Stress is an emotional state that many people encounter at some point in life. Whether stress is caused by family or friends, work or other outside factors, it is a part of life that must be managed.

The Navy provides various programs for Sailors and their families to utilize in order to deal with their stress. One of those programs is the Navy Operational Stress Control (OSC) Program.

Wednesday, March 28, OPNAV N171 21st Century Sailor Office is hosting an OSC Navigating Stress for Families session. The session will be for Sailors aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) Sailors and their family members.

"The goal of the Navy OSC Program is to prevent stress injuries by building a tough Navy community," said Daryl Charles, a program analyst for Operational Stress Control at the Navy Suicide Prevention Branch, OPNAV N171. "This idea is consistent with the chief of naval operations (CNO) four core attributes."

While being in the military can be inherently stressful for both service members and their families, it is important to hone in on the main stressor so that it can be properly addressed.

"It's good to know the signs of stress," said Beth Williams, the deployed resiliency counselor aboard George Washington. "Quite often I get Sailors coming in asking for help in dealing with stress. Knowing the signs of stress and knowing when to get help for it are valuable tools in life which the program provides."

During an OSC session, group discussions and practical applications will help Sailors and their families learn how to cope with stress.

"Some things Sailors and their families should take away after attending OSC include knowing how to identify problems early, identify best practices for building resilience and stress mitigation and an overall sense of strength within the family," said Charles.

In order to reach the desired goals OSC uses the 5 Core Leader Functions along with other tools.

The functions used form a continuous cycle to strengthen, mitigate, identify, treat and reintegrate stressors. Even though they are a continuous cycle, they do not need to be performed in that order each time and can be swapped around as necessary.

Another tool OSC uses is the stress continuum model.

The stress continuum model is broken down into four color-coded sections. Green represents ready, yellow represents reacting, orange represents injured and red represents ill.

According to public.navy.mil, if a person is ready, they are considered to be prepared for deployment and functioning adequately both socially and emotionally. If a Sailor is reacting they may be in distress and experiencing physical or behavioral changes. When a Sailor is injured this stress type may leave lasting memories and they may experience more severe distress. Lastly, if a Sailor is ill they are likely to have stress injuries that won't heal without help. Their symptoms may get better initially but then worsen.

It is important to the Navy to not only have tough Sailors in times of stress but also have the Sailors' families be tough during stressful times.

To help ensure adequate resources and support are provided to Navy personnel, Navy OSC for Leaders Course (NAVOSC-LEAD) and Deckplate Leader (DPL-OSC) are required for all officers, chief petty officers and petty officers at commands that are within 9 months of deployment, according to OPNAVINST 6520.1A.

For more information regarding OSC and stress management methods visit www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/Documents/LGuide/op_stress.aspx#five_core.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), visit www.navy.mil/.