Skylar NesbittI believe everyone should be their own best advocate when it comes to their health. As many of us know, being a Military Spouse comes with its own challenges and, unfortunately, doesn’t come with a handbook. The best thing we can do is take care of ourselves in order to care for others.
It’s no secret that military members can be away from home a lot, so if you ever find yourself in this situation, here are some helpful tips to support your health.
All the Feels
Emotions will be all over the place when your spouse is away. It’s crucial to allow yourself to feel those emotions and not suppress them. We tend to push past the feelings by keeping ourselves busy and not thinking about them. That stress can be really hard on your body, for example, impacting your gut health as stress shuts off the digestion process and speeds up gut motility and fluid secretion, leading to frequent trips to the bathroom. You know what I’m talking about if you have a nervous stomach. Take the time you need to process what you’re going through, rest, and take some time for yourself.
Routine! Routine! Routine!
Set a routine. Make yourself the priority and show yourself some TLC. Creating the right routine for yourself will allow you to stay focused on yourself and your goals. Find what you love to do and incorporate it as much as possible. Schedule a new hobby you’ve always wanted to try while your loved one is deployed. There are so many options available that you may not have even thought about. Something I love to do is read, so naturally, I got my library card. It’s free, takes up a lot of time, and I truly love going to the library to be alone. Make sure you schedule self-care time in to your day planner for the best success. It doesn’t have to be for hours. Start small and work your way up.
HELP – You Do Need Someone
Reach out. From personal experience, the loneliness can be brutal. Setting up your support system can be extremely beneficial for your mental health. It can feel like you are alone on this journey because your main support system of family and friends may not understand what you are going through and can’t relate. Finding your military support system can be so reassuring. Talking to others who fully understand what you are going through and can offer advice does wonder for your mental health. A few options are joining the local Facebook groups or going to your local PSP to join classes. That is where I found my support system.
What You Feel – Leads to What You Eat
Your diet is more important than you think. When you’re feeling stressed, lonely, sad, mad, etc., your body starts to crave foods high in sugar, simple carbohydrates, or simply nothing at all. We want to be really careful when this happens. Making sure to balance your meals with protein, carb/starch, healthy fat, and fiber can help balance out your blood sugar. It’s only human nature to want to have those comfort foods. Just try not to make them the main attraction. If this is something you would like help with, email me here, and we can set up a free 20 min discovery call.
