Small stressors can add up, even during normal operations. The psychological impacts of a pandemic will be wide-ranging, both for us and our families. Here are some resources to help you strengthen your mental resilience in the coming weeks. Additional resources will be added, please check back here soon.
Stress and Anxiety
CGSUPRT offers employees and family members free and immediate help, which is as easy as making a phone call. Callers can ask to speak to a licensed professional counselor, who can safely conduct sessions remotely. In addition, the CGSUPRT website has webinars that teach healthy coping skills. Call 1-855-CGSUPRT (855-247-8778) or visit CGSUPRT.com .
Parenting and Distance Learning
Speaking of anxiety, parenting is hard enough without schools being closed for weeks or months. Here are some options.
- The Navy MWR Library is available to USCG members, reservists, civilians and their families. Here, you can find ad-free streaming music, animated classic storybooks, elementary school magazines, Gale Interactive Science 3D Models, practice tests and flashcards, and social studies and science teaching units, and comics from Marvel and Disney.
There are more than 8,400 titles specifically for children!
Options for young adults can be found in the teen section.
- Coast Guard members, reservists and civilians can connect with live tutors, 24/7, through Coast Guard Mutual Assistance . Services include online tutoring, self-study materials, homework and test covering more than 50 subjects, including math, science, English, and business. Support is available for K-12 students, plus college and professional students.
Financial Support
Addiction and Substance Abuse
Many people cope with stress and anxiety through alcohol, illegal substances, or at-risk behaviors, such as gambling or overeating. Help is always available. You can seek out your Medical Officer or your Substance Abuse Prevention Team (via the HSWL SC app or 757-628-4329).
Keep in mind that addiction is a disease of isolation. Staying sober and remaining clean is job one for the person in recovery.
In lieu of in-person meetings, there are multiple on-line options. We also suggest members log calls with their sponsor. These daily checks-ins can be life savers. Members who do not have sponsors need to get one!
Ask yourself, “What lengths did I go to, to get a drink or a drug?” Now, use that same tenacity to find a recovery meeting.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness means noticing and paying attention to what is going on in the present moment, without passing judgment on it. Mindfulness has been shown to be effective for reducing stress, improving emotional balance, increasing self-awareness, helping with anxiety and depression, and coping more effectively with chronic pain.
- Mindfulness Coach was developed to help Veterans, Service members, and others learn how to practice mindfulness. The app provides a gradual, self-guided training program designed to help you understand and adopt a simple mindfulness practice. The Mindfulness Coach app was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD. Subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your apps.
- Mind Body Medicine improves medical conditions caused by or exacerbated by stress. The end result is better self-care, leading to symptom reduction and enhanced well-being. The Naval Medical Center in San Diego offers a number of resources to learn and practice mindfulness and meditation.
- The Military Meditation Coach podcast, produced by the Military Health System, helps strengthen your mind with a variety of meditation, mindfulness, and relaxation exercises. Subscribe on iTunes, YouTube, and everywhere else you find podcasts.