Prevention begins on day one
Active duty military is a stressful job. The stress begins on the first day of boot camp and remains until the last day on duty. This stress is intentional as it keeps individuals vigilant and mission ready at all times. However, stress can be detrimental to your health if it is not dealt with correctly. Understanding that stress is inevitable and dealing with it in a healthy manner early on can help prevent serious health effects in the future, including depression. Although depression cannot always be prevented, it is important to understand that the following steps can be taken to greatly lower your risk of depression.
Step One: Physical training
The official Journal of the American Association of Suicidology concluded that not only does consistent physical activity and a healthy diet help prevent depression, it is also proven to improve disturbed sleep, heart rate variability, and lower the risk of suicide. It is clear to see that physical activity is a key step in the harmonic balance perspective, improving all aspects of heath (du Pre, 157). The VA Healthcare system also understands the importance of physical activity and lists several strategies to maintain your physical health. However, many may argue that these recommendations are the bare minimum. These are the weekly recommendations per the VA:
Do at least 2½ hours per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, OR:
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1¼ hours per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity
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Activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes and preferably spread out throughout the week
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For additional health benefits, do muscle strengthening activities and involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days per week
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The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion believes that a more intense workout schedule is needed for the greatest health benefits. Their recommendations are to follow the VA's guidelines but do the following:
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Increase moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes (5 hours) each week
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Increase vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity for 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) each week
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Lift for the 22's mission: "Our goal is to provide fitness as a service for veterans upon transition from military life. We believe that providing a free gym membership allows the veteran to have an outlet during one of the most stressfull times of a service members life- Transition."
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Step two: Working on that Attitude
Nobody said transitioning to the civilian world would be easy. Many veterans count the days until the end of their service but do not take the proper steps to ensure a smooth transition. A major key to success in the civilian world is ensuring you leave your negative attitude behind. The military is notorious for creating veterans with negative attitudes who feel the military is to blame for their problems. Though this may sound harsh, it is the reality and addressing this issue can prevent major attitude problems that could potentially lead to depression. A positive attitude towards life can change your life in ways you would not believe.
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Dr. Shilagh Mirgain, a health psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, describes the immense impact that negative emotions can have on an individual. She describes negative emotions as a ripple effect, spreading from person to person within our social groups like a virus. These negative emotions often leave people feeling isolated, emotionally tired, and dissatisfied. Actions such as complaining and gossiping can also be detrimental to our emotional state, and individuals who consistently partake in these negative emotions should be avoided (Mirgain, 2017), Fortunately, Dr. Mirgain gives a list of prevention strategies to protect your emotional health:
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1. Share your feelings
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It's ok! Share them! Unfortunately, this is often mistaken as a lack of masculinity in our culture. Du Pre's text describes this culture as a set of beliefs, rules, and practives that people share (du Pre, 154). The masculine culture of the military only encourages the belief that sharing feelings is not masculine. This is simply untrue. Military veterans may struggle with this even more but it is important to understand the emotional benefits that this can have.
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2. Talk to yourself
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Dr. Mirgain urges that people have a small phrase they use when they find themselves getting worked up. This strategy has been proven to help refocus your thoughts and prevent negative emotions from getting out of your control (Mirgain, 2017).
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3. Surrounding yourself with positivity
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Transitioning to the civilian life is a complicated time for many veterans. There is a decision that is made by every veteran that will impact the quality of their life and that is who they choose to surround themselves with. It is easy to go back to the same people you knew before service, but you need to ensure these are positive people who will help guide you in the right direction. It may be difficult to do, but cutting out negative people from your life is of utmost importance.
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Organizations such as Hero Dogs and K9s for Warriors provide emotional support service animals for veterans
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"Everyone’s recovery process is different. Depending where you are in your own rehabilitative and transitional process, we hope you find a program that fits you and/or your family’s needs" -Wounded Warrior Project
Step three: Developing Healthy Habits
Coming home safely causes for a celebration, there's no doubt about that. However, it is easy to develop bad habits rather quickly once transitioning away from the military. This immense amount of freedom that veterans are not used to can often lead to habits such as drinking, drug abuse, and lack of sleep. In order to prevent depression, these habits should be avoided at all cost.
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According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, depression can arise and increase during a battle with alcoholism. While it is likely an individual will develop a drinking problem due to depression, it is far more common that a drinking problem will lead to depression. With this being said, it is important to understand that if you think you have a drinking problem to seek medical supervision while trying to quit, as this can be dangerous to your health.
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The Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center lists other healthy lifestyle strategies that can with preventing depression such as a consistent sleep pattern, a healthy diet, and avoiding illegal drugs. The VA healthcare system offers support using a reflective negotiation style of communication, treating veterans individually based on their free assessment (du Pre, 155).
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The VA Healthcare system offers support groups and treatment programs for drug or alcohol abuse to veterans. A confidential screening will be conducted prior to treatment.