WEBVTT

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♪ So, let me see your reflective belt ♪

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♪ Let me see your reflective belt ♪

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♪ So, let me see your reflective belt ♪

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♪ You better put it on,
better, better put it on ♪

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♪ You better put it on,
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♪ You better put it on,
better, better put it on ♪

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- We are not surprised that
we've seen a reluctance

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for people to report and get tested.

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Our airmen are so dedicated to the mission

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and so dedicated to their teams,

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and they don't wanna be separated

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from their work and from their unit.

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And a lot of the units across the base

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are already seeing an
increase in workload,

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whether it's because they're catching up

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from kind of early in COVID

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when we were really shut down.

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Or if it's because they're
still doing half staff

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because they're trying
to prevent the spread,

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and so we've got fewer
people doing more things.

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Or if it's because people in
their unit have been tested

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and were suspected
positive or were positive.

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So, I think airmen are reluctant

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to add to that burden on
their teams and themselves,

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and just wanna be a team player
and get the mission done.

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But I think what's really
important to remember is,

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the way that we get the mission done

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is by keeping COVID-19
out of the workplace.

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And the way that we do that

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is by focusing on the fundamentals,

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good hand-washing,

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maintaining physical distance, mask-wear,

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and when you're symptomatic,

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stay away from work and talk
to a healthcare provider.

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- Absolutely.

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So, of course with all that being said,

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we've gotta dive into
what is COVID fatigue.

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- So, I think that we are all fatigued

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by the ongoing disruption to our lives.

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You know, I don't know anybody

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who enjoys wearing a mask,

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who enjoys not being able
to attend a sporting event

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or a religious function

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or go to their favorite restaurant

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or send their children to school.

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COVID-19 has completely changed

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so many of the things that
are normal in our lives.

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And as a military member,

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it's really changed a lot of the things

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that made being in the
military very special.

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Changes of command,

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medal presentations,

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retirement ceremonies,

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squadron commanders calls,

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even in unit PT.

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A lot of those personal
and professional rituals

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have either been changed dramatically

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or just aren't happening at all.

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So, I think that's a big part of it.

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And then, the second part,

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on local radio right now,

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there's a commercial that asks,

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are you working from home
or do you live at work?

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And I think for a lot of airmen,

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the answer is the latter.

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Teleworking can provide
a lot of flexibility,

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a lot of advantages for us,

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especially when we've got kids at home

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who are doing their school from home.

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And we've just got a lot of
uncertainty in our lives.

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But, if we don't set good boundaries,

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we can quickly find
ourselves living at work.

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And so, it's recommended that teleworkers

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have set hours at home

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and have even an office area

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which can provide a psychological cue

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when those office hours are over

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and you leave that office area

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that I'm leaving work now,

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and I can get back to my personal time.

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I've heard a lot of
people express concern.

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You know, my boss sends emails
at all hours of the day,

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and I feel like I need to respond to them.

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If those things are happening,

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my guess is your boss doesn't expect that.

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But I would really encourage people

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to clarify what the expectations are.

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Because if we're working 24 hours a day,

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if we're living at work,

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that's a recipe for burnout.

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- Absolutely, I agree.

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And as we're talking about that burnout,

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I would like to say,

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what are the signs and symptoms

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that you may be mentally struggling,

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whether it is burnout or it
is more serious mental issues.

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- So there's a lot of indications

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that might indicate you're having

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an unhealthy level of stress in your life,

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or you're not coping effectively.

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And one of the most common

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is just changes in your sleep pattern,

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whether you just need a lot
more sleep than you used to,

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or you're just not able
to fall or stay asleep.

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And related to sleep,

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obviously it's energy levels.

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If you feel like you just don't have

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the energy you need or used to have,

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you can't get the things done

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that you used to do or need to do,

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if you're unable to concentrate,

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all those are indications

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that the stress in your life
might not be well-managed.

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Also, if you are not enjoying
things that you used to enjoy,

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definitely something that you
probably wanna ask for help,

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if that's something that you notice.

