The Unseen Side of Deployment with Lizann Lightfoot, The Seasoned Spouse

Lizann Lightfoot, The Seasoned Spouse, joins the Airmen Helping Airmen Podcast with Kaleth Wright to give out advice for surviving the military life and guiding spouses through deployment.

Key facts

Lizann’s Instagram
Lizann’s Twitter
Lizann’s LinkedIn
Seasoned Spouses Website
Writer/Author of The Seasoned Spouse, Lizann Lightfoot is a published author, freelancer, editor, and professional blogger.

Key takeaways

“I think we all need that connection and that support, and just knowing that someone out there understands and has been through a similar situation before.
…Just build that support system...The more emergency plans that you've gone over in your mind or on paper, or, you know, given out instructions to other people, then the less emotional weight that you have to carry around on your shoulder.”
Reach out to people who have been through what you’re going through. Seek out resources.
“...Connect and… realise that, you know, you're not going through this life alone. You're not facing this challenge as the very first military spouse who's ever had to do problem X, Y, and Z. So somewhere out there, someone else has been through this and has probably figured out a way to handle it and can walk you through the paperwork or walk you through how to connect with the right people.”
Connect with a local resource or program for assistance.
Help people out when you can. No matter how little you think you know or have to share, give because even the little things might help out in ways you don’t expect.
Try not to lose your dreams and aspirations to the hustle and bustle of life.
Be the voice of comfort, knowledge, and empathy to others.
Practice self-care. Find time to rest. It does not have to be anything major; you can relax in the comfort of your home and do things that bring you peace and ease.
You can’t help people the way you need to if you are exhausted or going through emotional turmoil. So take care of yourself and be what you want to help them be.

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Quotes

“I think we all need that connection and that support. And just knowing that someone out there understands and has been through a similar situation before.”

“...How supportive our community could be that military spouses, for the most part, don't see each other as competitors. We see each other as collaborators.”

“I would just want to be a voice of comfort and knowledge and empathy in our community because I think it's such a scarce commodity.”

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Previous guests include:Errol Doebler, John Osarczuk of FirstCommand , Jared Metcalfe, Rich Diviney, Ginger Miller, Thomas Connally, Kara Taylor, Kathleen McMahon, Jennifer Pasquale Dr. Geri Lynn Maples, Haley McClain Hill, Amanda Huffman, Lizann Lightfoot, Tom Landwermeyer, Diane Rauch, Kim Nahom, Kristen Christy, Jai Salters, The AFAF Campaign, Shermaine Perry-Knights and Lacey Langford.

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