ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. - -- September is Suicide Prevention Month, which is dedicated to raising awareness of suicidal symptoms and help prevent them from happening.

The best way to prevent suicide is building resilient Airmen.

"Resiliency is the ability to overcome stress in the face of daily challenges, not just the big events in our lives," said Debra Vassella, 97th Air Mobility Wing community support coordinator.

Being resilient is important in four portions of our lives: mental, physical, social and spiritual.

Mental resilience is the ability to effectively cope with mental stress and challenges and seeking help when you do get overwhelmed, physical resilience is adopting and sustaining healthy behaviors, and social resilience is engaging in healthy social behaviors that promote overall well-being.

Spiritual resilience is a sense of well-being and purpose through a set of beliefs, principles and values.

"The spiritual domain doesn't apply to any specific religion but the spirit that drives each individual." said Tech Sgt. Max Horner, 97th Air Mobility Wing master resiliency trainer.

Mental resilience can be built by setting goals you've chosen and accomplishing them, physical resilience is built by eating healthy, staying fit and getting enough rest, social resilience can be learned by being able to communicate with others and learning how to respond to good and bad experiences, and spiritual resilience is increased by knowing your beliefs and living by them.

Airmen are also reminded that taking the time to know their wingmen may help identify when they are in trouble. Noticing changes in someone's behavior and when someone acts out of the norm are clues that something is bothering that person. Do not be afraid to ask the individual about it or tell a supervisor.

"Know the people you work with and know a bit about their family and home life without getting too personal," said Vassella. "You can be a family at work and be able to tell if they're going through family issues and know when they might need assistance or help."

Airmen are reminded that they are able to talk to a chaplain, a military family life consultant, the Airmen and Family Readiness Center, the 97th Medical Group Mental Health flight, a first sergeant, supervisor or even a wingman.