Exhale: A Blog for Women’s Mental & Emotional Health
Military families are no strangers to sacrifice. They kiss their service members goodbye for long deployments and live through frequent moves, leaving behind familiar places, friends, and family. Relocating every few years can especially take an emotional toll on children, disrupting their sense of stability and security while creating logistical and practical challenges for parents.
Grief is a universal human experience, one that touches all of us at some point in our lives. It is the complex and deeply personal response to loss and, though it is something everyone experiences, each person's path is unique. Rather than being a linear process with a definitive end, grief is a lifelong journey that weaves its way into the very fabric of our lives.
Tricare, the health insurance program that provides coverage to active duty and retired military members, their families, and survivors, covers a variety of benefits, including mental health care. This includes online therapy, a great option for those who live in rural areas like Panama City or Ocala have schedules that don’t accommodate traditional in-person therapy, or military families who relocate often.
Frequently a challenge for military families who are uprooted is the lack of a support system for the parents and children. In such times of distress, kids might reach out to seemingly unlikely peers and trusted adults with questions, seeking advice, or for connection. It’s smart to talk with the people in your child’s life and explain what’s happening so they can help monitor any changes in behavior or mood and give additional support to your child.
From there, your family can do several things to prepare for an upcoming deployment or find a sense of normalcy and peace during one. Here are 4 tips for how to help your children cope with your spouse’s deployment
Motherhood can feel like a constant flood of stress, overwhelm and anxiety. With all the loud noises, never ending requests for help, constant touching, and overstimulating toys, being a mom in and of itself can cause extreme anxiety. When anxiety isn’t dealt with it can cause additional problems such as panic attack disorder, depression, and chronic stress.
What do you do as a mom with anxiety when feel like you’ve tried everything to cope with the anxiety on their own? Online therapy using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) methods has been proven as an effective way to combat anxiety and reduce stress.
If you have Tricare Prime benefits, it makes sense to see an in-network Tricare provider as it would not cost you anything to see a counselor and you wouldn’t need a referral. But if you aren’t able to find an in-network provider with any openings, there is another option for you to receive therapy services.
When we dig deeper and stop to explore why there is a belief that something is wrong with having these “negative” emotions, there usually has been some kind of overarching message in that woman’s life that has said, “It’s not okay to be mad, angry, sad, depressed…” and the list could go on. This message could have begun early in childhood by parents, siblings, teachers, and friends, or it may have appeared later in life from professors, employers, romantic partners, or the community within which they live. While the message is that those emotions are bad, the other message communicated is “You just need to be happy. Just focus on the positive.” And this is where “toxic positivity” begins to take root.
Motherhood is hard, like really hard. And parenting in the time of a global pandemic is a whole other level of stress and difficulty. We aren’t going to always get it right. Rather than heaping guilt on yourself, almost as a form of self-punishment, try approaching yourself with a sense of self-compassion.
If you are someone who has Tricare for health insurance, you know first-hand that navigating the world of Tricare can often be confusing and frustrating. While Tricare provides great benefits for military members and their dependents, it can be really annoying trying to figure out what Tricare will and will not cover – and this is speaking as someone who has Tricare and also takes Tricare insurance in their online therapy practice!
One of the most common questions that has been asked many times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is “Does Tricare cover online therapy?” And here’s the answer: Yes!
When I see patients in my office or through telepsychiatry, I typically hear that they are confused and upset by their symptoms. Often, it can be very isolating. Most women just want to enjoy what is supposed to feel like “the happiest time in my life.” While postpartum depression has started to get more press, peripartum anxiety is not often talked about, suspected or diagnosed. The good news is that peripartum disorders are often VERY treatable. The important thing is to be working with someone who has experience in this area, as symptoms can show up a little differently.
Because of the impact of the global pandemic on our mental health, more and more people are reaching out for online therapy appointments. However, with such an increased need for counseling appointments, many therapists’ schedules are completely filled and they’re not able to accept any new clients. This can make it challenging for you if you are reaching out for counseling support but aren’t able to find a therapist who can fit you in. Here are three options to look at if you can’t find a therapist with an open appointment time.
Hey there, NOLA mom, how are you?
I’m going to guess the answer is, “I’m really not okay.” I hear ya. It has been a really rough last few months, and not many of us are “okay.” And guess what? THAT is okay!
To say that life has been rough since March 2020 is an understatement. Most of us have been operating in survival mode since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between trying to figure out balancing the roles of homeschool teacher, childcare provider, and lunch and snack lady, plus working a full-time job and trying to keep the house in some kind of livable condition, there has been little physical and mental space to decompress and heal from the stress and trauma associated with COVID-19
The Hawaiian Islands are among the most beautiful places in the world, which is why millions of people visit every year. The beauty of the people, the land, the spirit, the water is unparalleled. And for people on vacation, Hawaii allows them to escape the reality of life that awaits them back home. For those of us who live in Hawaii, life is not a constant vacation.
The Big Easy. The Crescent City. Call it what you will, New Orleans is a city like none other. The food, the music, the culture; you will not find another place like New Orleans. However, living in a unique, beautiful city doesn’t shelter you from life’s challenges. Sometimes you need to reach out and talk to someone for help and support.
Follow on Social Media @AshleyComegysLCSW
