- Roger, 48-07, approaching runway seven, bravo. - The Air Force has announced the creation of a new Information Operations Technical Training School. - The First Command simply must arm our airmen to out-think, out-perform, out-partner, out-innovate, any potential adversary. - Air Force basing military training has an updated curriculum with a new focus on readiness and lethality. - The First Command, the Air Force starts here. (dramatic tone) - Hey, hey everybody. Welcome into the pod. Thanks for the subscribed, stream, or download, however you might be listening in. If you get a chance to throw us some stars, even give us a review, we certainly would appreciate that. Again, you can find us on Google, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, as well as the AETC website. So, a lot of different options for you. My name is Dan Hawkins from the Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs team, and your host for this professional development podcast dedicated to bringing total force, big eight airman insight, tips, tricks, and lessons learned, from the recruiting, training, and education world. It might not seem like it, but just six weeks ago, many Americans were not tracking the coronavirus threat and how serious it was, and COVID-19 has taken a tremendous toll not just here in the United States, but across the world. And with mandatory health precautions in effect nationwide, there are many factors that can affect a person's mental health, including here in the Air Force for our airmen, maintaining a strong positive state of mind during this time really can be challenging even in the best of circumstances. So, with everything going on, it's even more important and there's a lot of available resources that can help. So, on that note and on the pod, we talked virtually earlier today with two pretty awesome mental health professionals from Mobility's Hometown in Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Major Kamy Jenkins, and Master Sergeant Jessica Williams from the 97th Medical Group Mental Health Clinic, sat down and discussed the overall importance of mental health and why it matters for airman and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and that's even more so important during this unprecedented time. We also go in-depth on the struggles people might be having, and some of the coping strategies that can help reduce that anxiety and stress that you might be feeling right now, and Major Jenkins, and Sergeant Williams also talk to some of the helping resources available to airman both locally at installations and online. And some of those include the chaplains, military family life counselors, and Military OneSource as well. You definitely don't want to miss the conversation on some of the online applications that Major Jenkins and Sergeant Williams think are pretty cool, as well as their insight on the warning signs of isolation and other issues that our airman might be facing. So, away we go with episode number 29 of "The Air Force Starts Here". (dramatic tone) - Hi, so I'm Majored Kamy Jenkins, and I am currently stationed at the Mighty 97th at Altus Air Force Space. And I have been in the military for 16 years, and prior army enlisted, transferred over to become a licensed clinical social worker in the Air Force, and loving every bit of it. And I would say it, not to really brag, but I think that I probably have some of the best staff in the Air Force that were in my mental health clinic. So, very, very proud of my staff, and all the things that we're accomplishing right here at Altus. - And Sergeant Williams, tell us a little bit about how long you've been in the Air Force. - Well, thank you. This is Master Sergeant Jessica Williams. I am, I have currently been in for 23 years. I'm on my last 12 months of active duty, have loved every minute of it, have had great opportunities. I came in as a mental health technician and I have stayed in the mental health field for the duration of my career. I enjoy what I do because you get to see people kind of support them through difficult times in their life. You get to share joy with them, and, you know, particularly in a situation like this, it really allows us to be able to pay back some of the things that we learned and experienced throughout our careers. So, I really appreciate this opportunity to be able to talk with you guys today. - So, Major Jenkins, I kind of wanted to start with you and kind of talk about mental health as a whole. And I think it's really important, and I think people hear it a lot but they don't really think about it a lot. But really our mental health just impacts almost everything about us as a person, right? - Oh, absolutely. Our mental health is just as important as our physical health. And a lot of times, you know, we think a lot about our physical health and we don't really, you know, give each other a hard time when we think about problems with our physical health, but there's still, you know, somewhat of a stigma sometimes attached to mental health. And so, but it's just as important as our physical health. So, it's important to stay on top of it, and have that prevention measure in place, especially during times like this when we're being a little bit more challenged with that mental aspect of what's going on. - Yeah, and I think sometimes people get caught up in the, I dunno what the right way to say this is, that exterior perspective, like, "Oh, I got a great haircut," or "I've been working out at the gym "so I must be feeling good," but that's not always the case, right? - Correct, and I think sometimes what's hard is that there is such that stigma about mental health that sometimes if we experience diminished mental health we automatically assume that to be a negative. And so, it makes it really hard for us to be able to come forward and maybe talk to somebody about not feeling yourself, or experiencing maybe some difficulties that you're having. So, a lot of times that goes hand in hand where, you know, a lot of people just really don't know how to talk about things that they're experiencing, especially