Combat Operational Stress Control, a Continuum from "Ready" through Reacting, Injured, and Ill

The Rainbow Spectrum of Healthy to Ill Stress Reactions

Are you "Ready", "Reacting", "Injured", or "Ill"?

Where do you fall today in the Stress Continuum?

In 2008 and 2009 I attended the Navy Marine Corps Combat Operational Stress Control courses:

• Combat Operational Stress Control for Caregivers:  Understanding and Addressing Combat Stress
• Combat Operational Stress Control:  The Family Dynamic

These courses were sponsored by the Navy Chaplain Corps and many of whom attended were chaplains or Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs).  They discussed, at the time, about creating an operational stress awareness handout so that every servicemember could easily recognize when the every day stressors of work in any situation can go from healthy and resilient to injured and/or ill with resources to contact when necessary.  It takes away the stigma of "PTSD" and makes the reality of stress and its many forms recognizable in normal and unusual circumstances.  Combat stress or traumatic stress or stress reaction is NOT a disorder, it is normal.  Getting help before it becomes a problem is good for the individual sailor and the unit and, when back home, the family.  One of the diagrams, called the Stress Continuum, is below. 

They have recently launched a website with GREAT resources, handouts and easy-to-access powerpoints and videos.  Check it out!

If you have experience some or multiple traumas, check out where you are in the post traumatic growth inventory and share your results with your primary care provider.

--Megan



Navy Marine Corps Stress Continuum

Related Blog Posts:
D-Stress Line for Marines and Sailors
Free Counseling Services by phone or online
Managing Traumatic Stress
Insomnia blog posts
      part 1:  link to Traditional Chinese Medicine
      part 2:  sleep habits/hygiene
      part 3:  medications
      part 4:  sleep resources
      part 5