Healthy New Year: Mental Health Goals to Set For 2019
A new year usually means a new start, an opportunity to improve, or the chance to accomplish something you’ve been meaning to. Now is a great time to set some goals for yourself in the New Year, and to commit to maintaining those goals all throughout 2019 (and beyond even!).
Some common New Year’s resolutions often involve exercising more, eating healthier, or learning a new skill. While these are all fantastic goals to set for yourself, it’s also important to not overlook any mental health goals that you can be setting for yourself as well. Improving your mental health will help you make the New Year the best it can be, and will also ensure that you’re taking care of yourself in all aspects. If you want to discover some mental health goals that you can make, please take a look at our list below for some ideas.
Mental Health Goal 1: Acknowledge how you feel everyday
Research has shown that bottling up your emotions can lead to serious mental and physical health problems, making it super important to communicate how you’re feeling everyday in any shape or form. Whether it’s daily journaling and talking to a friend or family member, or expressing how you feel through different art forms like painting, any method is helpful. When you start to acknowledge how you feel, you can begin to understand the complexity of your emotions and what you can do about the way you’re feeling. Incorporating this goal into your New Year’s resolutions will definitely help improve your mental health throughout the upcoming year.
Mental Health Goal 2: Take time to love yourself everyday
This goal might be very difficult, as an enormous number of people struggle with body image, no matter who. Regarding yourself in a negative way takes a huge toll on your mental health, and will likely cause you to be continuously unhappy throughout the New Year. Learning to love yourself can be difficult, but it’s also very worth it. This New Year, make it a goal to spend some time looking in the mirror everyday and recognizing what you love about yourself. It can be anything from physical characteristics, to personality traits, to what makes you unique. It may take time, but this is a New Year’s resolution that will likely change your life and influence your mental health for many, many years to come.
[Learn to love yourself and be confident with who you are. How? These 15 self love tips can help you to love and accept yourself.]
Mental Health Goal 3: Try meditating daily
The benefits of meditation for mental health seem almost endless. From helping to reduce stress and control anxiety to improving to sleep and enhancing self-awareness. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to connect with yourself and improve your wellbeing, both physically and mentally. Even if it’s just five minutes a day, try making daily meditation one of your mental health New Year’s resolutions, and your body and mind will thank you for it.
[While meditation is a simple practice, it’s not always easy. If you’re unsure of how you can begin meditating, check out this meditation guide for beginners!]
Mental Health Goal 4: Ask for help when you need it
The stigma surrounding mental health leads us to believe that struggling with mental illness is shameful or insignificant. We at VictoryLabTM believe that mental health should be treated as seriously as physical health, and a great way to take care of your mental health is to seek help when you need it. This New Year, don’t let yourself struggle in silence when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Making a goal to speak to someone whenever you need it will be extremely beneficial, whether it be by talking to a friend, family member, or a professional. A great resource can also be our VictoryLabTM app, where you can speak online to a mental health professional anonymously - anytime, anywhere. Asking for help is not shameful in any way, and making a New Years resolution to do so will truly help change your life in 2019.
This coming year offers all of us a chance to change what we want to change, and to improve what we want to improve. It’s so important to not overlook your mental health when making your New Year's resolutions, and we at VictoryLabTM hope that this list provides you with some ideas on what goals you can make, and how you can make this upcoming year the best one yet.
From our family to yours… we wish you a Happy New Year, and a happy, healthy year ahead!
To find out more about what our VictoryLab™ app can do for you or your organization, please click here.