when you're talking about emotional aspects of mental health. - Well, and another thing that I read up on before we did the interview is how good mental health allows people to become more self-aware, which really can help you as a person really improve yourself. Can you talk to that a little bit, and why that's so important? - So, I think as we become a little bit more self-aware then we can have better ability to stay up in front of times when we know anxiety, and, or depression might be kind of creeping in. Instead of whenever we think down into depression, then sometimes we get a little bit too far behind the power curve, right? But as we become a little bit more self-aware, and we then can get proactive with it and get up in front of it a lot quicker. So, when I know that now I'm going through a change in my schedule and I'm not able to engage in the normal routines that I know that are good coping skills for me, then it's important for me to find those different coping skills that might not be ideal right now, but maybe are secondary, but maybe just for a temporary period of time, or maybe just trying something new. I can't tell you how many times in sessions that I've asked people to maybe try something like meditation, you know, and people were, you know, look at me like, "Oh, I can't believe you've asked me "to do something just kind of hokey pokey, you know, "weirdness meditation, or deep breathing exercises "to combat anxiety." But then, when they actually really give it a try, sometimes they're really surprised at how much they actually like it. So, really getting outside your comfort zone and trying new things right now is a prime time to actually do that when you can't actually engage in some of your normal coping skills due to just the constraints that we have in place right now. - And I think the key to that in what Major Jenkins is saying is being flexible. What we find is that a lot of times when people are much more rigid in their thinking, they have a harder time kind of being able to deal with change and uncertainty. And so, you know, that's kind of going back to looking at being self-aware, and you know that you have a tendency to be more rigid, you know, things thrown off your schedule, or other issues that you're having may be really problematic for you. And so, having just that bit of self-awareness can say, "okay, maybe there's other ways that I can come "up with a different type of schedule, "playing into what some of maybe my weaknesses are, "but then also looking at scheduling things that I can do "versus things that I can't do." And so, just being open-minded and, you know, trying to be more flexible and have more of an open mind, versus that rigidity that sometimes people get set in that, you know, we're very, in the military, we get so set on that things are a structured set of expectations that sometimes if we can't change the expectation management of how something's going to look different, than we experience a lot of that stress and anxiety that we see that people, you know, can go through at a time like this. - Well, obviously, you know, this is, I mean, it's such a thing that we're just not used to seeing, right? A global pandemic. I mean, you know, a month and a half ago, this really wasn't on our radar in terms of our mental health, but what are some of the ways that people can work to overcome some of these challenges and some of the anxiety and stress that they're feeling during this really unprecedented time? - So, some of the things that I would recommend really is number one, so, like, kind of setting that routine. 'Cause I think, you know, initially, especially as people are going through, you know, whether it's minimal manning schedules, or just staying home a little bit more, a routine is really, really important. I think initially people are kind of like, "Oh, this is really nice. "I'm having a little bit of extra time to myself "or with my family." And that's nice to enjoy initially, but then after a little bit, our mind needs some structure, or we need a routine, or something to look forward to, or things that are gonna keep us a little bit more engaged right? So, that routine is really, really important so that we can predict our environment. And so, also being able to make sure that we're not inundating ourselves with news non-stop, and I was a victim of that initially when everything came out, right? We wanted to know, you know, what all do I need to know about this, right? And so, we inundate ourselves with that, and then that can find some kind of negative impact to your mental health after a little bit if you don't stop that, and it becomes a little bit obsessive. So, balancing that between, you know, the negative inputs that we allow to come into our life with more positive input, positive things such as, you know, I always advocate for self-improvement videos, motivational videos, you know, such as TED Talks or, you know, whether that's online classes there's so many things that are being offered right now that people can engage in for free apps, or free classes, just ways that people can do things that are very positive right now, and that it's gonna stimulate that mental health side of the house. And, you know, I'd also say that when you think about things under the military has been very good about teaching the caps pillars and that social, mental, spiritual, and physical pillars and making sure that you're balancing all of those. 