Don't Stress - Decompress

by Senior Airman Kristoffer Kaubisch
Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs

4/29/2014 - MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- April is National Stress Awareness Month, and it's especially relevant to men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Minot has its charms, but it's not exactly a common fixture at the top of most Airmen's dream sheets. Due to its bitter cold winters, high operations tempo and dual mission in support of the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, Minot can prove to be a challenging assignment. Stress is a constant for military service - it's not a question of will you or won't you encounter it, but how you handle it when you do.

Minot, and other installations, offers a multitude of services aimed at making the stress of military life more manageable, such as the Family Advocacy Office, Military Family Life Consultant, and the military chaplains.

"Stress is recognized as the number one killer today," said Anne Owen, 5th Medical Operations Squadron, Family Advocacy. "The American Medical Association states that stress was the cause of 80-85 percent of all human illness and disease or at the very least had detrimental effect on health."

Stress can even trigger physical reactions like muscle tension, headaches and body pain, and even make an individual more susceptible to illnesses like colds, said Owen. Minot Airmen have enough to worry about already.

"Work stress can come home with you and fester in your family life, causing more stress," Owen explained. "Then you go back to work, stressed about the job and now family added to it and the cycle just keeps spinning out of control and potentially building into something serious."

Ways to reduce stress include exercise, meditation, or talking to supportive people - and there are services on base ready to help, Owen continued.

Owen says that the key isn't avoiding stress, it's managing it gracefully.

"Stress is ever present, and it affects our bodies and our minds," Owen said. "We feel stress when too many demands are placed on us, and we believe that we do not have adequate coping skills and resources to get through. What is stressful for one may be a welcomed challenge for another."

Not all stress is bad - sometimes a little pressure can motivate people to do their best, but everyone's different, and Minot leadership is very serious about making sure people get the help they need when they need it, Owen said.

Emotional reactions to stress buildup can include irritability, negative effects on sleep, isolation, and depression, said Owen. Extreme cases can even lead to suicidal thoughts, so the seriousness of stress' harmful potential can't be overstated.

The base chaplains offer assistance with not only spiritual guidance but also any predicament an Airman may have, including stress with the added benefit that their council is completely confidential.