Conditions We Treat
Mental illness doesn’t always look the way it’s portrayed in movies and television. Often it can be hard to recognize the signs of depression or anxiety, even with your closest friends or family members.
Mental health disorders affect millions of Americans and are not a sign of weakness or a character flaw; mental health struggles are not your fault. Fortunately, most common mental health problems are treatable. If you are suffering from these or other similar problems, you may benefit from the services we offer.
If you:
- Feel moody or out of sorts;
- Feel hopeless or as if you have no future to look forward to;
- Are unusually irritable;
- Are always tired or are having trouble sleeping; or
- Are troubled by nightmares or uncomfortable thoughts
The clinicians at the Military Family Wellness Center provide specialized mental health services for common challenges that affect military families, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is a condition that affects many service members. PTSD often occurs when a person experiences a traumatic event, such as combat, a major accident, violence, sexual assault, terrorism, or a natural disaster.
Symptoms
People with PTSD report experiencing:
- intrusive thoughts like unwanted memories, nightmares, or flashbacks,
- avoidance of people, places, thoughts, and feelings that remind a person of the trauma,
- changes in mood,
- an increase in negative thoughts, and
- hyperarousal, such as always being alert for danger and feeling “jumpy.”
Symptoms of PTSD can be severe and may make it difficult to hold a job or maintain close relationships. We offer several different treatments for PTSD, including individual therapy, as well as some novel and unique approaches. We treat combat-related PTSD, as well as military sexual trauma (MST) and other forms of trauma exposure.
Depression
Depression is a common mental health problem. Rates are particularly high for women and veterans. Although everyone feels sad or down sometimes, depression can be a very debilitating condition that may include symptoms such as feeling low energy, loss of enjoyment in usual activities, changes in sleep patterns or weight, and even thoughts of suicide. Sometimes these feelings can become so strong that it becomes difficult to maintain a job, interact with others, or enjoy life.
Fortunately, depression is treatable and can be helped with effective treatment, including individual therapy and group therapy.
Anxiety
Anxiety comes in many forms. You may worry excessively or feel frightened by the future. Fears and concerns may be hard to dismiss. You may experience nervousness, irritability, have difficulty concentrating, or even experience panic attacks. For some people, anxiety can take the form of obsessive thoughts and repetitive behaviors. When left untreated, anxiety can become profoundly disabling, cause considerable distress, and interfere with work and with social relationships. Most forms of anxiety are treatable with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).