'Cause all of those in particular can impact your mental health. So, right now, those might be kind of out of balance and making sure that you're looking at each of those pillars and making sure that we're keeping all of those pillars healthy. - And I do wanna talk about some of those online tools you talk about, but one of the things I really took and I think it came from Sergeant Williams in the article that I read that kind of spurred me on to give you guys a call was that we don't just have to lean on things that are online, but there's a lot of things you can do that are not online to help you come face-to-face with these difficulties, like reading books or drawing, things like that. - Yeah, absolutely. There's a new movement right now in the field of psychology called positive psychology, and it really focuses on the tools and the skills that people already have. A lot of times we tend to focus on maybe what our shortcomings are or the things that we don't have. But if we can refocus on looking at what are the strengths that I have in this situation or what are the things I have around me that I can do right now, you know, because we focus on, "well, I can't go out and do this. "I can't go to Target." You know, "I can't go out and, you know, "go to the commissary 10 times a day." Or, you know, whatever for people the limitations they're seeing to step back and look at what is it that I do have. I actually ordered a puzzle, and I haven't done a puzzle in years. And I was like, "you know what, "this would be really good to just sit down "and just not have anything going on "and listen to the birds chirping outside "and put together a puzzle." And so, finding those things that, you know, we find that when you're online all the time, you know, Facebook, as well as things that we get sucked into social media. And it's a great time killer, video games is another one. I harp on people about spending 12, 14 hours a day doing video games. But the reason people get sucked in is because it distracts your mind. So, what about finding something positive that can do that? You know, a lot of times adults will laugh at coloring, but coloring's become a really, you know, mainstream thing for adults to do now. And the reason is, is that if you look at kids, kids are actually pretty good at being able to self-soothe by doing a lot of different activities. As we become older, we think they're juvenile, but really they kind of have, you know, they've got the answers for how to be able to take a situation and find activities to do. That if we looked at sometimes the children around us we could engage with some of those things that they're doing. I'm actually painting a mural on my sliding door a couple of days ago, because I was like, "you know what, this is something good "for other people to enjoy." And it took two hours and I really had fun doing it. So, just kind of look outside the box and look at what you have, and how you can engage with some of those activities that things that maybe you don't have time to do, you know, on a normal basis. - Yeah, and you also pointed out exercise, and that talks to one of those four pillars of comprehensive airman fitness as well. - Absolutely, you know, a lot of times people don't realize that exercise is one of the, you know, it's a freebie when it comes to helping with mental health. When you go out, and so, a lot of times what people are feeling like they have decreased mood, the last thing you wanna do when you have less energy is go work out. But what I tell people is if you can actually force yourself to get involved in some type of physical activity, the one guarantee I can give you is after a good workout, after you've had a release of all those endorphins, you know, and other things is that you will feel much better. And so, it's really encouraging people to be able to do that. And so, for me, I've found all kinds of new routes around my apartment that I can go out and go for a run, you know, taking my dogs out, just getting out and looking at things that are blooming. So, there's a lot of different forms of activity that we can do. But again, it goes back when we were talking about people being very rigid in their thinking is that you got folks that usually go to the gym, so the gym's closed, and they're like, "oh gosh, I can't work out now." And I'm like, "come on, you've got all these different apps "and things you can use or do, you know, "body weight type exercises, or if you get outside "and do something that maybe you wouldn't normally do." So, exercise will really help to be able to reduce some of that anxiety because you're taking and you're actually putting a lot of that emotional kind of uncertainty into something physical that you're doing. And then again, those chemicals that your brain emits will also help to counteract maybe some of that depression or decreased mood that you're experiencing. - And we also have to consider that there's the vitamin D that you're getting from the sunlight too, that also impacts our mental health as well. So, double, full benefits out of just being outside, the vitamin D, and also the benefits from the exercise. - Yeah, and we talked about some of those online resources that could be valuable. And Captain Diamond actually mentioned a few, including the virtual hope box and mindfulness coach apps. Do you have any that you guys recommend or think are pretty cool? - Yeah, the VA has several different apps out there. Another one that I recommend for people that can lead through some breathing exercises whenever they're feeling some increased anxiety is an app called Breathe2Relax. It's breathe and then the numeral two, and then relax, and it'll lead you through some breathing exercises, and those are pretty beneficial for anybody who's having some anxiety-related type issues. And just that being able to calm your breath is really, really important in times whenever anxiety tends to be an issue. - So, you know, as this response to COVID-19 continues to progress, as Americans probably not just airman, but Americans at large, I think we're just not used to kind of being held captive, if you will, inside our homes, or our apartments, or you know, for our airmen a lot of times their dorm rooms, or their apartments, but what are some of the issues that you see as mental health professionals with the force, and what are some of your recommendations on ways that not just the, maybe the people who are feeling anxiety or cooped up, but maybe their leaders can do to kind of help connect with one another? - Well, it's actually really interesting because, you know, I mentioned video games earlier, and having a child that's also active duty Air Force now that's across the world, you know, I gave him a