting 6.7% (more than 16 million) of American adults each year. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
Go To Screening - Post Partum Depression
- Mood Disorders - for individuals who have mood swings - or unusual or extreme shifts in mood and energy.
Mood disorders are a category of illnesses that describe a serious change in mood. Illness under mood disorders include: major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder (mania – euphoric, hyperactive, over inflated ego, unrealistic optimism), persistent depressive disorder (long lasting low grade depression), cyclothymia (a mild form of bipolar disorder), and SAD (seasonal affective disorder).
About 20% of the U.S. population reports at least one depressive symptom in a given month, and 12% report two or more in a year. A survey conducted in 1992 found rates of major depression reaching 5% in the previous 30 days, 17% for a lifetime. Bipolar disorder is less common, occurring at a rate of 1% in the general population, but some believe the diagnosis is often overlooked because manic elation is too rarely reported as an illness.
Go To Screening - Parent Screening - for parents of young people to determine if their child’s emotions, attention, or behaviors might be signs of a problem.
The Parent Screen is for parents of young people to determine if their child’s emotions, attention, or behaviors might be signs of a problem.
This screening test looks at disorders from anxiety to depression and attention and conduct problems.
Go To Screening - Psychosis - for young people (age 12-35) who feel like their brain is playing tricks on them (seeing, hearing or believing things that don't seem real or quite right).
Psychosis is a general term to describe a set of symptoms of mental illnesses that result in strange or bizarre thinking, perceptions (sight, sound), behaviors, and emotions. Psychosis is a brain-based condition that is made better or worse by environmental factors – like drug use and stress. Some of the illnesses that are included under the umbrella of Psychotic Disorders are: Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Delusional Disorder, and Schizophreniform Disorder.
One frequently cited statistic is that 1% of the population is diagnosed with Schizophrenia in their lifetime, but actually 3.5% of the population experiences psychosis. Hearing voices and seeing things that aren’t there are more common than we think. While these experiences can be scary and confusing, it is possible to recover and getting better, especially when we tackle issues early.
Go To Screening - PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) - for those who are bothered by a traumatic life event.
Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a traumatic event. A traumatic event is a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. (National Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. What is post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD))
PTSD is a real problem and can happen at any age. If you have PTSD, you are not alone. It affects over 8.5 million American adults (3.5% of the adult population) in any given year. (Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Walters EE. Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R))
Go To Screening - Work Health Screening - to explore how healthy or unhealthy your work environment is. It is in testing phase and every screen taken helps us better understand mental health in the workplace.For a lot of people, the pursuit of a healthy work/life balance seems like an impossible goal. With so many of us torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationships and family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside interests, it’s no surprise that more than one in four Americans describe themselves as “super stressed.” And that’s not balanced—or healthy.
While we all need a certain amount of stress to spur us on and help us perform at our best, the key to managing stress lies in that one magic word: balance. Not only is achieving a healthy work/life balance an attainable goal but workers and businesses alike see the rewards. When workers are balanced and happy, they are more productive, take fewer sick days, and are more likely to stay in their jobs.
Go To Screening - Youth - for young people (age 11-17) who are concerned that their emotions, attention, or behaviors might be signs of a problem.
When we think about cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, we don’t wait years to treat them. We start way before Stage 4. We begin with prevention. And when people are in the first stage of those diseases, and have a persistent cough, high blood pressure, or high blood sugar, we try immediately to reverse these symptoms.
This is what we should be doing when people have serious mental illnesses, too. When they first begin to experience symptoms such as loss of sleep, feeling tired for no reason, feeling low, feeling anxious, or hearing voices, we should act.
Go To Screening
