Surely Autism might be a very common problem (maybe ranking equal to depression), but then hasn't a whole industry sprung up around all this, when society and industrialisation/materialism has caused many of these problems in the 1st place, whereas a farming/hunting lifestyle is more natural?

andy, redbourn, England (uk)

You've missed schizophrenia!

John C, Wycombe, UK

Doesn't a questionnaires calculate a 'score' based on your reactions? These seem to be checklists of questions to consider and not any sort of tool to help shed light on or understand your issues.

John D, London, UK

I would like to know where there is real help for my alcoholic son. cheadle royal hospital where doing the trick, he was there by shear luck because there were no spaces on merseyside. unfortunately a space came and he was left on a ward without the routine and support that was available in cheedle.

anne williams, liverpool, england

I just answered questions to all of them and according to these I am depressed, suffering from an anxiety & stress disorder, I'm bipolar and I'm an alcoholic with borderline drug problems, I think it's a little misleading, as I agree with Maggie that self-diagnosis is a bad idea.

Jonny, Bedfordshire, England

I have worked as an occupational therapist in mental health for 11 years now. I had a breakdown in 2007 and thankfully my colleagues and family were brilliant at pulling me back. I am afraid it was a case of 3rd time lucky to find a good GP with knowledge of depression???why. I have learnt so much.

Nick, Folkestone, UK

It's great that this article draws mental health issues to the public's attention, but providing links to questionnaires this way tempts an untrained person to self-diagnose and I don't see any good in that. I can't help but think that to an extent it trivialises the profession.

Maggie, London,

Paul
Just because your liver function test is fine does not mean you are safe. My husband has early onset dementia caused by alcohol. He is 54. Believe me it is distressing for all concerned. He is in a care home and has a 5 minute memory and is in a constant state of stress.

Cheryl, London,

I think the value of 21 is a conservative estimate for most people and isnt really meant to be an upper limit. The idea really is to make people more aware of how much they're drinking and make sure people are more aware of when they're drinking too much.

Ben, St. Albans, UK

Chris, I concur! during a examination for diving medical, I told my GP accurately how much I drank, (40-60) units a week, am 49, and always have, she said, "oh my god, you must have a blood test for liver function" She took two samples, and they came back perfect. This meaningless mean of 21!

paul farrell, portsmouth, uk

I was glad to see there was no mention of alcohol 'recommended limits'. I'm a biochemist and have worked in health educationin the NHS, and I know there is no scientific basis for these.
As a GP of mine once said: everyone's idea of an alcoholic is someone who drinks more than they do...

Chris, Faversham, UK

Either I have all of these or I shouldn't pay too much attention to online questionnares.

Chris, Slough, UK

May I refer readers to The Human Givens Institute website:
www.hgi.org.uk, - for further information regarding effective
therapeutic interventions for mental distress and the new research findings that support these.

The limitations of traditional approaches /drug therapy is also dicussed.

Rosemary Beaumont, London, UK

I've had bipolar disorder for 20 years I can manage that but cannot manage the stress of lying to employers about why I need to take sick leave. I work in a profession and fabricate reasons for sick leave because when I tell the truth their attitude towards me and my work changes in a heartbeat.

kath, Melbourne, Australia