Five ways to stay connected and well during & after the holidays

The holiday season can be many things at times or at once: joyful, relaxing, stressful and even lonely. This can be true whether you’re visiting with family and friends, hosting relatives or keeping to yourself. Adding uncertainty is the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, which is pushing COVID-19 cases upward and propelling a new pandemic roller coaster ride.

Luckily, there are strategies for remaining positive and healthy, including reaching out to fellow Veterans and military peers, caregivers and survivors and practicing self-care routines.

Below are resources and ideas for staying connected and well as 2021 ends. Be sure to add your own wellness suggestions in the comments section. From everyone at RallyPoint, have a peaceful and safe holiday season and a refreshed start to 2022!

1. Invite a peer to join RallyPoint. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re already part of the 2 million-member RallyPoint community. But you also may encounter someone over the holidays and in the next year who’s not on the platform and could benefit from being here, especially a military caregiver, a category of user we want to see more active on the platform.

You can remind your peers of the benefits of joining one of the largest online military networking communities. In addition to military caregivers, let them know RallyPoint is open to Veterans and service members of any era and to military spouses, family members, survivors and supporters of those in uniform. This is a secure environment where the military and Veteran community can build a professional network, share stories of determination in the face of adversity, explore educational and career opportunities, and ask questions of those with common bonds and experiences.

At our “Command Post” area (https://www.rallypoint.com/command-post), query in-the-know experts on topics like Veteran employment and home loan resources and get answers during live question-and-answer sessions. Find essays and discussions on varied topics from those who served at every rank in the military. Access articles packed with information on subjects such as how to compete for jobs at Amazon, how to launch a Veteran-owned small business and how to choose where to spend your military tuition assistance dollars.

Details: Register for RallyPoint at http://www.rallypoint.com/join.

2. Discover “American Veteran.” The PBS documentary “American Veteran,” created by GBH, is a wide-ranging multimedia project depicting the Veteran experience, from the American Revolution to the current day.

It’s the relatively rare story told from the Veteran’s point of view.

“Every voice featured in ‘American Veteran,’ from narrators to interviews to scholars, is a Veteran’s,” the producers say in a statement. “Every story these Veterans relate contributes to our exploration of the shifting relationships, over time and today, between Americans who have served in the military and those who have not.”

Here are the many ways you can experience the project:

Watch the four-part television series with family or battle buddies: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/american-veteran/watch/episodes.
Listen to a nine-part podcast on a mobile device during walks or workouts: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/american-veteran/podcast.
View and share 10 digital shorts online: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/american-veteran/watch.
Tell your story as a Veteran, active military and loved one or friend of someone who served on social media using the hashtag #AmericanVeteranPBS.

Details: Find everything at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/american-veteran.

3. Support military caregivers. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation refers to the 5.5 million military caregivers in the United States as “hidden heroes” — the mostly unsung family members or friends serving the Veterans who need help caring for themselves. At the foundation’s website, donate to the caregiver cause or share notes of encouragement with caregivers. If you’re a caregiver, apply for “respite relief,” which can provide you with free services such as meals, housekeeping and transportation so you can take a break.

Details: Visit https://hiddenheroes.org.

4. Practice self-care or whole health care. One antidote to holiday strain is self-care, which can mean different things to different people. Using what the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) defines as “whole health care,” self-care draws from aspects of your body and mind, community, life, nutrition, relationships, personal development and surroundings to help you promote happiness and build healthful habits into your life all year long (https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH/circle-of-health/index.asp).

If you don’t yet have a whole health plan, take time this season to explore VA’s Whole Health website, which explains the concept and provides a library with free multimedia materials and information (https://www.va.gov/wholehealthlibrary). VA’s caregiver website has additional tools and resources specifically for military caregivers at https://www.caregiver.va.gov/Self_Care_Activities.asp.

Details: Find the main Whole Health page at https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH, and navigate using the left-hand menu. Access VA’s #LiveWholeHealth blog series for self-care tips on breathing, meditation, mindfulness and more at https://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/tag/livewholehealth.

5. Start a conversation about booster shots. With the fast spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, government health experts recommend that everyone age 18 and over get a booster shot two months after an initial J&J vaccination or six months after completing the mRNA two-shot series (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html).

If you have friends and family members without a COVID-19 booster shot, check out VA’s HolidayBoost campaign for six steps on starting a compassionate, constructive conversation. Steps include asking permission to talk about the subject and exploring the person’s thinking on getting fully vaccinated.

Details: Learn more at https://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/98526/holidayboost-campaign-helps-you-talk-about-covid-19-boosters-with-those-you-care-about-this-holiday-season and find vaccines and boosters at https://www.vaccines.gov.