InDependent Blog
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InDependent represents military spouses from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, including Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and the attached reserve units. InDependent's mission is to connect military spouses to health and wellness resources and support.
InDependent Blog
10M ago
The Real Life Spouse Stories Series is part of InDependent’s Wellness Unfiltered™ program. It’s a platform for military spouses to share their struggles with tougher wellness topics. They’re sharing these stories to help with their healing, open up conversations so other military spouses know that they aren’t alone, provide resources to people struggling with something similar, and to help the community know how to better help others who are going through difficult wellness issues.
BULLYING CAN START YOUNG
If only I could describe the feeling I had when I found out my son was being bullied at ..read more
InDependent Blog
10M ago
Let’s face it, modern military life is not easy. Especially for military spouses, faced with the unspoken belief that we should be grateful for our lifestyle and dutifully play the role of unpaid support staff. When it feels like life is just one thing after another, when we put out one fire only to turn around and see two others that just lit off, it’s no surprise we start to believe our individual needs aren’t a priority. Before we realize it, it trickles down and impacts our mental and physical wellbeing. More and more, we military spouses are losing the motivation to take care of ourselve ..read more
InDependent Blog
11M ago
What is motivation? Motivation is defined as the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. Motivation is tricky because it is such a personal thing. Figuring out what motivates you can be challenging. It may vary from task to task or behavior to behavior. Knowing what helps inspire you to finish things or participate in things is an important step in figuring out your motivational incentives.
As military spouses, it can be so challenging to get motivated. We move often, and so many things are uncertain. We get asked to do a lot by our spouses, by the community, by ..read more
InDependent Blog
11M ago
The Real Life Spouse Stories Series is part of InDependent’s Wellness Unfiltered™ program. It’s a platform for military spouses to share their struggles with tougher wellness topics. They’re sharing these stories to help with their healing, open up conversations so other military spouses know that they aren’t alone, provide resources to people struggling with something similar, and to help the community know how to better help others who are going through difficult wellness issues.
I grew up in a family that did not really talk about health. As an “elder millennial” and growing up in a family ..read more
InDependent Blog
1y ago
Have you ever looked at someone, either online or in person, and thought, “How the heck do they stay motivated enough for *insert physical * business * personal accomplishment*?” I have. However, there is no right answer for motivation and how to obtain it.
First, I feel it is very important to mention that there is a difference between motivation and discipline. This piece will focus on the former.
EXTRINSIC AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Motivation can be broken down into two types: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is when we are motivated by a reward of some kind, or to avoid negat ..read more
InDependent Blog
1y ago
“Military spouses find their strength along the way. Everyone began frightened of distance, deployment, and the unknown.” - The Seasoned Spouse
As I settle into my folding chair, I notice the beautiful hue of pink in the sky as the sun goes down. A cool breeze blows, making the hair on my arms stand up. I sigh a breath of relief, I am finally motivated to write my article on motivation. I watch my son out on the baseball field warm-up for his practice and think to myself, how did I go from being so excited to write an article on motivation to being so unmotivated?
It was like I had a ba ..read more
InDependent Blog
1y ago
I love the word resilient.
It is often defined as the ability to “bounce back” from a difficult situation. But I know that for some, especially in our military community, it is an overused word that carries with it an expectation, a label, or something that must be proven by how we handle hardship. I get that.
After living the military life for the past 17 years, I believe I understand what we’re signed up for as a family. We have endured many separations, but it doesn’t ever seem to get easier. Just as we feel like we’ve got things figured out, we’re given another hurdle. However, I have bee ..read more
InDependent Blog
1y ago
What is a proactive healthy lifestyle as a military family?
A proactive healthy lifestyle as a military family is living each day making good eating decisions, staying active, and having a positive mindset. There are so many little things military families can do on a daily basis to be proactive healthy military families. It helps us to be both physically and mentally healthy during those times of change or unknown.
Over the years I have discovered four key elements to create a healthy lifestyle for my military family. Much of it has been trial and error, ups and downs, along with ..read more
InDependent Blog
1y ago
This article is part of InDependent’s Wellness Unfiltered™ program, a multifaceted program addressing the tougher, harder-to-discuss wellness topics affecting military spouses, including substance abuse, suicide ideation, trauma, postpartum depression, miscarriage, eating disorders, mental illness, terminal/chronic illness, sexual intimacy, death in the family, and more. This program is our commitment to you to create dialog, connect you to experts, and provide a formal structure to boldly address the areas of wellness that we all want to have conversations about, but sometimes don’t want to ..read more
InDependent Blog
1y ago
For “old school” folks, who like paper calendars, 2023 might bring something new and important - a special date, circled, starred, hearted, or otherwise celebrated on the family calendar. The date of our Service Member’s transition or retirement from military service. A date when you stop being an active-duty, reserve, or national guard family and start being a veteran family.
For some, it’s a date that brings joy, excitement, and anticipation of everything around the corner. It can feel like the start of a new adventure filled with possibilities. It can feel like a dance.
For ot ..read more