Environmental Wellness is awareness of and connection to the world around you.

During the winter season, keeping yourself and your home safe from the weather requires effort and planning. If this is your first Missouri winter, ask your coworkers and neighbors how to get through it well; learn from the locals. Find out how to be prepared in case a well freezes or the heater goes out.

Environmental Wellness Resources: In order to provide all Missourians with instructions on how to handle severe weather scenarios, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services has compiled a weather preparedness webpage. Explore and learn about tools, resources and tips on thriving through a Missouri winter, such as making sure all heating devices are properly ventilated and keeping an extra jacket, hat & gloves in the car.

Interested in making time to explore more of your environment when the weather lightens up? Check out https://www.visitmo.com/ to claim your free travel guide, "meet Mo", view example trip itineraries, and get ideas on where to go next. Where will travel take you this year?

Simple goal: Participate in one event from the Visit MO events calendar.

Complex goal: Pick an event and invite a friend. 

Financial wellness resource: Are you interested in developing better spending and saving habits? Call guidance resources, 800-808-261, to speak with an expert (yes, they do that, too). You can also visit their website to work through their personal finance improvement program, WellthSource. Link: GuidanceResources. If this is your first time logging into the Guidance Resources website, click “Register”, enter “MCHCP” as the organization Web ID, click on “Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan”, then complete the online registration form and follow the instructions to create your free account.

Simple goal: Fewer impulse purchases. Practice list-only-shopping; create a shopping list, bring the list with you to the store, stick to the list. Track your progress by writing it down.

Complex goal: Debt Free 2023 - Reduce existing debt and gain no new debt in this new year.

Maintaining a diet that is high in sugar can lead to cavities, poor nutrition and dental work. Keeping a low-sugar diet requires more effort, but it prevents dental decay and improves health.

Choosing to prioritize health over the convince of high-sugar foods is a decision most people make a few times per day. It will always be easier to grab a cheeseburger than it will be to prepare and package a fresh meal. While the high-sugar diet is definitely easier, (fast food, gas station snacks and vending machines are everywhere), the cost of this kind of routine is far greater.

In corrections, a lot of our roles include high-stress situations. The need to process stress chemicals (adrenaline & cortisol) can often trump our current physical needs. So, instead of chugging cold water after a stressful event, we may elect to  drink an energy drink to get a dopamine boost.

When this "rewards system" becomes a routine, regaining and maintaining healthy routines can be really hard to do. Despite these effects of stress, healthy change is possible...and we have resources for that!

If you have noticed that your diet lacks nutrition and you are ready to make a positive change...access support, gather guidance, and make the next best move!

Physical wellness resource: WONDR Health is a self-guided program that can help you regain and maintain better health. For state employees and family members who have an Anthem BCBS health insurance plan, WONDER costs nothing out of pocket. Take advantage of this 40-week program by clicking the WONDR Health link and joining the waitlist. Once a new class is ready to launch, you will be notified. 

Simple goal: Enjoy one new vegetable or fruit per month. Expand your palate with new flavors and nutrients!

Complex goal: Ditch the drive-thru. Try to give yourself healthier parameters. This doesn't have to be all or none, sometimes we need a cheeseburger and fries. But keep in mind that actively working to decrease this behavior/compulsion, even the small steps like ordering less, count.

In corrections, we experience frequent stress and negative encounters. Negative experiences throughout the day may out-number the positives. In order to counter the impact of negativity, it is helpful to intentionally make space for positivity.

When we are able to be mindful of the negativity we encounter and the effect it has on us, we can process and manage it more effectively. One exercise that may help with being more mindful of negative experiences is writing them down.

Spiritual Wellness Resource: Pen and paper. Write down thoughts about your purpose, about what you have experienced or seen, and how you feel about everything. If you would like a free journal, email wellness@doc.mo.gov. 

Employee Wellness challenge: Keep an eye out for another newsletter on Feb 1st with details about the next all-staff challenge featuring writing; "Write on". You should also see orange posters and flyers around your worksite pretty soon. This challenge will run from February 1st to March 15th and will provide an opportunity for employees to answer the question, "What has journaling done for you?". The goal of this challenge is to raise awareness of and encourage this healthy resiliency practice. Stay tuned. 

Simple goal: Write down something positive about yourself every day. This can be done on a mirror, on a white board, in a journal, on the shower wall, or on a sticky note in the kitchen. The possibilities are endless.

Complex goal: Ponder the question, "Who am I?". Next, write down your response. Connect with your thoughts and feelings during this exercise and be honest. If you are unsure, reach out to those who you admire and have them tell you who they are. Once you're done, save it and put it away. One month from now, do the same exercise. Then look back at your previous response. Repeat a few months from now, look back, repeat a few months later, look back. Watch yourself grow🌱.

Emotional wellness is the ability to successfully adapt to change and difficult times.

In corrections, it is common to develop unsustainable coping skills that become habits (drinking, smoking, gambling, risky behavior). These actions make being flexible to change more difficult and cause more stress. Many try to protect themselves from difficult feelings and become numb to all feelings by accident. This is common because the stress we experience is severe, chronic and often very difficult to process. What makes managing emotions even more difficult is that feelings and emotions work together; you can't numb sadness and pain without numbing joy. When we numb out joy for too long, we forget what it felt like and have a hard time actively prioritizing positivity in order to bring it back.

Accepting emotions, experiencing them as they are, and moving forward takes practice but is worthwhile and life-long endeavor. Every experience we encounter, both good and bad, is an opportunity for growth. Our emotions serve a purpose and learning how to work with them in better ways helps. 

Emotional wellness resource: The National Institute of Health has compiled an Emotional Wellness Toolkit that contains information and resources for managing emotions, stress reduction, sleep, coping with loss and mindfulness. 

Simple goal: Overcome past regrets through acceptance. Everyone makes mistakes. Some move on from those mistakes while others dwell. Getting stuck on regrets can lead to self-doubt, poor self-image and other negative thoughts. Do you find your head swimming with past regrets? Maybe 2023 is the year for you to move forward using acceptance and gratitude for the present.

Complex goal: Keep a positive mindset more often. This is difficult to do, but mindfulness helps. As you go about your day, try to be aware of the thoughts and self-talk going on in your mind. Try to actively insert positive thoughts in order to counter negative thoughts. If you catch yourself thinking something like, "I messed up again, I always mess up, I will never get it right.", take a moment to rearrange that to, "I tried my best again, I will try better tomorrow, I know how to improve." With active practice, the positive thoughts will begin to happen first.