Spouses Club receives resilience training

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gaddie
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The Eglin Spouses Club received resilience training here March 30 to help them understand and cope with the stressors and changing demands associated with military life.

Chief Master Sgt. Ronnie Tabor, one of Eglin's master resilience trainers, was the presenter.

"The Air Force Resilience Program is designed not only for our active duty members, but for our families," he said.

Tabor offered the club's attendees three resiliency skills.  The first, counting blessings, reduces anxiety and depression by identifying the good things in one's life.

"Utilizing that skill in an adverse situation can change a negative mindset and open the door for optimism and gratitude," Tabor said.

He asked the spouses to identify and discuss three good things that happened to them within the last 72 hours.  Examples discussed included a child who brought home and 'A' on a report card; a promotion at work; and re-uniting with a family member after a long time. 

The second skill is ABCs - "a" for adversity or and activating event; "b" for identifying beliefs about the event; and "c" for the consequences that can result from practicing those beliefs.

"An activating event can be positive or negative," Tabor said.

He gave misplacing an ID card as an example.  The spouses were asked to use their beliefs to locate the card, such as retracing their steps and not panicking; and then they discussed the consequences from practicing their beliefs.

"One of the things we talked about was tapping the brakes, slow down and think about that situation," Tabor said.

The third skill is detecting Icebergs, identifying deep beliefs and core values that fuel what people believe and how icebergs can lead to reactions that are out of proportion to a given situation.

"This is my second resiliency training class with Chief Tabor, and I can't wait to take another," said Angela Stevenson, wife of retired Lt. Col. Scott Stevenson.   "His seminar is filled with practical insights to improve everyday living and his delivery keeps the whole class engaged and entertained."

Tabor said all the skills taught were self-reinforcing, and work when applied correctly. 

"My goal is the attendees walk out with the willingness to use at least one of these three skills in a practical application," he said.  "Based on the feedback we received, I think we were successful."