Mental Health Self-Assessment

Alcohol use disorder encompasses the conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the colloquial term, alcoholism. Symptoms include the following:

• Drinking more, or longer, than you intended?
• More than once wanting to cut down or stop drinking, or tried to, but couldn’t
• Spending a lot of time drinking, being sick from drinking, or getting over other aftereffects
• Wanting a drink so badly you couldn’t think of anything else
• Finding that drinking—or being sick from drinking—often interfered with taking care of your responsibilities
• Continuing to drink even though it was causing trouble with your family or friends
• Giving up or cutting back on activities you found important, interesting, or pleasurable so you could drink
• Continuing to drink even though it was making you feel depressed or anxious or adding to another health problem
• Having an alcohol-related memory blackout
• Had to drink much more than you once did to get the effect you want
• Finding that when the effects of alcohol were wearing off, you had withdrawal symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, shakiness, restlessness, nausea, sweating, or a racing heart

Anxiety disorders interfere with daily activities and can impair a person’s family, social and school or working life. They are difficult to control, cause significant distress and can last a long time if untreated. Symptoms include the following:

• Behavioral changes in actions, routines, or social behaviors:
  • Avoiding friends, family, and social activities
  • Struggling to concentrate or make decisions at work or home
  • Procrastinating, especially with tasks that feel overwhelming
• Emotional changes in mood or feeling:
  • Worrying excessively, often out of proportion to the actual threat
  • Feeling easily frustrated or on edge, even in response to minor stressors
  • Experiencing a sense of fear or impending doom
• Physical changes in the body:
  • Feeling nauseated, leading to stomachaches
  • Experiencing a racing or pounding heartbeat
  • Breathing rapidly or feeling tightness in the chest

While it is common for people to show these behaviors some of the time, for people with ADHD, the behaviors are frequent and occur across multiple situations, such as at school, at work, or during social situations.

• Inattention Symptoms:
  • Difficulty sustaining attention
  • Difficulty organizing tasks
  • Making careless mistakes
  • Difficulty following instructions
  • Easily distracted
  • Forgetful in daily activities
• Hyperactivity and impulsivity Symptoms:
  • Often fidgets
  • Difficulty sitting still and restlessness
  • Often interrupts others/li>
  • Difficulty waiting
  • Difficulty quietly engaging in activities
  • Often talks excessively

People with bipolar disorder may experience strained relationships and problems at school or work. Adverse circumstances or life-altering events can trigger symptoms of bipolar disorder.

• Manic episode symptoms:
  • Feeling very up, elated, or extremely irritable
  • Feeling a sense of inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
  • Feeling jumpy or more active than usual
  • Racing thoughts or flights of ideas
  • Distractibility
  • Decreasing need for sleep
  • Talking fast about a lot of different things
  • Increasing and sustained goal-directed activity or feeling able to do many things at once
• Major depressive episode symptoms:
  • Feeling very down or sad
  • Losing interest or pleasure in activities
  • Feeling slowed down or restless
  • Experiencing trouble concentrating or making decisions
  • Inability to fall asleep or sleeping too much
  • Talking very slowly or forgetting a lot
  • Difficulty doing even simple tasks
  • Feeling worthless or guilty

People who have lived through abuse, severe losses or other stressful events are more likely to develop depression. Symptoms include the following:

• Behavioral changes in actions, routines, or social behaviors:
  • Avoiding friends, family, and social activities
  • Struggling to concentrate or make decisions at work or home
  • Losing motivation to complete daily tasks
• Emotional changes in mood or feelings:
  • Feeling sad, low, or empty most of the time
  • Feeling hopeless or trapped
  • Blaming oneself or feeling guilty, worthless, or like a burden
• Physical changes in the body:
  • Feeling fatigued or drained even after sleeping well
  • Experiencing headaches, stomach problems, back pain, or muscle tension
  • Eating more or less than usual, leading to weight changes

Eating disorders can affect physical health, emotional well-being, and daily functioning, and often require specialized support for recovery. Symptoms include the following:

• Behavioral changes in actions, routines, or social behaviors:
  • Severely restricting calorie intake (Anorexia Nervosa)
  • Engaging in a pattern of binge eating followed by behaviors to prevent weight gain, like self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives (Bulimia Nervosa)
  • Binge eating without attempts to avoid weight gain (Binge-Eating Disorder)
• Emotional changes in mood or feelings:
  • Feeling intense fear of gaining weight
  • Having a negative body image and self-worth tied to weight
  • Feeling unable to control thoughts or emotions about food and body image
• Physical changes in the body:
  • Feeling constantly tired or lethargic
  • Experiencing significant weight loss or nutritional deficiency
  • Feeling dizzy or fainting due to inadequate nutrition or low blood sugar

PTSD can cause significant distress and impair a person’s ability to function in daily life. Symptoms include the following:

• Behavioral changes in actions, routines, or social behaviors:
  • Avoiding memories, thoughts, or feelings related to trauma
  • Avoiding people, places, or situations that are reminders of trauma
  • Re-experiencing trauma through flashbacks
• Emotional changes in mood or feelings:
  • Feeling hypervigilant or constantly on alert for danger
  • Experiencing emotional and psychological distress for prolonged periods
  • Feeling negative emotions such as detachment, fear, shame, anger, or guilt
• Physical changes in the body:
  • Having trouble falling or staying asleep
  • Struggling with memory loss related to traumatic events
  • Experiencing an exaggerated startle response to unexpected sounds or movements

The symptoms and effects of substance use disorder vary based on the type of substance you use. Symptoms include:

• Behavioral changes in actions, routines, or social behaviors:
  • Withdrawing from social life or responsibilities
  • Spending excessive time obtaining or using substances while failing to fulfill obligations
  • Taking risky, dangerous, or impulsive actions
  • Increasing substance use in larger amounts despite known negative consequences
• Emotional changes in mood or feeling:
  • Experiencing frequent and unpredictable changes in mood to an extreme degree
  • Feeling remorse about behavior, including the inability to stop using
  • Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected from others and life
  • Experiencing anxiety or paranoia due to heightened emotional sensitivity
• Physical changes in the body:
  • Having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much
  • Craving the substance intensely
  • Experiencing a need for increased amounts of the substance to achieve the desired effect
  • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms, such as sweating, shaking, nausea, vomiting, headaches, fatigue, or even seizures