hard time about playing video games, but this generation is actually fairly used to being able to stay connected with people through electronics. And so, you have people that know how to really stay connected really well with using some of those, you know, forums to do it. You know, it's really about finding that balance of being able to make sure that you're not overusing it. But I think that that connection is huge. I think that the other piece that people are feeling is that people who, you know, maybe extroverts and they like to be out around other people, you know, also may find it a struggle. So then, it's about being creative about how can I stay connected, you know, without necessarily being able to be around people. I know, you know, for me using FaceTime, I just taught my mom how to be able to use her Facebook Messenger video call, 'cause she doesn't have an iPhone. And so, now I get to actually see her, whereas before I wasn't able to see her when I talked to her, and so utilizing some of those things are important. Some of the challenges that we do find is that, you know, when you're not able to necessarily get out as much, you know, you definitely see an increase sometimes in domestic violence. We have been at this point, you know, I think lucky that we've seen that we have First Sergeants and other leadership that really are able to engage with their folks and checking-in with people to be able to mitigate some of those things, but we've seen an increase in that across the country. You know, there's kids that typically that their outlet to get out of the house, or you know, violent situations, or being able to go to school, you know, kids are also struggling with not being able to have that social connection with their friends. So, I've seen lots of different things where families are having virtual, you know, scout meetings, or getting their kids together for virtual play dates, where they're needing that connection too. So, I think that's very important. I think the other thing is that we have a tendency that, you know, this is April is actually alcohol awareness month, which is, you know, brings an opportunity to highlight that people really need be cautious about got extra time. But alcohol is also very effective in making you not care about stuff. It's very good at making anxiety goes away for temporary amount of time, and it can give you that temporary improvement of mood. And so, we've definitely seen the alcohol use has gone up significantly. We haven't seen a lot of alcohol-related incidents, but, you know, you just kind of hear when you talk about what people are doing across the world, you see the meetings on Facebook when people buy extra alcohol. You know, people are passing time, and alcohol is really good at doing that. So, I really encourage people to look at the positive things they're doing versus maybe what some of the unhealthy things that they're doing, while they feel like they're maybe, you know, having less outside activities that they're available to do. And then look at, is it causing any difficulties in the environment that you're in? For either yourself or any of your relationships. You know, I think that's really important to kind of take that self-assessment and look at that. - Yeah, and all great tips. And so, I kind of wanted to transition into, you know, as we try to connect during this time where we're having to do it more virtually than ever before, what are some of the warning signs of potential mental illness or, you know, struggle with what's actually going on and how people can help with that. - So, some of the warning signs that we would be really looking for is really that lack of even wanting to socially engage with anybody, if typically you wouldn't, you would like to socially engage, but then now you're finding that you just don't even wanna socially engage with anyone, and you're really lacking any motivation for anything. And you really are finding increased irritability, with increased irritability on its own is not really too much of a concern right now. 'Cause we're finding a little bit of that just 'cause everybody's schedules off, right? And so, there's gonna be a little bit of that right now, but it's that consistently problematic we'd be a little bit concerned. Obviously, hopelessness is a warning sign for us that we'd be concerned about and we would want to intervene on. And so, considering some of those warning signs increased anxiety, increased depression for people who already know that that's an issue for them, getting up in front of that is gonna be really important. So, whether that's, you know, you start with your self-care techniques is great, that's the first start. And if those things are not working, then we would want people to then kind of increase to the next thing, reach out to someone else, and get some help. If that's not working, then you go to the next level, and there's all kinds of different resources for that which I'm sure we're gonna get into as well. Whether that's, you know, going over to, you know, the resources at your local base, which could be, you know your Taplin with their 100% confidentiality, or that's the military and family life consultant at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, or over app, or your mental health clinic. So, also you have Military OneSource, getting hold of them, and they have the ability to do online video capabilities, or telephone capabilities to be able to provide some counseling as well. So, so many resources out there and available, and to get up in front of those things before they get too problematic and impactful to people's lives. - I think that people will typically know what their baseline looks like. And some people may know that their baseline of what their typical mood looks like, or their anxiety level, or how they process information. They'll know what, for the most part, that what's normal for them. I think that to expect that there's not gonna be any deviation from that baseline is unrealistic in situation like this, but I think where it becomes prolonged, and it's not maybe