With more than 144,000 soldiers currently deployed around the globe many families sit down to a holiday meal with an empty chair at the table. During these times it is important for military families to learn positive ways to deal with missing their loved ones.
Kathryn Fair, PhD, clinical psychologist at Carle Clinic – Mahomet, explained that it is essential for families to express how they are feeling. “Missing a loved one during a traditionally, joyous holiday season can be enormously difficult,” Dr. Fair says. “One of the best ways to cope around the holidays is to talk about your feelings and discover new ways to deal with your emotions.”
Dr. Fair provides a few suggestions to help families during this holiday season:
Connect with other military families – Families on base have gone through deployments and understand the challenges you are facing. If there are base clinics in your area, talk with a staff member who can connect you with the right family.
Get involved in your community – Whether you decide to take a class, join the gym, participate in a book club or become more active in church, reaching out to others is always helpful.
Create activities for children with a deployed parent – Come up with creative ways for kids to count down to their parent’s homecoming: make a paper chain and remove a link each day, email daily events to deployed parent, have the deployed parents record themselves reading a book and email to the child.
Find useful resources – Join an online support group or the Family Readiness Group (FRG) associated with your loved one’s unit. Check out books such as While You Are Away by Eileen Spinelli and Your Solider, Your Army, by Vicky Cody. Organizations such as the National Military Family Association are also available to help family members.
Talk to a counselor or healthcare professional – Sharing your feelings with someone always helps, and a counselor or healthcare professional can give you insight on specific methods for coping.