Home > Media > Article Display

Feature - Mental health key to service's success

By Tyler Grimes, 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs / Published March 16, 2012

PRINT | E-MAIL
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Good health is an essential element for the success of Travis Airmen and the mission. One facet of this element is mental health. To help Airmen maintain mental fortitude, there are many aspects and options they should consider, said Maj. Melissa Gould, 60th Medical Operations Squadron resiliency element chief.

"If a person is healthy mentally - they have a positive view toward life, toward themselves and toward others," she said. "With the right attitude, most people are successful in learning and perfecting their trade and they value their contribution to the overall mission."

In order to stay in a strong psychological state, an Airman must have a balanced life, both on- and off-duty, she said. Obtaining a balanced life is about utilizing the four pillars of Comprehensive Airman Fitness - physical, mental, social and spiritual, Gould said.

Exercise, sleep and diet are vital to an Airman's physical and mental health, she said.

The mental pillar focuses on an Airman's attitude, perspective and motivation to reach the goals they have set out for themselves which affects many parts of their life. A person's ability to bounce back after a disappointment is crucial to their resilience to move forward and not stay stuck in the past.

One technique Gould suggests to improve an Airman's mental health, is cognitive restructuring, which involves changing one's negative thoughts and substituting it with rational thoughts.

"When someone feels fearful, angry, disappointed, depressed, anxious, it is because of their thoughts," she said. "By confronting thoughts that are creating their mood and making a rational thought substitution, a person is on their way to feeling better."

Another key to having a balanced life and sustaining your mental health is employing the social pillar and Airmen do not always recognize this as being an issue, she said.

"A lot of times people don't realize how isolated they can become," she said. "We need friends in our life."

While having an active social life is important to an Airman's balance on the job and off, it is equally important for an Airman's mental health to be a high priority. People need to take care of themselves, so they can take care of their wingman, she said.

Ultimately, sustaining mental health requires focusing on a variety of issues in an Airman's life. If an Airman is struggling with these issues, they can turn to the Travis Integrated Delivery System, which is comprised of helping professionals at all of the base agencies.

"Helping somebody by saying 'you know what, you don't have to stay stuck,' whether it be a thought, an attitude or a behavior, you can choose to change," Gould said. "Then, showing people how they can change, that's my passion as well as my TIDeS colleagues."

For information about the services offered contact the base mental health office.

Original content found here.
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.