10 Tips For Staying Strong During A Deployment

As the military spouse (fiancé, significant other, or girlfriend) it is important for you to stay strong while your loved one is deployed. Staying strong isn’t always easy especially when dealing with the anxieties that come along with deployments.  So here are my top 10 ways to overcome deployment anxiety and stay strong for your loved one!

10. Volunteer: Doing something for someone else is a great way to get your mind off of the deployment and focus on something good. There are countless ways you can volunteer both on base and off. Maybe you want to help out at a retirement home, join the USO, spend sometime helping out at an animal shelter or even give Honor Flight a try (check out more information here)!

9. Build Care Packages for Others: While your loved one is deployed you will send them care packages on a regular basis. However, your loved one may be deployed with some who aren’t receiving care packages at all. So spend some time building a special care package for someone else. Being able to brighten someone else’s day will help you stray strong.

8. Take a Class: Take some time during the deployment and do something to better yourself. It can be a college class, a cooking class, a photography class, a dance class or anything you are interested in. Taking the class will give you something to talk about in your letters to your loved one, or tell them about when they call.

7. Set a Long Term Goal: Make yourself a goal you want to accomplishment before you loved one returns home. It could be you want to run your first marathon (or 5k), learn how to knit, or even learning a new language.

6.Set Weekly Obtainable Goals: Long term goals take time, and having a goal to work towards each week will help you feel accomplished and sane. During my husbands last deployment I set the goal to accomplish a Pinterest project each week. They didn’t always work out, but they kept me busy.

5. Cook Yourself a Nice Meal: You are important and deserve a good meal. It is easy to fall into the habit of eating cereal for dinner when you are cooking for one. So make yourself a nice meal, or take yourself out to dinner!

4. Explore Local Museums/Art Galleries: Getting lost in beautiful art or spending the day walking around an interesting museum is a great way to escape your everyday anxieties.

3. Binge Watch TV: While your loved one is deployed is a great chance for you to watch a show that you always wanted to watch, especially if it is something that your loved one wouldn’t enjoy watching. Netflix and Amazon Prime were my best friends on those sleepless nights! Just make sure you aren’t binge watching the 24 hour new channels…that will make you crazy!

2. Join a Club or Group: There are clubs/groups both on base and off. You can join a spouse club, moms group, book club or any club/group that interests you! Not only will it keep you busy but it will also open you up to meeting new friends with similar interests.

1. Pamper Yourself: A great way to stay strong mentally is to feel good about yourself. Get your hair done, buy that new outfit, or just do something for you.

Being strong for your loved one is a big part of what you can do to help them while they are deployed. Just remember to stay strong for yourself too, and if things get hard don’t be afraid to ask for help!