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Mental Health Resolutions For The New Year

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December 20, 2021

Mental Health Resolutions For The New Year

Mental Health

New year, new you — or so the saying goes. Society puts tons of emphasis on annual improvement, and New Year’s resolutions are the first step toward self-improvement in a new year.

Not all New Year’s resolutions, however, are focused on financial growth or weight loss. Some of the most sustainable goals better our overall health, including mental health, with small steps that can become lifelong habits.

Why You Should Make New Year’s Resolutions

Setting goals for personal improvement is always a push in the right direction toward personal improvement. How much weight we put on them, however, can often be unhealthy. Resolutions are made to be positive forces on your life, and they can often lead to greater changes and improvements down the road.

Just remember — resolutions are goals to strive to achieve. When you slip up or break a resolution, that is fine, too. About 25% of people give up on their resolutions within a week.

On the flip side, almost half — about 46% — of resolution setters stick with their goals for 6 months or more! And a whopping 8% of people keep their resolutions all year long. While that may sound like a small number, that would be about 672 million people worldwide if everyone made a New Year’s resolution in 2021.

Plus, those who are willing to make a New Year’s resolution are more likely to commit to improvements in other ways, too.

When making resolutions for 2022, small steps are often the most achievable. You often won’t jump from exercising rarely to running a marathon next year, but you could build up to consistently exercising multiple days a week.

Making multiple resolutions is also a common path to failure because you are trying to do too many things at once. Focus on just one resolution in 2022, and build on them every year!

What Are the Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions?

There are so many steps you can make to improve your mental health in the New Year. Some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions for mental health are:

Committing to be more physically active every day. Physical health and mental health are closely linked. Exercise is proven to improve sleep, boost mood, and help deal with things like depression, anxiety, and stress.
Vowing to treat yourself with respect. This is a great resolution for people who are afraid of making the first step! It is easy to work through this in phases, and you often have chances throughout the day to improve!
Trying to limit screen time. The Internet is a blessing and a curse. Having a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips has also led to generations with higher social anxiety, less attachment to others, and higher rates of depression. A recent study showed that adults using a screen more than 6 hours a day were more likely to experience depression.
Committing to journaling every day. Journaling is a great way to practice mindfulness in an active way. Writing something in a special notebook every day, whether it is a sentence of gratitude or a telling of the day’s events, can help put things into perspective and process stress.
Making time for self-care. Mental health relies on breaks as much as therapy. Resting and recharging can look like a lot of things, from setting a consistent bedtime to starting talk therapy.

Contact Us Today

A new year means setting new goals and boundaries. Let one goal for the new year be a solid plan for your mental health needs. Contact us to set up an appointment at any of our five locations or via telehealth.

When you think of the well-being of a child, you first think of basic needs: food, water, and shelter. Once these needs are met, however, it’s crucial for a child to have emotional and social wellness as well. In this article, we will explore the impact social wellness has on the overall health of a child and great ways for children to garner social support in their lives.

It comes as no surprise that as human beings, we all need connection with others, no matter what stage of life we are in. In fact, having social support is a social determinant of health (SDOH) that significantly impacts the health of an individual. After spending the last few years in and out of isolation due to the Covid-19 outbreak, social support is more important now than ever before. Having social support means having family members and friends you can talk to and seek advice from when life feels challenging and overwhelming. Knowing you’re not alone in your life journey, especially as a child, creates a sense of belonging and empowerment throughout one’s life.

4 Types of Social Support

Emotional Support. This type of support lets you know that people care about you and have empathy for your experiences. Emotional support often looks like people checking in on you to let you know they’re thinking of you, and that they are there if you need anything. As a parent, make sure your child knows you can be a sounding board for them. If you have family members who can also show up for your children in this way, even better!

Practical Help. This type of support is when people give you something tangible or offer a service to help you out. This could be in the form of money, making food when you are sick, or helping to pack when moving. Having family and friends show up in this way shows your child what it looks like to be present for people you love.

Sharing Points of View. This type of support can often come in the form of affirmations and encouragement. For example, pointing out your child’s strengths to them and reminding them they can do anything they put their mind to. It can also look like sharing another perspective if they are being hard on themselves. For example, if they are angry with themselves after receiving a bad grade on a test, you can help them see it as a learning experience and a way for them to grow.

Sharing Information. This type of support is when someone shares what they’ve learned from their own life experiences. For example, if another parent has a child who struggles with socializing, they can share some tips and tricks they’ve learned to help their child find and create social support.

The Importance of Social Groups and Extended Support

Children who are connected to their family, friends, and people in their community have opportunities to learn how to speak, share, and get along with others. When your child feels connected to people in your neighborhood, it often allows them to feel physically safe which can alleviate stress and worry. Simply riding bikes, going on walks, and saying hello to neighbors with your kids can create this sense of security for them.

In addition to engaging with your neighbors, getting involved in local organizations can also create social support for your child. Signing up for a sports team, musical theater, art class or summer camp are all great ways to help your child meet new friends and learn important social skills that can carry them through their lives.

Tips for Helping Kids Make Community Connections:

Spend time outside in your neighborhood playing on the playground, going to a local farmer’s market, or scheduling a playdate with neighborhood kids.

Show your kids that connection is a two-way street. If your neighbors or friends go out of town, offer to get their mail, or water their plants and take your child with you when you go. This will show your child how you show up for people you care about.

Make sure you make time for socializing with friends as well. Your child looks to you first and foremost for how they should act and live their own life.

Encourage your child to step out of their comfort zone and do something they may be scared to do. As a parent, it’s your job to push them into something social for their own well-being at times.