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I've heard a lot of people
over the last couple of months

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making jokes about the COVID-15,

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about stress eating,

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putting on a little bit of weight.

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And I think that's a real thing,

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but changes in appetite up
or down are an indication

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that you're not dealing
with stress effectively.

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- Thank you, that was
actually quite a bit, sir.

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So, thank you.

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And we're gonna dive into now.

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So, we are staying connected a lot.

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And just like you said,

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the boss is emailing you all the time.

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However, we are still seeing members

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who are feeling with being isolated.

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So, how would you recommend
that they deal with that?

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- So, it's a difficult question

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and I'm not sure that we can
completely avoid those feelings

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and that's all right.

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It's appropriate to have negative emotions

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when bad things are going on

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in difficult times in your life.

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The real question is,

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what do you do with those feelings?

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You know, many of us are finding new ways

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to connect socially,

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but there's not a
one-size-fits-all solution

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to that question.

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I think the best approach
is really to be deliberate

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about making social
connectedness a priority.

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You have to try.

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For some people, you know,

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texting friends and FaceTime

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with family and loved ones will help.

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For other people, you know,

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doing some of the new things

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like virtual social events

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or there are virtual concerts,

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there's virtual paint and sips.

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There's a lot of those
types of things popping up,

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and for some people that will help.

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For some people spending
quality time with their pets

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or going to a public area
and just walking around,

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around other people in a
distance way will be restorative.

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And other people are gonna need
to create safe opportunities

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for face-to-face interaction.

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We're all unique and we've
all got individual needs

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and there's not a right
way to feel connected.

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The point is that it is important

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and it's really matters
that you make a priority

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of finding the approach
that works for you.

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I do think it's helpful to remember

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that our family, our
friends, our co-workers,

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are all experiencing similar feelings

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and getting outside of yourself

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and touching base with others

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and letting them know that
you're thinking about them,

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that you're checking
in on their well-being,

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is a great way to increase
your own sense of connectivity.

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- Absolutely.

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But even if they are doing these things

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and they start to notice
those signs and symptoms

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you were mentioning earlier,

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excuse me,

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what should people who
start to notice those do?

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- Great question.

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So, I think it's always best
to start with the basics.

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Almost everyone knows what
healthy behavior looks like,

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but when we get stressed
out, we don't do it.

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When people get stressed out,

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they tend to exercise less, not more.

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They tend to eat less healthy,

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not prioritize a healthy diet.

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They tend to use alcohol more, not less.

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They tend to be less disciplined
about their sleep hygiene

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of going to bed at the same time,

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waking up at the same time every day.

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Almost everyone would say to
a friend who's struggling,

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you need to take care of yourself.

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So, we need to say that to ourselves.

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But that said,

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none of us have ever dealt

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with these types of stressors before.

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And fortunately, airmen
are surrounded by people

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who care for them and
who are eager to help.

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If you're having difficulty

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managing the stress in your life,

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you need to ask for help.

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And for some, that's gonna
be reaching out to family

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or friends or co-workers and saying,

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hey, I'm having a hard time.

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And just that conversation
can meet that need.

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For other people, seeking
help for mental health

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is the right answer.

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Other folks are gonna benefit
from a spiritual focus

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and relying on the strength
that they have in their faith

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and working with the
chaplain to seek help.

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And other people kind of a
really solution-focused approach

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at the Airman and Family
Readiness Center will work.

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Again, there's not a
one-size-fits-all answer here.

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I encourage everybody to work
with your first Sergeant,

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if you're having a hard
time finding that right fit,

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they are the experts on the resources

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that are available on base

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and help them plug you into a place

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that's gonna meet your needs.

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- Great answer, thank you, Sir.

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And as we're talking about
moving into the holiday season,

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we're wanting to ask you,

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with the holiday season approaching

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and everyone having issues

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due to isolation and COVID already,

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what would you recommend people do

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to prepare themselves in this,

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maybe in the resilience vein?

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- Yeah, it is gonna be a very
interesting holiday season.

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The first since we've had so
many changes in our society.

