Back home. How are you really doing?
Get it off your chest.
For the months after a deployment, or after leaving service. A few minutes, on your own phone, whenever you need it.
Which best describes you?
This changes a few words and which support lines come first. You can change it any time.
Everything you enter stays on this phone. Nothing is sent to the military, the VA, your agency, your employer or anyone else. Unladen Return is in early release and still being tested with the people it's for. It is not a medical or emergency service and is not connected to any government department or organization.
You're home. You're safe here.
Your body may still be switched on for what you left behind. That's normal. Let's bring it down a notch.
Where you are
Today is …
Say it out loud or in your head. Then look around and name one thing that tells you you're home.
Breathe with this
What you might be feeling
- On edge, jumpy, or scanning the room
- Angry out of nowhere, or flat and numb
- Pictures, sounds or smells coming back
- Like you don't fit here anymore
These are common after deployment or service. They're signs of what you've been through, not signs you're weak.
Ground yourself
Look around. Name them, out loud or in your head.
For the next hour
- Move your body: a walk, push-ups, anything physical.
- Put the drink down for tonight if you can.
- Text or call one person. You don't have to explain.
- If you're not safe, call 911.
Call someone now
Add a buddy, your doctor or a peer supporter in so they're here when you need them.
Not sure who to tell?
If you don't want your unit, agency or boss to know yet, there are confidential options. You can also write down what's on your mind, just for you.
How has the past week been?
Pick the answer closest to how it's been. Nobody else sees this.
Please talk to someone now
You said you've had thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here. Please call one of these now. If you're in immediate danger, call 911.
Settling in
This phone isn't letting the page save. Your result shows here but won't be kept.
About the drinking
Lots of people use alcohol to switch off after coming home. It works for a night and makes sleep, mood and anger worse over weeks. A Vet Center, your EAP or your doctor can help, with no judgment.
People you can call
This check-in isn't a medical assessment. It's a way to notice how you're going over time.
How it's been going
Add the date to see suggested check-in times over your first year.
Check-ins
This phone isn't letting the page save, so check-ins won't be kept.
Privacy & your data
Add a PIN, download what you've entered, or delete everything from this phone.
The part nobody trains you for
What's common after deployment or leaving service, and what helps. Tap a heading to open it.
The first weeks back
Coming home is often harder than people expect. You've gone from purpose, pace and a tight team to ordinary life, where nobody quite gets it.
- Expect a gap between how you think you should feel and how you do.
- Keep some structure: a set wake-up time, exercise, one task a day.
- Go easy on big decisions for the first few weeks.
Losing the routine, the role and the team
For many people the hardest part isn't what they saw. It's losing who they were: the rank, the job, the team, the sense of being useful.
- Stay in touch with people you served or deployed with. A text counts.
- Find something with purpose: volunteering, training, a project, helping someone.
- This often hits months later, not straight away. That's why the check-ins run for a year.
Still on alert, and anger
Your body learned to stay switched on. Scanning exits, jumping at noises, snapping at people you love: these are that training still running.
- Physical activity is one of the best ways to burn it off.
- Notice your early signs (jaw, fists, heat) and step away before it builds.
- If anger is scaring you or the people you live with, talk to a Vet Center, your EAP or your doctor now.
Sleep, alcohol and switching off
- Broken sleep and nightmares are common after return. Keep regular sleep and wake times.
- Alcohol helps you fall asleep and wrecks the second half of the night.
- Cut back on caffeine after midday, and screens in bed.
- If sleep hasn't improved after a month, see your doctor.
Family and relationships
Home kept moving while you were away. Your family has its own routines and its own stress about you being gone.
- Ease back in. Ask how things work now before changing them.
- Share what you can, when you can. "I'm not ready to talk about it" is fine to say.
- Families can get support too. Vet Centers and Military OneSource support military families.
Things you saw, did, or couldn't do
Some of what stays with people is guilt or shame: someone you couldn't save, a decision that went wrong, something that went against what you believe. This is sometimes called moral injury.
- It's common, and it's not a sign you're a bad person.
- It usually eases when you talk it through with someone you trust, a counselor or a chaplain.
- Writing it down, just for yourself, can help too.
Anniversaries and reminders
Smoke, sirens, helicopters, news of fires, floods or conflict, or the date something happened can bring it all back.
- Know your dates and plan something steady for them.
- It's OK to switch the news off.
- Do a check-in when it hits, not just on the suggested days.
Finding your people
Talking to someone who's been there can help more than anything else. Stay in touch with people you served or deployed with. Veterans service organizations, such as the VFW, the American Legion or Team Rubicon, and your agency's peer support program, can connect you with others who understand.
