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Depression and Anxiety

Firehose

Anxiety in its various forms is a pervasive problem among military and first responder populations. Juggling the demands of life and the career often leaves people feeling overwhelmed and anxious. It creates sleepless nights, increased heart rate, shaking or trembling, struggling to catch your breath, nausea, inability to focus, among many other symptoms. 

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If left untreated and unmanaged, anxiety can develop into more complex disorders. Anxiety can lead to panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder or phobia disorder. Many clients enter into counseling once their anxiety develops into panic attacksAt Legionary, we believe in holistic health and want our clients to feel empowered to pursue health and wellness in all areas of their being - so seeking medical checkups and screenings are vital to rule out other problems that may be contributing. When all else is ruled out, counseling sessions will focus on coping in anxiety producing situations, managing the anxiety, and reducing symptoms over the long-term.  The demands of modern life in conjunction with the demands of the career mean that extra steps need to be taken to ensure we have a well-rounded and realistic selfcare plan. 

Other Common Symptoms of Anxiety:

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- G.I. Issues

- Restlessness / agitation / irritation

- Ruminating or negative thought patterns 'looping'

- Excessive worrying

- Repetitive or obsessive behaviors

- Fear of dying

- Sweating / Pounding Heart rate

- Dizziness / Light headedness

Anxiety
Police cars at night. Police car chasing a car at night with fog background. 911 Emergency

 

Many of our clients report depressive moods and/or cyclical depressive states throughout their lives or careers. While having low moods is a normal response to the challenges of life, depression often feels oppressive and persistent. There is a 'heaviness' that follows you throughout your days, weeks or months that may be difficult to pull out of. One of the most common indicators of depression is the increased need to withdraw from others. Extensive amounts of time in isolation often encourages the depression to persist. In a isolative state, we pay more attention to the negative thought patterns and believe them to be true. things that were once considered important now hold very little priority in our lives. Our core belief systems may be challenged by depression. We may behave uncharacteristically or push loved ones away. We may sometimes find ourselves engaging in the very behaviors that keep us locked in that negative space. 

Depression

Other Common Symptoms of Depression:

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- Persistent sadness, tearfulness, hopelessness

- Irritability or angry outbursts

- Lack of energy and motivation

- increased or decreased appetite

- Excessive self-blame, guilt or shame

- sleeping too much or not sleeping enough

- Lack of pleasure or joy in normally joyful situations

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