Re-posted at the request of a FRG.  Thanks for reading ladies!

Your husband deploys. You find yourself worrying about him, where he
is, and what he is doing. Your body aches from the sleepless nights.
You feel drained and find yourself being snippy with your children,
friends, family, or co-workers. You mind is constantly going to stay
on task. For many of us, we read this and think, “Oh, she’s talking
about the cycles of deployment!” But, really these are also signs of
anxiety and depression. There are studies that suggest women
experience depression & anxiety up to twice as often as men. Hormonal
factors may contribute to the increase rate of depression; such as
menstrual cycle changes, pregnancy, miscarriages, postpartum period,
pre-menopause, and menopause. Women may also face unique stressors
such as responsibilities both at work and home, single parenthood, and
caring for children and aging parents. What is surprising to me is
that this study is talking about your every day civilian woman. If
you read through it again and think of the wife you know that had her
last child while her husband was deployed, or the one who is raising
four children under the age of 6 on her own, it takes on new meaning.
We go through these “moments” while dealing with deployments,
PCSing, and just every day military life. If a woman with out those
factors is at risk, just think where that puts us. Continue reading →