App sites offer help for veterans with post-traumatic stress syndrome

WASHINGTON -- When terrifying battlefield memories come rushing back, causing night sweats, flashbacks or a panic attack, some troops and vets now find comfort by reaching for their smartphones.

Using new-age technology to cope with age-old wounds of war, they tap into mobile phone applications, or "apps," designed to help with post-traumatic stress and brain injuries.

"I'm not going to lie -- when this came out, we sort of wanted to slam it," a once skeptical Staff Sgt. Meg Krause said of her group of veteran friends.

"But it surprised us and has been a phenomenal tool," said the 29-year-old reservist and medic, who has had counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder.

A half-dozen apps with names like "T2 MoodTracker," "PTSD Coach" and "Breathe2Relax" have been developed by the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department, but not to diagnose illness or replace psychiatric counseling. Rather, the apps offer at-your-fingertips information about what the military calls "invisible wounds" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and techniques for managing the symptoms.

All but one were the work of the Pentagon, starting with MoodTracker, which lets users rate how they're feeling -- worthless, happy, lonely and so on -- and keep a record of their ups and downs over time.

The newest, released in May, was a joint Pentagon-VA effort -- PTSD Coach. It helps s users create a phone list of people to call when they need support and helps vets contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline in an emergency.

"Someone who's struggling ... all they have to do is pull out their smartphone or their iPhone and say, `I can help myself,"' Krause said. "To know that there is something that I can pull out and watch, and it will help me go through my breathing techniques so I don't get to that crisis moment, I think is immensely important."

There's also an app for health care providers that includes definitions, causes and severity ratings for mild traumatic brain injury -- or concussions -- suffered by so many troops from roadside bombs and other explosions. Another for doctors treating PTSD is expected in the coming months. Officials hope the apps for troops, vets and their families will encourage more people to get professional help and will be used by others to supplement professional therapy.