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My path walked as a cadet at the Air Force Academy, an active duty service member, and now as a military spouse has given me a front row seat to some of the traumas, setbacks, successes, discrimination and celebrations that military families experience. The common bond of this lifestyle and its unique challenges has resulted in what Sheryl Sandberg, author of Option B, has coined as a “collective resilience.” Or, a way of life that allows a military spouse to come to grips with the adversities they face and keep moving forward.The more military spouses I met, the more I noticed a cycle of acceptance, resetting, and perseverance that this unique lifestyle calls a military spouse to manage.
Do you feel like you are constantly adjusting your life over and over again? As if the underlying stress of your service member’s dangerous missions or the lengthy separations during deployments aren’t enough. Each new assignment brings another relocation, potential job search, school changes, and more.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and believe that a life of constant stress is the norm for military spouses. But cumulative stress hugely impacts your life!
In Milspouse Strength, author Kendra Lowe, a veteran, military spouse, and trained psychologist, helps you understand the impact of both positive and negative stress, healthy ways to respond to stressful situations, and ultimately how to transform your stress into strength.
The information, tools, and reflection questions will help you break down the individual stresses that weigh on your mind so you can feel in control of your life right now and develop the skills to change the way you see and respond to military life stress.
Publication date: January 11, 2022.
Case and bulk preorder are now available https://militaryfamilybooks.com/collections/advance-preorders
COVID remains a steady topic around dinner tables, but the stress associated with this pandemic remains anything but steady for most families. Stress has continued to increase for all of us – children, parents, and educators – and we are entering the phase of COVID exhaustion. Children in schools face constant changes around face masks, social distancing, and even some communities still using distance learning; this relative uncertainty creates an environment ripe for anxiety in our youth.
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/managing-covid-exhaustion-in-children/
This is a must-have book for military spouses, their family members, and helping professionals working with military families as well as anyone seeking to find a way to help themselves to better social and emotional health. The practical principals of rational behavioral therapy will prepare you to work through stressful situations while maintaining better emotional control. Dr. Kendra also includes thoughtful questions and exercises that any individual or group can put to immediate use. https://www.militaryspouse.com/military-life/wake-up-kick-ass-repeat-military-spouse-life-cycle/
Drawing upon the ratings of more than 200 military spouses, the data suggests that at any given time, 27 percent of military spouses report significantly high levels of stress. Furthermore, of this group, 20 percent have a higher, more clinically significant, level of stress.
https://www.militaryspouse.com/military-life/5-ways-to-manage-military-spouse-stress/
The purpose of this study was to investigate how an active duty member’s increased time away from home affects family stress as reported by the dependent spouse. Results revealed that extended time away from home can cause the dependent spouse to detach from the parent—child relationship. Mental health professionals and educators working within a community that supports the armed forces must be sensitive to the unique needs of military families during these times of transition. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271151839_Impact_of_military_deployment_on_family_relationships
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Lowe, 31st Rescue Squadron commander and his wife Dr. Kendra Lowe provide insight on how to mitigate military spouse stress at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 15, 2019. The concepts and perspectives derived from Dr. Lowe’s decade-long research, aims to provide command teams with an operational approach to combat the mission degrading effects of military spouse stress. (U.S. Air Force video by Staff Sgt. Daniel E. Fernandez) https://www.dvidshub.net/video/676833/spouse-stress-management-operational-approach
Are you an introvert where alone time fills you up and social engagements can be draining? An extrovert that feeds on social interactions for energy? Or a bridger that enjoys carefully calculated social contact and time by yourself? Friendships can form in many different combinations of these social preferences and provide an invaluable ingredient to maintaining our social and emotional wellbeing.
https://www.militaryspouse.com/military-life/spouse-personalities-spouse-friendships/
Wake up, Kick Ass, Repeat was created to help alleviate these significant concerns. This comprehensive and invaluable tool will help you accept the unique nature of military life, anticipate and persevere in the face of social-emotional setbacks, practice effective coping strategies, and learn to thrive on to new possibilities. Dr. Kendra has expertly woven research, personal anecdotes, powerful stories from other military spouses, as well as practical principals of Rational Behavioral Therapy to help individuals work through stressful situations while maintaining better emotional control. This is a must-have book for military and first responder spouses, their family members, professionals working with military and first responder families, as well as anyone seeking to find a way to help themselves to better social and emotional health. Dr. Kendra also includes thoughtful questions and exercises that any individual or group can put to immediate use.