Setting realistic resolutions important for mental health
Dec. 31—As everyone rings in the new year with new goals in mind, mental health experts are reminding people to approach resolutions with practicality to avoid feeling defeated or stressed.
"First, it implies there was something wrong with the 2023 version of you, which there is not," said Kristina Hannon, co-CEO of the Family Guidance Center. "The second thing is, is it really reflects that all-or-nothing mentality that people tend to have around New Year's resolutions."
A large percentage of resolutions don't even make it beyond the month of January. This can be attributed to many things, including people not being clear about what exactly they want to work on in the year ahead, which can have a negative effect on mental health.
"Some of the things that we try to encourage people, the first thing is to really look at making a reasonable New Year's resolution and being reasonable with yourself," Hannon said. "If your goal is to get healthy, to lose weight, pick one of those things and focus on very small incremental steps and focus on things that you can measure and things that you can track."
In some instances, it can be beneficial to set multiple small goals that can be met sooner.
It's important to remember that a resolution or adjustment doesn't have to begin on Jan. 1.
"Journaling is very good as a stress reliever," Hannon said. "It's a very good way to track your mental health, to track moods, to track ups and downs, and to really track why you may not have succeeded that day or in that month the way that you wanted to."
