How to keep New Year's resolutions when struggling with your mental health

New Year’s Eve is often a time of hope, joy, and transformation. Some people may set New Year’s resolutions on this holiday, which are goals for the new year to make lasting and positive changes in their lives. However, living with a mental health condition or challenge may lead to some individuals struggling to hold these resolutions. If you’re unsure how to move forward positively with your goals for the new year, there are a few ways you can prioritize your mental health and goal-setting simultaneously.

Maintaining mental health while making resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are goals individuals set for positive life changes at the beginning of the new year. These goals often come with pressure to complete them within the year, or judgments about health and wellness. Although setting goals can be a powerful and positive way to make changes, barriers can arise in the process. 
In some cases, people may face symptoms that may make it difficult to focus or find the motivation for resolutions year-round, such as the following:

• Difficulty focusing
• Prolonged sadness 
• Anxiety or stress
• Fear of failure 
• Difficulty practicing self-care 
• Difficulty organizing and planning
• Self-pressure and self-judgment 
• Other common symptoms of mental illnesses

Researchers found that achieving goals can improve symptoms of mental health conditions. For this reason, if barriers arise, there are a few ways people with mental health conditions and symptoms may work to keep their resolutions. 

Setting and maintaining goals

As the end of the year approaches, many of us find ourselves wondering how to keep New Year’s resolutions. We might engage in negative self-talk, tormenting ourselves over goals and resolutions we failed to accomplish in the past. This often leads to making resolutions at the last minute while we promise ourselves we will achieve more next year. 

While these resolutions are made with good intentions, and the new year seemingly presents a great opportunity for setting goals, many new year’s resolution ideas come with unnecessary, or even unhealthy pressure. 

This type of pressure tends to lead to stress, which can create symptoms of mental illness, as well as exacerbate existing ones. Because of this, approaching new years resolutions with a realistic outlook and healthy mindset is crucial. 

To stick to your New Year’s resolutions, setting very specific goals is a valuable strategy. This provides you with the framework to create a detailed plan that includes all the small steps necessary to achieve your goals, allowing you to both plan ahead and track progress. Additionally, setting goals that focus on improving overall health and mental well-being rather than surface-level attributes can help you stay motivated.

For example, rather than making a broad resolution to lose weight, set a goal to participate in a half marathon. This allows you to set clear goals such as taking daily walks or exercising 1-3 times a week leading up to the day of the marathon. If your goal is to quit smoking, you might start by making yourself wait 30 minutes to smoke after a craving, or gradually taper your usage. 

Additionally, explaining your resolutions with trusted or close friends can be highly motivating. Friends can often act as guides, motivators, and accountability buddies in the process of setting and reaching goals. 

When tackling new year’s resolutions, it is important to keep in mind that often, setting small goals leads to real progress. Change doesn’t happen overnight, and giving yourself the proper time and space to make positive change can be crucial. 

Accommodate yourself

If your goal is to be more organized this year, you might try adapting what organization means to you. Perhaps instead of folding all your clothes, you might buy clothes bins to put them in after washing. Instead of cooking a new dinner each night, you might try meal-prepping at the beginning of the week with meals that are easy to reheat or eat on the go. Letting go of ideas of what a situation “should” look like according to social norms or how you were raised may help you develop creative solutions for improving your new year. 

Set reminders

If you often forget about your New Year’s resolutions after making them, setting reminders at the beginning of the year may be helpful. Write down your resolutions in a list and add each one to your calendar. You might also add one or two monthly reminders to an alarm app on a phone or smart device, so you get an auditory reminder of the task each month. 

When the alarm or reminder goes off, complete one or two tasks necessary to progress toward your resolution. For example, if your goal is to set a new habit of going to the gym more often, you may start by joining a gym. When your reminder goes off, make a pact to go to the gym for at least ten to 30 minutes that day or week. Exercise can be a healthy way to reduce symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, so you may notice that you start to be more productive as you go. 

Make mental health a priority

Consider setting a New Year’s resolution based on mental health and make mental health a priority throughout the year. You may struggle more to keep resolutions if you are ignoring your symptoms or trying to pretend that you aren’t experiencing barriers. When you are honest with yourself about your mental health needs, you could be more comfortable knowing when you could benefit from a break. 

Below are a few tips to help you prioritize your mental health:

• Don’t set more resolutions than you can take on. 
• Try to avoid judgments about yourself if you face barriers to completing your resolutions. 
• Consider talking to a professional or attending a support group. 
• Take a break when you start to get overwhelmed or stressed with your goals. 
• Practice self-care, such as a healthier diet or sleep hygiene. 
• Accommodate your unique barriers.
• Be patient with yourself. 
• Create to-do lists. 

This New Year, try to set goals with your mental health in mind and give yourself room to make mistakes if your New Year’s resolutions fail or don’t turn out exactly as planned. 

Set healthy boundaries

Unhealthy relationships can significantly and negatively impact mental health. At the beginning of the year, reviewing the connections in your life and how they may be affecting you may be helpful. Some people may choose to end unhealthy relationships, whereas others may make a pact to set stricter boundaries. Setting boundaries can mean setting rules for your time, belongings, body, and emotional energy. When you respect your values in relationships, it may lead to improved mental health and more motivation to work through other resolutions, as well. 

Don’t pressure yourself 

Pressure to perform or meet the standards you set for your resolutions may lead to procrastination or a desire to give up. Ruminating on past failures or areas where you fall short may also be unhealthy. When you pressure yourself, you may be attaching negative self-beliefs to the possibility of failure. For example, someone might set a New Year’s resolution to pass all their tests at school, telling themselves they are “stupid” if they don’t. 

Instead of assigning labels to the possibility of failure, give yourself some space to do your best, even if it means you don’t complete as many of your resolutions as you want. In addition, try to ensure you set an achievable goal. The new year can be a time of transformation, but it is also symbolic of a new beginning and doesn’t necessarily have to follow a specific pattern. You can make changes at any time of year, including at the end of the year or in the following year. When you remove self-pressure from your thoughts, you may open up more possibilities for success. 

Work with a therapist

Working with a therapist can be another way to reduce mental health barriers to setting resolutions. A therapist can guide you through ways to form healthier thought patterns and beliefs, as well as coping techniques for common symptoms of mental illnesses like depression. In addition, if you face barriers to in-person therapy, you may be able to connect with an online therapist through a platform like BetterHelp. 

Through an online therapy platform, you can meet with a provider via phone, video, or live chat sessions. Working with a provider from home may also reduce common barriers to mental healthcare, such as commuting or paying for parking. 

Effectiveness of online therapy

Studies also back up the effectiveness and benefits of online therapy. One study on internet-based modalities for depression and anxiety found that online therapy was sometimes more effective than face-to-face modalities. In addition, online therapy was more cost-effective and resulted in a greater quality of life for clients.