Hey everyone, I am new to this subreddit so I will try and keep my post brief.

I was active army back in 2009 - 2012. I deployed into Afghanistan and experienced all that that comes with. I saw counseling over some things, as a lot of people do, while I was there and briefly after I came back. For the most part, never bothered me.

Now I have noticed that everyday or every other day I am anxious for no apparent reason. I've started having vivid nightmares that usually wake me up at night. Bouts of depression come up periodically, but it's not constant. This has been happening for about 8 months, but I have been ignoring it. My question is this: Should I seek counseling on my own now that I am out, or should I speak with the VA? What should my first step be?