Employee Whole Health
Self-Care Resources for Your Whole Health
We are all faced with new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. How we deal with and adapt to change affects our ability to respond to these challenges.
It is more important than ever to take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Finding ways to care for ourselves, staying balanced and resilient, is critically important so that we can care for our Veterans, families, and communities. The following resources are quick, virtual tools to help you manage stress and promote your Whole Health during these unprecedented times.
Overwhelmed? Need to talk to someone right now?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - For any person in distress or their loved ones.We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
- Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
- En Espanol: 1-888-628-9454
- Start a confidential chat
- Call TTY if you have hearing loss 1-800-799-4889
- Get more resources at SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
Veterans Crisis Line - We’re here anytime, day or night – 24/7.
If you are a Veteran in crisis or concerned about one, connect with our caring, qualified responders for confidential help. Many of them are Veterans themselves.
- Call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1
- Text 838255
- Start a confidential chat
- Call TTY if you have hearing loss 1-800-799-4889
- Get more resources at VeteransCrisisLine.net.
Physician Support Line
What Is Physician Support Line? Physician Support Line is a national, free, and confidential support line service made up of 600+ volunteer psychiatrists, joined together in the determined hope to provide peer support for our physician colleagues as we all navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Call 1-888-409-0141. No appointment necessary. https://www.physiciansupportline.com/
Disaster Distress Helpline
All VA employees are eligible to contact this helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or even text, "TalkWithUs" to 66746, to be connected to a trained counselor. Help is available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.
Audio files
- Grounding Meditation by Christiane Wolf (5 minutes)
- Mindfulness of Sounds Meditation by Greg Serpa (10 minutes)
- Body Scan Meditation by Christiane Wolf (15 minutes)
- Ten Lessons I Learned in War that Can Help in Coping with the Coronavirus by Julie Barker, OEF/OIF Veteran and LCSW (16 minutes)
- Relaxation Recordings
- Mindful Muscle Relaxation (4:18)
- Loving Kindness Meditation (3:27)
- Breathing Exercises (6:53)
- Taking Time to Pause (9:56)
- Five Minute Stress Management (5:07)
- Acupressure (3:53)
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation (14:00)
- Mindful Poetry (5:27)
Videos
- VA Chaplain Juliana Lesher - An Inspirational Message (:58)
- Inspirational Message from Juliana Lesher - Prayer (1:31)
- Inspirational Message from Juliana Lesher - Song (1:02)
- Inspirational Message from VA Chaplains (6:21) April 2020
- It Is Well With My Soul (4:57) Performed by a virtual cell phone choir, Nashville, TN
- Cheyenne COVID Calming Moment (5:49)
- Chaplain Corner - Orhan Cetin, Muslim Chaplain, VA NY HHS (2:40)
Handouts
- Deciding on What You Need for Spiritual Health
- Spiritual Anchors
- Beliefs and Your Health
- Spiritual Care Resources (Uplifting scriptures and spiritual quotes)
Additional Web Resources
- Healthy Life Letter Special Edition (May/June 2020)
- Healthy Life Letter Special Edition (March/April 2020)
- For Frontline Health Care Workers
- For Leaders & Supervisors
- Helpful Thinking During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
- Managing Stress Associated with the COVID-19 Virus Outbreak
- Tips for Providing Support to Others During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
- #LiveWholeHealth
- Gut Health
- To Take Care of Others, Start by Taking Care of Yourself
- COVID Coach App
- Self-Care During the COVID-19 Response
- PTSD Consultation Program during COVID-19
- VA Voices #ChalkChallenge
- Veterans’ Singalong Tribute to VA Healthcare Workers
- Press Release from SecVA: Veteran Trust Rises Above 90%
- Veteran Compliments
- Blog Post: Owning the Moment Through COVID-19
- My Life, My Story - video overview (7:12). VA Staff can call in each weekday to listen to a Veteran story. Calls last 5-10 minutes and are Veteran stories from VAMC's around the county that have My Life, My Story programs.
- How to attend: Monday - Friday, 11:11 AM Central Time. Use Google Chrome with https://join.freeconferencecall.com/story-a-day or dial 425-436-6313, access code: 331095#
Facility Recognition
- Dr. Gupta, Nashville VAMC (TN)
- Dr. Williamson, Beaumont CBOC (TX)
- Northwest Primary Care Clinic,North Las Vegas VA Medical Center (NV)
- Ms. Nonie Mazerski, VA Volunteer, Manchester VAMC (NH)
- Ms. Melissa Fadipe, VA Nurse Practitioner and ANCC Magnet Nurse of the Year, Houston VAMC (TX)
- VA Volunteer Services, Eugene Towbin VA Medical Center at North Little Rock (AR)
- Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center (PA)
- Drs. Bowling, Gonzales and Menzies and staff, Biloxi VAMC (MS)
- Lima Clinic, Dayton VAMC (OH)
- Married Couple and VA Nurses Chris and Denee Killion, Omaha VAMC (NE)
- Dr. Taylor, Wilmington VA Clinic, Fayetteville VAMC (NC)
- Ms. Harley Buxton, Volunteer, Dublin VAMC (GA)
- Medical Team at the Bryan/College Station CBOC, Temple VAMC (TX)
- Ms. Angie, Birmingham VAMC Nurse (AL)
- Ms. Stephanie and Staff at the Decatur VA Clinic, Danville VAMC (IL)
Videos
- Yoga Demo (11 minutes)
- Tai Chi Demo (14 minutes)
- Chair Yoga from WRIISC (7 minutes)
- Gentle Chair Yoga from Central Arkansas VAMC (7 minutes)
- Mindful Hatha Yoga from WRIISC (8 minutes)
- Qigong and Energy Gates from WRIISC (4:48)
- Interval Training (from VA Public Health)
- Latin Dance (from VA Public Health)
- Strength Training (from VA Public Health)
Explore more on important well-being topics like sleep, healthy eating and more.
