“With everything happening across the world right now, our service members are under that much more stress while still being deployed away from their families,” said Tyler Krantz, USO Al Asad, Iraq center manager. “When we communicate with people face-to-face, it could help to make us more resilient to stress factors,” she said.Īnd deployed troops have no shortage of stress factors, especially during a global pandemic. In fact, she notes that direct person-to-person contact activates the nervous system and releases neurotransmitters that help regulate the body’s response to stress and anxiety. But that doesn’t mean the need for genuine, social connection is suddenly unimportant or no longer there.Īccording to psychologist Susan Pinker, face-to-face social interaction is key to maintaining mental health and wellness. The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t made deployments to the Middle East any easier.īetween new social distancing rules and the temporary closure of public spaces on some installations, it is more challenging than ever for deployed service members to find approved ways to socialize with each other or take a break from the daily grind of serving on the front lines.
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