MUS Wellness Update

“Boy, that escalated quickly…” —Anchorman Ron Burgundy

What a whirlwind of a week-and-a-half. I remember, way way back a long time ago—you know, like 9 or 10 days ago—when it was announced that March Madness would be played with no spectators in attendance. “Wow”, I thought, “This is really getting crazy.” [Insert ironic, exasperated laughter]

Now, nothing seems shocking. Things are fluid hour-by-hour. There is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety going around. But I’m here to offer some wellness resources and some positivity, because hey, that’s my job, and I like it.

Resources & Updates from MUS Wellness

With these rapid changes, obviously there will be changes and disruptions to our Wellness programs, but we want you to know we’re here for you, and we’ll be adapting and rolling with it just like you are.

• First, my normal spring travels are obviously on hold, so I can’t make my campus visits and offer live events and education for a while. Bummer. In lieu of that, we’ll try to do even more online education, because online is a safe space and you’ll be running out of things to stream on Netflix before you know it.
• Speaking of online, our MUS Wellness Online Incentive Program rolls on, and is impervious to the coronavirus.
  • We’ve added two new challenge tiles with COVID-19 info and links so you can stay informed during this time.
    • COVID: Learn the Facts about Coronavirus
    • COVID: Prevent Spread of COVID-19 at home and work
  • You can look forward to our 3rd round of challenges launching March 30th.
  • This is a perfect time to practice mindfulness and meditation, so don’t forget to use our WHIL program offered through the Incentive Program. You’ll notice WHIL getting some new features and updates beginning Monday, March 23rd.
• Finally, our EAP partner IBH just put out a webinar called “Emotional Health & Resilience: Strategies for managing stress, anxiety and fear with COVID-19” If you’re dealing with a lot of anxiety due to the current crisis, please give it a watch.

Staying positive through change and crisis

I’ve been telling my kids, who have thusfar been incredibly resilient despite all these changes, “Hey, this isn’t forever, we just have to make some changes so we can beat this virus.” I think it’s a good thing to remind ourselves too. This is temporary, and we’ll make it through this. This too shall pass. In the meantime, how can we make the best of a bad situation?

If someone had asked you in January, “What’s the thing you’d like to do if you had more time to accomplish it?” For many of us, whether we are working remotely, or staying at home more with our kids, we might find some extra time on our hands. Make a plan, be constructive, be productive. Accomplish that thing you’ve been putting off. And if you do find yourself with more family time, embrace it. When everyone else was running out to buy up toilet paper, my wife ran out to buy puzzles and board games.

Finally, I was thinking that there’s something unifying in the sense that we’re all in this together. This affects every single person in the world, and we have to work together to beat it. There’s no room for selfishness. Things like this can certainly bring out the worst in people, but I think more often than not they bring out the best. Let’s do this.

Please stay well and be safe!

Neal