
Head to Health is committed to providing Australians with trusted information and digital supports to help support everyone's mental health and wellbeing during this pandemic.
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COVID-19 has changed our lives in ways we could never have imagined at the start of this year. Adapting to new environments, however, is nothing new for military personnel and families.
Military personnel work and live in varied environments during training exercises or operational deployment. Service members and families face change and separation throughout a service career due to postings, training exercises and deployments. Thanks to these experiences, many in the veteran community are better equipped to handle the pandemic.
There are those in our veteran community who were already facing significant challenges, whether it was the recent bushfires, a personal loss, as well as physical or mental health issues.
We are all facing a new ‘normal’ which brings with it opportunities, but also anxiety about the future and grief for what we have lost. It is OK and normal to be feeling anxious or worried at this time. What we can all do is take stock and refocus our coping strategies to face these challenges and importantly, we do not have to do this alone.
Open Arms as a Service is a legacy of our Vietnam veteran community—this cohort of veterans is a great example of veterans coming together in adversity to find new ways to support each other. They not only established Open Arms to provide support to veterans and their families, they were instrumental in the development of the original trauma programs. In the current environment they have been creating groups to check on each other and have volunteered to assist the Open Arms lived experience peer network so they can also assist other cohorts.
In order to make sure that we are ready to adjust and adapt to the changes that we are experiencing, we can all do a stocktake of three main areas – connection, meaning and wellbeing.
The ongoing need for physical distancing does not mean we cannot strengthen our connections to our support network. Importantly, we do not need large social networks – we need a network to which we are connected.
If you are feeling anxious and need someone to talk to – remember you can call the 24/7 Open Arms support line on 1800 011 046.
Organisations and groups like the Vietnam Veteran groups, RSL, Legacy, Team Rubicon and Mates 4 Mates allow individuals to connect with other ex-service personal, all while assisting others.
It is OK just to get through each day. There are a lot of images on the television and social media of people playing musical instruments, meeting a fitness challenge, learning to cook or doing amazing activities with their kids. All this is great and should be encouraged, but it is also fine to use any time at home to rest, reset and be unproductive.
We all react to anxiety and stressful situations differently. Some of us need to be active and occupied, while some of us find the current situation exhausting and need to make a space for relaxation. Set a realistic and simple goal to achieve each day and it is OK to do activities you enjoy or prioritise a ‘time-out’ activity.
If you’re trying to improve your own mental health, or support somebody else with mental health issues, Head to Health provides links to trusted Australian online and phone supports, resources and treatment options.
Smiling Mind is a free app developed by psychologists and educators to teach daily meditation and mindfulness exercises.
If you are struggling to use these strategies it can help to talk to someone. You can call Open Arms 24/7 on 1800 011 046 to get some hints and ideas.
Head to Health is committed to providing Australians with trusted information and digital supports to help support everyone's mental health and wellbeing during this pandemic.
See: Head to health