50 Things I Learned From the Military Spouse Wellness Summit
Last week I attend a wellness summit for military spouses. The best part about this summit? It was completely online! Score! No need to worry about childcare arrangements, I could listen to each speaker right from the comfort of my couch…or bed. Each day (for five days), the links to presentations of two different speakers were sent to my email. It was that easy! Just click and listen! It was the right amount of time and they even extended the listening opportunity for an extra week to give everyone a chance to soak up all the info! To keep things interesting, there was a Facebook group to keep the convo going with questions, comments, and awesome giveaways!
So, what did I take away from each speaker? There were a total of 10 speakers and I highlighted the five most interesting points from each speaker…
Day 1: 
Scott Haliwell from USAA. Topic: “Dealing with Money Stress in a Relationship”
- Learn your money personality!
- Finances can cause stress in marriages and is often the biggest cause of divorce.
- There is a correlation between health and finances: if you don’t have a handle on your finances, your health will also most likely suffer.
- Instead of judging your partner’s spending habits, work together to reach a financial compromise.
- Bring the kids into money conversations to create good money habits early in life.
Adrianna Domingos-Lupher from MSB New Media. Topic: “Learn to Bring Health, Wellness, and Balance to Your Finances”
- The more you talk about money, the easier it will get.
- Acknowledge that money is a useful tool.
- Don’t just make a budget-actually analyze your spending habits.
- Talk about money during family household meetings and prioritize financial goals.
- Power Pay is a great tool for managing finances and spousal IRA’s are a great resource for stay-at-home parents.
Day 2:
Ruvi Makuni, CPT from Fit Active Toned. Topic: “How to Make Fitness Non-Negotiable”
- Find what moves you and do what you love.
- Kids love watching us being active! Encourage them with positive thoughts and encouragement!
- Make the most of your time. Meal plan on Friday; Grocery shop on Saturday: Meal prep on Sunday.
- Complete intermittent workouts throughout the day and combine exercises to incorporate more muscles in a short amount of time.
- Designate a time each day to be active and make it non-negotiable.
Judy Davis from The Direction Diva. Topic: “The Emotions of Military Life”
- Milspouses are logistic and prefer control and order. Emotions are harder to handle.
- Learn how to identify emotions as they occur and allow yourself to experience those feelings.
- Deal with what happens in that moment and be honest with your feelings.
- Don’t compare your everyday life with someone else’s highlight reel. <— 100 times yes! 🙂
- Know that you don’t have to be perfect in everything you do.
Day 3: 
Capt. Kimberly Elenberg from Operation Live Well. Topic: “How to Make Healthy Eating Choices on Your Military Installation”
- One goal of Operation Live Well is to put healthier choices in commissaries, including the addition of farmers markets and healthy cooking classes.
- It is a community effort! More experienced milspouses are needed to mentor the younger milspouses.
- Be flexible with foods and grocery shopping – be open to what’s on sale and prepare meals based on coupons.
- Patrons should contact DECA to let them know what items they want available in commissaries by using the ICE contact form.
- Put out healthy snacks for kids and include them in the meal planning and cooking process.
Kiersten Peterson, NTP from Vibrant Life Army Wife. Topic: “How to Clean up your Diet While Maintaining your Sanity”
- Eat real foods – remove processed foods – eliminate refined sugars – prepare meals at home.
- Drink more water – eat more veggies – don’t be afraid of fat.
- Source local and organic meats and produce.
- Keep recipes simple if you’re new to cooking and add lots of flavor!
- Incorporate healthy fats into recipes – avoid processed and hydrogenated oils.
Day 4: 
Corie Weathers, LPC, the 2015 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. Topic: “Building a Strong Relationship with your Spouse”
- Enliven your marriage by building foundations and stability based on values.
- Figure out a way to express emotions without attacking each other.
- Spouses need to be creative! Find support within your community and reach out to other spouses.
- Set personal goals to make your marriage grow – make your marriage a priority!
- Set time to communicate and spend time together.
Bhava Ram, the founder of Warriors for Healing. Topic: “Yoga for You and your Spouse – How to Mitigate Anxiety and PTSD”
- We can alter our bodies and minds to change our destinations.
- We need self-discipline, organization, and daily commitment.
- Yoga and meditation help with traumatic stress.
- Stress breaks down our immune systems, but we have the power to change our inner chemistry.
- Mindfulness and breathing help create new sets of chemicals in our bodies, which helps boost our immune systems and increase our metabolisms. This ultimately improves the healing process.
Day 5: 
Tracey Pearcell from Metlife Tricare Dental Program. Topic: “How Stress Affects your Dental Care”
- Many people suffer from teeth grinding and don’t even know it.
- Mouth guards are partially covered – They are not covered for wear and tear, but you are allotted one per year.
- Gum disease can happen when you’re under stress and may also weaken the immune system and cause cold sores.
- Beneficiaries are granted two cleanings and exams per year – pregnant women are granted three cleanings and exams.
- You can enroll for benefits online, over the phone, through fax or email.
Lesle Brians from InDependent. Topic: “How to Make Tricare Work for You”
- Tricare Prime – You are assigned to a designated Military Treatment Facility. Standard – You are in control of your medical care, but may be responsible for certain fees or copays. Remote – Contracted with certain practitioners within a designated radius.
- Tricare does not cover alternative practices because they are not FDA approved services.
- Switch to Tracare Standard if you want to guarantee a relationship with your physician and desire consistency.
- Speak with a BCAC (Beneficiary Care Assistant Coordinator) to get the most accurate information about Tricare questions.
- Educate and empower yourself! Seek your own answers and be your own healthcare advocate!
So, was there SWAG? Of course!
- A free membership to Thrive Market!
- A one week personal training session with Ruvi Makuni at Fit. Active. Toned. Ruvi was great and really tried to get to know me and my exercise habits prior to setting up a plan for me. She set up a consultation over the phone and followed up with emails. The Trainerize app was super easy to use and the plan was easy to follow.
This was a great experience that fit easily into my schedule and I can’t wait for next year’s Summit! Thanks again to InDependent for hosting this awesome event!
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