Thrive’s mission is to empower you and enhance your well-being. Thrive revolves around eight components of wellness: physical, emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, social and spiritual. We feel these dimensions are interconnected and strive to provide you with opportunities to improve your overall well-being. Our program is comprehensive and includes a variety of education, activities and challenges for employees as well as their families. In the next year, we will focus on each component for this blog.

As the weather gets warmer and the sunlight brighter, it is essential that our skin health remains a top priority. The month of May commemorates skin cancer awareness to bring attention to various skin cancers and conditions. This is the perfect time to talk about this issue since we are getting into the summer months, where sun exposure is at its peak.

This month is National Stress Awareness Month. For the majority of us, stress seems unavoidable. However, there are many ways that one can prevent and manage it. Take a look at these five tips for preventing and managing stress in your life.

February is the month of love! Valentine’s Day is smack dab in the middle of the month, hearts are depicted everywhere, and there’s a ton of marketing surrounding couples and relationships. Whether you’re single, dating, or married, the pressure to love and feel loved is definitely present this time of year. And I think this pressure makes it very easy to find yourself feeling lonely. It’s important to remember that "self-love" is one of the most important kinds of love to exist. It can be hard, though!

Physical activity guidelines recommend a healthy adult do 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise each week. However, it is difficult to reach those recommendations as it grows colder outside. When the temperature drops, it seems much easier to pull the blanket over our heads and go back to sleep instead of getting up for some movement. Just 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five times a week can help you accomplish the minimum recommendations!

If you can brave the cold, try these activities to help you get to the 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise:

A 20-year study revealed that we should not spend money on things because the happiness they provide fades quickly.  Researchers also found that experiences, though short-lived, deliver more lasting happiness than materials iitems they are a more significant part of you than possessions.  

Harvard began a study in 1938 that is still ongoing.  It began with 724 volunteers with 60 of the original still participating.  After biometric tests, and brain scans and questionnaires, the clearest message that came from this study is good relationships keep us happier and healthier.  Period.

Winter is finally over, and the outdoors is beckoning us to come on out and get the fresh air and sunshine.  Harvard Medical School stated that spending time outdoors benefits our physical and mental health.

As the new year approaches and you are making new goals for 2019, try making a goal to look at your life and goals with fresh eyes.

Holiday season brings many diverse feelings from great joy and happiness to full-on depression.  I've listed some tips for those who are joyful, such as spreading joy to others as well as tips for those not wanting to face the holidays, such as volunteering.