When to get more help
If you've been carrying a lot for more than a few weeks, it's affecting home or work, or you're using alcohol to cope, talk to someone. Vet Centers offer free, confidential counseling to eligible veterans, service members and their families, and you don't need to be enrolled in VA health care. First responders and disaster workers can use their agency's EAP or peer support, or ask their doctor for a referral. Help works best when you start early.
People to call
Save the numbers you'd want on a bad night. They stay on this phone and show up on the Help now screen.
Support lines
Support outside your chain of command
Some people don't want their command, the VA, their agency or their boss to know they're struggling. That's understandable. Here are confidential ways to get support. You choose what to do, and when.
From your organization
Your agency, unit or veterans organization can add its own peer support and wellbeing numbers here.
Someone outside your reporting line
- Vet Centers. Free, confidential counseling for eligible veterans, service members and families, in a non-medical setting. The 24/7 call center is staffed by combat veterans and family members of veterans. The number is below.
- Military OneSource. Free, confidential counseling for service members and families. Counseling isn't shared with your chain of command, except where the law requires it.
- Your agency's peer support or EAP. For first responders and disaster workers, usually separate from your managers. Safe Call Now is a confidential 24/7 line for public safety staff.
- Veterans service organizations. For example the VFW or the American Legion. Their accredited service officers can help with VA claims for free, and connect you with others who've served.
- Your union or association. For emergency services staff, confidential advice before you decide anything.
- Your own doctor. Outside work and service altogether, and can refer you on.
Text or chat instead of calling
For when talking out loud isn't possible, or feels like too much.
For particular situations
If you've seen serious wrongdoing, whistleblower protections may apply. Your union, a veterans service officer or a lawyer can explain your options.
Spiritual and religious support
Chaplains support service members, and many fire, police and EMS agencies have one too. They support people of any faith or none. Their role is to listen, not to persuade.
You can also ask for someone from your own faith or cultural community. Some people find strength in prayer, ritual or their faith community after coming home. Others find it in nature, music or quiet. Whatever gives you meaning counts.
Words to start with
The first sentence is often the hardest. You could say:
"I'm not after a diagnosis. I just need to talk to someone who gets it."
"Does this go on my record? Who else would know?"
"Since I got back, I'm not coping like I thought I would."
"I don't want my unit or my boss to know yet."
What happens if I tell someone?
- Counselors, peer supporters and helplines keep what you say private. The main exception is if someone is at serious risk of harm. If you're unsure, ask at the start.
- Crisis lines such as 988 don't need your name.
- Serving members: Military OneSource counseling is separate from your chain of command and confidential, within legal limits such as serious risk to safety. Ask them at the start.
- A formal complaint, claim or report starts a process. People involved may be told, and you may be asked for your account. You can ask for support through it.
- Your private record in this app stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
Not ready to tell anyone?
That's OK. You can write down what happened, just for yourself, and decide later.
Numbers and services are for the United States. Check with your organization for its own services.
Write down what happened
Write it in your own words, when you're ready. It stays on this phone. It isn't a report, and nothing is sent anywhere. It can help later when you talk to a counselor or doctor, or with a VA or workers' compensation claim.
My entries
Entries can't be edited, so each one shows when it was written. To add something, write a new entry.
No entries yet.
If you decide to share it, you can download it or send it to yourself.
Your phone, your data
PIN lock
Ask for a PIN when the app opens, and after it has been in the background for a minute.
PIN is on.
The PIN stops someone else opening the app on your phone. It doesn't encrypt what's stored, so keep your phone locked too. If you forget it, you can delete everything and start again.
Hide the screen
Tap the eye button at the top of any screen to cover the app straight away, for example at work or at home. Tap to come back, or enter your PIN if you've set one.
Download my data
Download everything you've entered (check-ins, return date, private record and contacts) as a text file. You could keep a copy, or show it to your doctor, counselor or service officer.
Delete everything
Deletes your check-ins, return date, role, private record, contacts and PIN from this phone.
Delete everything from this phone? This can't be undone.
About Unladen Return
Unladen™ Return is an early release made by Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd, Newcastle, Australia. Unladen™ is a trade mark of Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd. It isn't a medical or emergency service, and it isn't connected to the military, the VA or any agency. The questions haven't been clinically validated yet.
What's stored: your role, return date, check-ins, private record, saved contacts and settings, only in this phone's browser. Nothing is sent to anyone. There are no accounts, analytics or trackers.
Feedback: the feedback form is the only part of Unladen Return that sends anything, and only when you press Send. It doesn’t include anything else from the app.
Keep in mind: if you clear your browser data or remove the app, what you've entered goes too. Download a copy first if you want to keep it.
Planned for later, and only with partners and safeguards in place: peer video sessions with people who share your experience, and companion-animal matching.
US test version 0.1 · November 2026