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And you know,

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so much about what makes
the holidays important

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is connecting with family and friends,

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and the healthiest family
and social networks

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have cherished rituals
around the holiday season.

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In my family, growing up,

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Thanksgiving was all about
eating too much turkey

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and then falling asleep

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while you were watching football games.

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And Christmas was always
about a midnight mass,

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lighting of the candles.

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And then that next morning
opening Christmas presents.

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It was something that we all did together

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and it was just a ritual.

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And so, it's really
important to think about

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and to put effort into
maintaining those rituals,

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those historic rituals that
we've had around our holidays.

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I was thinking about that this morning,

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about how we were gonna do Christmas,

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because you know, the
traditional mass is probably off.

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And so, I was thinking and
talking to my wife about

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lighting candles ourselves,

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and kind of reenacting some of the things

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that we've always done with our children

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to commemorate that event

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and to kind of practice
that family ritual.

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And so, you know, Thanksgiving
will be different.

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We probably won't have
huge groups of people

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and my family won't travel
the way that they often have.

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But certainly touching base

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and talking about the things
that we've always done,

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and certainly football
will probably still be

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a big part of my Thanksgiving as well,

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a trip to fan nap sometime during the day.

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So, trying our best to
keep alive those rituals,

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that commemorate and pass the seasons

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with family and loved
ones is very important.

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- You could almost venture to say,

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it'll be different but it won't be bad.

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- Right, and I think that
we have to acknowledge

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that it's gonna be different,

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but we also have to acknowledge

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that there's a lot of value
in our family's traditions

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and our social and familial rituals,

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and all that we can do to sustain those.

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And I think we all look forward to a day

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when there won't be these limitations

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and we can return fully to them.

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But in the interim,

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I think we sustain them to the
greatest degree that we can.

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- Absolutely, thank you, sir.

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Moving into our last
couple of questions here.

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We've talked a lot today
about COVID-19 pandemic

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and how that can impact mental health.

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And it also seems obvious
that physical health

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can and does take an effect
on your mental health.

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Would you be able to speak to this, sir?

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- Yeah, you are absolutely right.

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And in the mental health world,

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we have a saying that exercise
is the best antidepressant.

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Not only does exercise
improve energy levels

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and sleep quality while
reducing stress by lowering

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levels of stress hormones like cortisol

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and epinephrin in your blood,

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but it also increases your
body's production of serotonin

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and dopamine like no kidding,

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it's a natural antidepressant.

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So, exercise combined with
a healthy diet is key.

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And let me be clear,

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if you are exercising regularly

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and you are eating a healthy diet,

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it's not gonna eliminate
the stress in your life.

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We're still going
through a difficult time,

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but exercise and healthy diet

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are just kind of a necessary foundation

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to effectively cope with stress.

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- Absolutely.

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I'm sure that's why we saw
so many people addicted

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to their daily walks at
the beginning of COVID.

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(man laughs)

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- No doubt.

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- Well, that wraps up the
prepared questions I have for you.

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But of course, do you
have anything else to add?

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- I would just like to foot-stomp

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how important it is to seek help

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and not just when you're
struggling or in crisis,

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but as part of our regular routine,

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leaning on family
members, friends, mentors,

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is part of developing as an airman.

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And yeah, I've been at this for a while

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and I have never met a
commander or a first Sergeant

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who did not sincerely
want for their airmen

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to seek help when they needed it.

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It is what is expected,

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it's what we need you
to do as an Air Force.

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It is a sign of strength

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and it's a way to get the mission done.

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So, if you are feeling

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like you are really
having a difficult time,

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or even if you're not,

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even if you can just recognize

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that what we're going through
is stressful across the board

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and that nobody is enjoying
the last eight months

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of challenges that we've faced,

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please reach out for help.

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Let folks know what's going on with you

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and check in on the folks
that are around you,

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because we are stronger together.

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♪ So, let me see your reflective belt ♪

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♪ Let me see your reflective belt ♪

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♪ So, let me see your reflective belt ♪

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♪ You better put it on,
better, better put it on ♪