Promoting Wellness and Resilience for Veterans

Promoting wellness and resilience for veterans

David J. Whetzel

Capella University

This paper is about promoting wellness and resilience for veterans who suffer from PTSD. You will see how the invisible self can be used with veterans suffering from PTSD. How prevention and educational activities can be used that are designed to help promote development, wellness, and mental health. Finally, you will read about effective strategies to promote client understanding of and access to a variety of community resources for veterans and their families.

Describe a Wellness and Resiliency Model

Myers, Sweeney, and Witmer (2000) explain wellness as “a way of life focused on optimal health and well-being, in which body, mind, and spirit are united by the individual to

live life more fully within the human and natural community. It is the ideal state of

health and well-being that each individual is capable of achieving” (p. 252). “Resilience encompasses the idea that individuals have the capacity to recover from stress, or the ability to withstand the effects of stressors that are typically associated with negative outcomes (Newman & Newman, 2015, pg. 78). The Invisible Self is a wellness model created by Myers & Sweeney that is made from Adlerian principles (Myers & Sweeny, 2005). The model describes five areas of wellness: physical, essential, social, coping, and creative. Physical well-being has two areas: exercise and nutrition (Myers and Sweeney, 2005). Essential wellness has four sections: spirituality, self-care, gender identity, and cultural identity (Myers and Sweeney, 2005). Social felicity is divided into two parts: friendship and love (Myers and Sweeney, 2005). Coping has four aspects: realistic beliefs, stress management, self-worth, and leisure (Myers and Sweeney, 2005). Creative fitness has five elements: thinking, emotion, control, positive humor, and work (Myers and Sweeney, 2005).

Watts (2011) suggested using Special Religious Education for People with a Developmental Disability (SPRED), defined as “…symbolic catechesis where formal instruction is supplemented or completely replaced by visual, aural, sensory, and physical stimuli (p. 237). In the area of self-care, individuals can be taught tasks to their fullest level of independence.

Recommend Intervention Activities That Promote Resilience and Wellness

The recent and current engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan have exposed over 2.4 million soldiers to unprecedented stress and trauma, with the result that mental health concerns of returning veterans have become a major emerging health issue (Groer, Kane, Williams & Duffy, 2014). It is very important for those suffering from PTSD or other mental illnesses to be involved in physical fitness. LeBouthillier, Fetzner, & Asmundson (2015) say “A well-established body of literature supports the role of physical activity in maintaining both physical and mental health. Conversely, lack of physical activity has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Research suggests cardiorespiratory fitness may provide a buffer against stress symptoms, possibly reducing the likelihood of developing PTSD”.

For those suffering from PTSD it is important that they have social well-being. Social support from a spouse, family or friends can buffer the development of PTSD; however, relationship discord has the potential to greatly exacerbate PTSD symptomatology (Averill, Fleming, Holens, & Larsen, 2015). It is important that counselors encourage those with PTSD to engage with their families and friends to get the support they need. Also, the counselor can suggest support groups for veterans with PTSD. These groups can be found in any community, and at the local VA hospital.

CBT is very helpful for those suffering from