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TRICARE provides answers to behavioral health questions
Posted 11/16/2010
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by Gabrielle Kirk
TRICARE Management Activity
11/16/2010 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Whether it's "butterflies in the stomach" or a quickened heartbeat, most people feel anxious at some time or another.
While it's normal to worry or feel nervous before public speaking or an important event, or with unexpected news, some people constantly feel on edge and panicky.
Similarly, sadness is a normal emotion in difficult times such as death, but long periods of hopelessness may be a sign of depression.
Constant anxieties and depression can take a toll on servicemembers' health and negatively impact their daily lives. It can be difficult for servicemembers with these two emotions to tell whether they are going through a rough patch, or if it is something more.
Some servicemembers home from deployment can experience anxiety and hopelessness, along with symptoms of traumatic stress, including distressing recollections of events, nightmares, numbness, avoidance, sleep problems, irritability and anger.
Excessive use of alcohol or other substances may also be a sign of servicemembers suffering from these behavioral problems.
While many are reluctant to seek behavioral health care because they're afraid a "stigma" surrounds behavioral health problems, TRICARE specialists strongly encourage servicemembers and their families not to wait until the problem worsens. TRICARE coverage includes help with anxiety, depression, traumatic stress, and other behavioral health problems servicemembers and their families may be facing
One program available to beneficiaries is the TRICARE Assistance Program, which brings short-term professional counseling assistance directly into the home.
Beneficiaries with a computer and webcam can speak "face-to-face" with a licensed counselor over the Internet at any time of the day or night. Eligible beneficiaries can access TRIAP an unlimited number of times, and these non-medical services are confidential and do not become part of military health records.
Servicemembers and their families dealing with substance abuse or traumatic stress symptoms have access to an anonymous self-assessment at www.militarymentalhealth.org. The self-assessment leads the participant through a series of questions about how he or she has been feeling. Participants who are experiencing these symptoms will receive information on possible treatment options and where they can get help.
The online screening is not a substitute for an evaluation by a health care provider, but it can be a valuable tool to help decide if the participant could benefit from care by a behavioral health care provider.
To learn more about the behavioral health care options available through the Department of Defense and TRICARE, visit www.tricare.mil/mentalhealth.
While there is a very fine line when comparing anxieties to excitement, and sadness to depression, your TRICARE benefit is always here for you, providing guidance and support. |
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