more than a couple of days that people are find themselves bounce back their normal baseline, and it starting to really be noticeable and that it's starting to be bothersome to them, that's where maybe starting out with utilizing some of these resources. Unfortunately, in the mental health field in general, what we find is that people have a tendency sometimes not to reach out when they started noticing that they're outside of their normal baseline. And then once there is some level of intervention, it's because it's gotten pretty significant and severe and maybe somebody else's noticed it. So, the one thing I really encourage people to do is to, you know, be kind to themselves. You know, a lot of times our expectations of how we think that we should handle things or deal with things are unrealistic, you know, and if you were to take and compare, and, you know, I always do the scenarios of, if somebody else is going through what you're going through right now, what would be some advice that you would give them? And then, take your own advice. And if that is, "Hey, you know, I would tell them "to give themselves a break, "and, or maybe they need to talk to somebody," well then, that might be the advice that you need to take for yourself. And so, I really think you willing to utilize from the resources are really important, and knowing that this is, you know, an unprecedented event that we're going through, and that there's also other people that are going through it with you. And so, just reaching out and talking to some, you know, to people and maybe just getting that relief from that can also be helpful. - Yeah, and you talked about a good chunk of the resources that are available usually locally at your base, but can you kind of talk through Military OneSource and the helping things that they have? - Sure. So, Military OneSource is an avenue where people can reach out to. They have a website where people can connect up to, and also a telephone line. So, their telephone number is 1-800-342-9647. Or you can go online through their websites, and they can provide services via a live chat, or they can, you can do it through a video and also through the phone. So, you can connect up with a counselor in any of those different methods. They've really made it pretty easy for people. And so, right now, definitely so, so many resources and Military OneSource being one of those resources that very easily connect to, 24/7, seven days a week, and that for military members and also for their family members as well. So, all those avenues are available. - Yeah. And there's a couple other crisis lines. So, there's also the Veterans Crisis Line, that one's available 24 hours a day, and that could be reached via telephone or text. The number for that one is 1-800-273-8255, or they can contact them directly by sending a text to 838-255. I've actually tried these out to make sure that they were doing what they, you know, advertised they were doing. And using that one and the crisis text line which is 741-741, I had a response from both of those within about 10 seconds. And it is a live person on the other end, so you're not texting with the computer, and they can, you know, assist you with a myriad of, you know, crisis-based things, whether it's just, "Hey, I'm feeling lonely. "I need to talk to somebody," all the way up to, "Hey I'm having thoughts of hurting or killing myself. "And I need to have some, you know, direct intervention." So, those are great resources that people can utilize. - As we get ready to wrap this up, I'll give both of you guys a chance to comment on this, but at the end of the day, you know, probably just like before COVID-19, you know, if you're feeling that stress or that anxiety and you need help, or if you're someone checking-in on a fellow airman and notice that they need help, take action. Either ask for the help, or make sure that airman that needs the help is getting it, right? - Absolutely. You know, we have the ACE program, which is where we say, "ask, connect and escort." And that really is making sure that we're, you know, we're supporting our fellow airman, you know, that if we identify that we're really worried about 'em we need to make sure that we're getting 'em the help they need. You know, a lot of times people are very hesitant. You know, I always tell people don't keep secrets, and people are hesitant to, if they have concerns about safety issues with somebody, "well, I don't want them to be mad at me, "you know, if I reach out, I tell our leadership, "or if I call 911," but the reality of it is is I would much rather somebody be alive and upset with me that I intervened and got them some help then them to make a decision that is, you know, to potentially take their life and I didn't reach out and get them the help that they may have needed. And so, that's really important to keep that in mind. - Yeah. Well, I really appreciate you guys taking some time out and joining us today on the podcast, and, you know, stay safe up there in Mobilities Hometown. - Oh, thank you so much. We appreciate you giving us this opportunity to speak with you today. - Thank you! (dramatic tone) - Tons of great info there. Great advice on taking time off from watching the news, maybe cutting down on some of the things like video games and try to get outside for some vitamin D to boost your spirits. I definitely plan on checking out the Breathe2Relax app as well. I think I might need that today after some of my technology problems. I really wanna say thank you to Major Jenkins and Sergeant Williams for their time and expertise on a topic that really means so much in today's uncertain times. As a reminder, you can follow Air Education and Training Command and the AETC Command team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as get your latest news on the web at https://www.aetc.af.mil/. Thanks for tuning into the podcast as we dive into the world of recruiting, training, and education. For an entire AETC Public Affairs team, I'm Dan Hawkins, so long, we'll talk to you next time on the "Air Force Starts Here". (upbeat music)