Veterans and Nonveterans Coping With Stress During 4 Months of COVID-19

Jorie M. Butler; Xuechen Wang; Marian Riddoch; Alistair Thorpe; Vanessa Stevens; Laura D. Scherer; Frank A. Drews; Holly Shoemaker; Angela Fagerlin

doi:10.1370/afm.3046

Published eLetters

If you would like to comment on this article, click on Submit a Response to This article, below. We welcome your input.

Submit a Response to This Article

Compose eLetter

Title *

Author Information

Contributors
First Name and Middle Initial * First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'. Last Name * Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'. Email Address * Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com Occupation * Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'. Affiliation * Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.

Statement of Competing Interests

Competing interests? *

Yes

Please describe the competing interests

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

What code is in the image? *

Enter the characters shown in the image.

Vertical Tabs

Jump to comment:

RE: Veterans and Nonveterans Coping With Stress During 4 Months of COVID-19
Mary Gassman, Alana Kramer and Ella Silvis

Published on: 27 February 2024

Published on: (27 February 2024)
Page navigation anchor for RE: Veterans and Nonveterans Coping With Stress During 4 Months of COVID-19
RE: Veterans and Nonveterans Coping With Stress During 4 Months of COVID-19
Mary Gassman, Medical Student, The Ohio State University
Other Contributors:
Alana Kramer, Medical Student

Ella Silvis, Medical Student
As three aspiring healthcare professionals, we read this article with great interest. We recognize the importance of exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic affected coping mechanisms in both veteran and non-veteran populations. After reviewing study results, we have a few thoughts and questions to ask. We found it interesting that the veterans’ main choice of a coping mechanism was either an adaptive or disengaged style, while the non-veterans coping mechanism style was distressed. We were not surprised by these findings even though they seemed to contradict one another. Some veterans implement adaptive and flexible techniques learned in the military as they transition to other stages of their lives. They use it to structure their daily lives, so they can be alert and work to solve the problems around them. However, other veterans lean more towards the distressed style of coping mechanisms because what they learned within their military career does not blend well within their everyday life. This causes stress and creates an inability to adapt to different factors that are not planned to change, such as the pandemic which none of us were prepared for.

Interestingly, results from the first and second surveys were characterized by the disengaged style (>50% of the sample). But, by the time of the third survey, the adaptive mechanism was most common. Comparing these dates next to the events following COVID-19 pandemic, it appears as though it took many people a while to...
Show More

As three aspiring healthcare professionals, we read this article with great interest. We recognize the importance of exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic affected coping mechanisms in both veteran and non-veteran populations. After reviewing study results, we have a few thoughts and questions to ask. We found it interesting that the veterans’ main choice of a coping mechanism was either an adaptive or disengaged style, while the non-veterans coping mechanism style was distressed. We were not surprised by these findings even though they seemed to contradict one another. Some veterans implement adaptive and flexible techniques learned in the military as they transition to other stages of their lives. They use it to structure their daily lives, so they can be alert and work to solve the problems around them. However, other veterans lean more towards the distressed style of coping mechanisms because what they learned within their military career does not blend well within their everyday life. This causes stress and creates an inability to adapt to different factors that are not planned to change, such as the pandemic which none of us were prepared for.

Interestingly, results from the first and second surveys were characterized by the disengaged style (>50% of the sample). But, by the time of the third survey, the adaptive mechanism was most common. Comparing these dates next to the events following COVID-19 pandemic, it appears as though it took many people a while to adjust to our new way of life.

Considering these findings, we were wondering if another group of people would also find themselves switching mechanisms longitudinally? Furthermore, of those switching coping mechanisms, would those with mental health issues be at greatest risk of experiencing distress? Those who changed their coping mechanisms over the course of the study often had higher rates of depression compared to those who did not have known mental health issues. The links between mental health and anxiety should continue to be explored within the context of shifting coping mechanisms over time.
Show Less

Competing Interests: None declared.