Red Cross Holds Virtual Resiliency Workshops for Military Members and Families

 By Laura Cantagallo, American Red Cross Volunteer

A substantial part of the Red Cross mission is its service to the armed forces and all who affiliate with them, such as spouses, families, and loved ones. It can be difficult when a family member is deployed overseas, leaving his or her significant others back at home fighting their own battles. 

As a way to support these military families and affiliated members, the Red Cross is holding virtual resiliency and stress management workshops via Zoom. I sat it on the one from Friday, July 24, which was led by Dr. Carol Deel, a licensed mental health provider with her own full-time private practice in Maryland, and Lynn Hottle, a Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) reconnection facilitator and part of the regional Disaster Mental Health team. 

“We are very serious about our commitment to serving the armed forces; this is how Clara Barton started it,” said Hottle. 

Hottle and Deel met with a small group of military members over Zoom to discuss their personal experiences with stress and anxiety and how they cope, converse about how stress can impact us, and, throughout the second half of the workshop, give participants techniques to help dissolve stress at its root. 

"We just really want to share with you all some tools and information for some of the things going on in today’s world,” said Hottle.

The facilitators began with an open discussion about stress and how it reaches each individual on a personal and unique level. Hottle and Deel educated participants on how stress can impact us on many levels. 

This includes:

• Bodily – heavy breathing, increased heart rate, stomach pain
• Behaviorally – argumentative, increased/decreased appetite, difficulty sleeping
• Emotionally – anger, sadness, mood swings

Later on, participants were given a list of ways to cope, reduce, and manage the stressors they experience, like cooking, organizing, reading a book, listening to music, and much more – the list of stress-reducers went on in abundance.

Deel and Hottle later switched the focus over to relaxation and stress-reducing techniques. The first was deep breathing: force out as much air as possible and then breathe back in deeply. 

“Breathe at a rate that’s comfortable for you,” said Deel as she walked participants through the technique.

Another similar breathing exercise was a hand tracing technique that synchronized tracing the outline of your hand as you breathe in and out.

A third method for reducing stress included using senses to help bring about calmness. This means observing things around you using the five senses – this can help individuals stay grounded and notice their surroundings when trying to fall asleep or self-soothe. Throughout these exercises and tips, Deel and Hottle invited participants to discuss how the exercises changed their stress levels.

As the workshop came to a close, the meeting leaders continued to talk about stress, how it impacts us, and how we can cope with it in positive and healthy ways, as well as helpful sleeping tips to ensure a good night’s rest. This workshop is especially crucial due to the uncertainty and anxiousness that can be brought about with the effects of COVID-19. Facilitators ended the meeting with a self-reflection from each individual, and also a “power of gratitude” activity: participants were asked to share three good things they experienced that day and one thing each of them were looking forward to for the following day. 

Now, more than ever, we must show compassion and understanding to those we care about. None of us sincerely know what the future holds, but with help and support offered by the Red Cross, we can make try to bring some sense of normalcy during these challenging times.

“There are so many things that we cannot do or are restricted to, and lots of losses in our lives,” Hottle adds, “Try to reframe the negative things that are happening in our lives and put a positive spin on it.” 

If you or a loved one is suffering and needs assistance, you can call the crisis hotline at 1-800-273-8255, which is available 24 hours a day, in both English and Spanish languages.

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To learn more and sign up for the SAF Virtual COVID Stress-Management Workshops, click here: https://www.redcross.org/local/dc-va-md-de/about-us/our-work/virtual-covid-stress-management-workshops.html (More dates to be added soon!)

To learn more about Disaster Mental Health volunteer opportunities, visit https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/volunteer-opportunities/disaster-health-mental-health-volunteer.html