10 Ways to Survive (and Thrive) as a Military Spouse with Anxiety

This article will help you wrangle this beast and start to tame it. 1. Make connections early. Try to find friends in the area. This can be in person with people in your spouse’s unit or in the Family-Readiness Group (FRG) as well as online. There are many online groups that are for spouses all over the world and specific to certain bases. Join a few and see who you meet. I’ve seen a lot of posts that basically say, “Hey I just moved to Fort such-and-such and I’m looking to find some new friends. Here’s a little about me…” After being a spouse for a while, the concept of having to start over and meet new people is really common, so people are supportive of adding new people to their friend group. 2. Know your triggers. Knowing what triggers your anxiety will help you manage it. Think about when your anxiety starts to flare up. Write down the thoughts that go through your head when you’re anxious or having a panic attack. Once you write these things down, you can start to look for patterns. When you figure out what triggers your anxiety, you can be more mindful when you go into those situations. You can use your coping skills to reduce the effect of the anxiety and try to help keep you calm. 3. Create a coping skills toolbox. This is basically a list of things that help you cope with your anxiety. Certain things work better depending on the person and can sometimes be situation specific. For example, rocking out to your favorite upbeat song can work when you...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anxiety Family Self-Help Stress Women's Issues Military Families moving often new in town Perfectionism Source Type: news