High stress levels can wreak havoc on a person's emotions, and when they're not managed effectively, they can affect decision making and even harm relationships.
Several Army organizations on Fort Belvoir can help community members get control over their stress before it controls them.
Employee Assistance Program
The Employee Assistance Program provides free counseling services to civilian employees, military retirees and Family members in order to help identify and treat problems -- including trouble managing stress.
Katina Oates, EAP coordinator, first tries to help clients identify the root of their stress. Then, she gives them ideas to help relieve it.
"It is just as important to help a client to fully understand the devastating effects emotional stress can have on the body, as assisting them to alleviate it," Oates said.
"A lot of the same techniques practiced for physical stress can be applied to emotional health as well, i.e. maintaining a proper balanced diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, Vitamin B-rich foods, deep breathing exercises, spending quiet time in meditation or purposeful relaxation sessions," she added.
For more information on the EAP, call (703) 805-5588.
Army Community Service
Army Community Service also offers a free stress management class every quarter, taught by Donita McDonald.
Many reasons for stress are emotional, McDonald said.
"It could be a Family member death, or money, divorce, moving, relocation," she said.
In the class, McDonald offers tips on how to manage stress, including how to make a balanced budget.
"Our goal is to help students think positively and also teach them the relaxation techniques," she said. "Many times we find that … the root of the problem is the lack of finances and the ability to manage a budget. Learning to have a little bit of money on hand in case of emergencies seems to help."
Ignored stress can build up and lead to more physical and emotional problems, like depression, ulcers, weight changes, headaches and hypertension. It can also make a person more angry or irritable.
"We always say anger is a secondary emotion to stress. We need to recognize it and deal with it before it gets out of control," McDonald said.
Other emotional signs of stress include anxiety, frustration, depression, worrying, nervousness, moodiness and resentment.
"A lot of people wait too long to address the stress," McDonald said. "If you can notice some of the signs and symptoms, if you can see these changes early on and deal with them, then you can correct them before it seriously impairs your health and well-being."
The next stress management class will be April 30 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the ACS Building. To sign up, or for more information, call (703) 805-2561.
Chaplains
Chaplains can also help community members manage their emotions in dealing with stress.
Sometimes the root of a person's stress is an emotional need that's not being met, according to Chaplain (Maj.) Charles Scott, Fort Belvoir Family Life chaplain and director of the Family Life Center.
"It may be their need for social interaction. It may be their need to manage their thoughts, and we can certainly help them with that aspect as well. It may be relational stress that they're experiencing with their spouse or with their children or at their job," Scott said. "So, helping them to understand good communication -- good ways to be assertive -- can also be ways that can help people to manage stress, along with just paying attention to what they're feeling.
"It really helps them to get more out of life, when they handle their stress better."
For more information, call the Family Life Center at (703) 805-2742.
(Editor's Note: This is the second installment in a series on stress management.)
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