KILLEEN, Texas — With April being National Stress Awareness Month, it’s a good time to remember that everyone deals with stress.
Perhaps, none more so than military service members and their families.
Those who serve in the military aren’t the only ones who sacrifice, their families do too.
That's something founder of the Military Spouses Chamber of Commerce Jaime Chapman knows all too well.
”Being a military family comes with different challenges than our civilian counterparts,” said Chapman. “The first thing being, that our service members are frequently gone. Which makes the stress even worse. Being a military family member is like death by 1,000 paper cuts.”
It’s not just spouses that are making daily sacrifices.
”Even the kids, they give up things every day,” said Chapman. “Simple things like reading with their parents before bed because somebody's gone on a deployment or to training. So, that makes a big difference in the daily lives and activities of our families.”
While their service member is honorably serving their country, they are often left to handle all the things that keep the home running.
Yes, the lives of military families can be a little more stressful than others, the same kinds of things that work for others, can help bring that stress down a bit.
”Reading a book that is lighthearted and not necessarily intense and doing different things like that,” said Elizabeth Timmons, director of Clinical Services for Heat of Texas Behavioral Health Network. “Cooking, lots of people enjoy cooking. So, just involving yourself in those hobbies that are meaningful to you.
"Even something as simple as putting your phone down and going for a drive or taking a walk and enjoying the beauty nature has to offer can go a long way in relieving some of that stress.”
”I think what I would say, if you are experiencing a high level of stress, to be aware of that number 1, and number 2, is to take those measures to reduce the stress,” said Timmons.
That especially goes for military families.
”It’s so important to deal with stress,” said Chapman. “It’s so important to take, even if it’s just five or 10 minutes a day, take time to recharge your batteries.”
It is also important to take time to recognize the positive things in your life instead of dwelling on the things you can’t control.
