Aaron Alexis, 34, was treated for paranoia, trouble sleeping and hearing voices, the Associated Press reported.
A contractor for the Navy, he had a valid pass for the secure site at the Washington Navy Yard, authorities said.
Alexis was shot and killed by police during the attack.
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The assumption in Britain is that another shocking mass murder will make people more open to gun control. But the debate is so emotional, so partisan that the two sides are already lined up in two hostile camps.”
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Mark Mardell
North America editor
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On Tuesday, the US capital remained in a state of shock and mourning.
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel laid a wreath at US Navy Memorial Plaza in honour of the Navy Yard victims.
A Washington Nationals baseball game originally scheduled for Monday night was rescheduled to Tuesday afternoon - the baseball stadium is just blocks from the Navy Yard.
The flag flew at half-mast over the White House, where hours after the attack President Barack Obama mourned "yet another mass shooting".
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has ordered a physical security review of all Navy and Marine Corps installations, a Navy official told the BBC.
A senior Democrat in the US House of Representatives said he expected the incident would reignite the nation's long-standing gun control debate.
"I'm sure that it will renew the discussions about access to weapons that can be used to kill a lot of people quickly," said Steny Hoyer.
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Aaron Alexis
Aaron Alexis
Born in New York City in 1979; last known address was Fort Worth, Texas
IT worker for defence department subcontractor The Experts
Full-time US Navy reservist from 2007 till discharge in 2011, ranked petty officer 3rd class
Awarded National Defense Service medal and Global War on Terrorism Service medal
Said to have been Buddhist convert, had gun-related brushes with law in 2004 and 2010
Profile: Aaron Alexis
The shooting began about 8:20 local time (12:20 GMT) on Monday, when a gunman apparently shot his way into the heavily guarded Building 197, headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command, which builds and maintains ships and submarines for the Navy.
Witnesses said the gunman sprayed bullets in a hallway and fired from a balcony down on to workers in an atrium at the heavily secured installation in the US capital.
He was reportedly armed with a shotgun and two handguns, one of which he may have taken from a police officer at the scene.
The attack only ended when police stormed the building and shot him dead, police said.
"There is no question he would have kept shooting," Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier told reporters on Monday.
The victims ranged in age from 46 to 73, and details about their identities and lives have just begun to emerge.
Authorities have revealed no motive for the attack, and have begun combing the US for hints about Alexis' past.
As an employee of an IT contractor, Alexis apparently had a card granting him access to the building - even though he had had several run-ins with the law and had been discharged from the Navy under a cloud, authorities said.
"It really is hard to believe that someone with a record as chequered as this man could conceivably get, you know, clearance to get... credentials to be able to get on the base," Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray told CNN.
Anthony Little says his brother-in-law Aaron Alexis had "shown no sign" that he could carry out a shooting
Alexis left the Navy as a petty officer 3rd class, after serving full-time in the naval reserve from 2007-11.
He received two routine medals for his service in the Navy: the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Alexis separated from the Navy reserves under what is called a general discharge, a status that suggests misconduct.
He had been cited for misconduct - including insubordination, disorderly conduct and excessive absences from work - at least eight times during his Navy career, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
According to media reports, Alexis was a Buddhist convert who had had two previous gun-related brushes with the law.
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The victims
Michael Arnold, 59
Sylvia Frasier, 53
Kathleen Gaarde, 62
John Roger Johnson, 73
Frank Kohler, 50
Kenneth Proctor, 46
Vishnu Pandit, 61
Martin Bodrog, 54
Arthur Daniels, 51
Mary Francis Knight, 51
Gerald Read, 58
Richard Michael Ridgell, 52
In 2004 he was arrested in Seattle for shooting a construction worker's car tyres, in what he described as an enraged "black-out".
And Alexis was questioned by Fort Worth police in 2010 after firing his gun through the floor of an upstairs apartment. He said it was an accidental discharge.
Also, in August 2008 he was arrested for disorderly conduct in the state of Georgia, according to the Smoking Gun, a website that collects police and court documents. Details on the incident were not available.
On Tuesday, Alexis' employer said the military should have made his record known.
"Anything that suggests criminal problems or mental health issues, that would be a flag. We would not have hired him," Thomas Hoshko, chief executive officer of The Experts, told the Washington Post.
The IT contractor confirmed Alexis had worked since July at six different military installations and had only been at the Navy Yard for a few days before the shooting.
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