Mental health is an important component of our entire well-being. It includes how we feel, think, and conduct ourselves, as well as our ability to make resilient choices and manage stress, hardship, and change. It affects how we connect with the world, how successful we are, and our physical health.


Why is it critical to look after our mental health?


Taking charge of our mental health can assist us in balancing our emotions, dealing with stress, and increasing our self-esteem. While many of us take our mental health for granted, it is critical to protect it as much as possible. Making meaningful New Year's resolutions relating to mental health is one method to do this.


These resolutions can be broad or specific; they should focus on activities or practices that positively impact our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. While we don’t need to wait for the new year to incorporate these changes, however, it is still a great time to resolve and stick to it.


Dr. Chandni Tugnait, M.D. (Alternative Medicines), Psychotherapist, Life Coach, Business Coach, NLP Expert, Healer, Founder & Director - of Gateway of Healing gave some ideas for easy-to-achieve New Year's Resolutions for taking control of your mental well-being in an interview with ABP Live:


1. Monitor Stress Levels: Keeping track of stress levels throughout the day can help you identify situations that cause high-stress levels so you can address them more effectively. Many tools, such as apps and journals, can help with this.

 

2. Develop Healthy Coping Strategies: Developing positive coping strategies is essential to manage any challenging emotions or situations we may face effectively. This could include positive self-talk (reminding yourself of strengths & successes), practicing deep breathing exercises when feeling overwhelmed, scheduling enjoyable activities (such as watching movies, going out with friends, etc.) during difficult times & goal setting (breaking large tasks into smaller achievable steps).

 

3. Try Something New Each Month: Broaden your horizons by doing something you haven't done before in 2023! This could range from exploring a new city or trying out a cuisine you've never had before to taking up an entirely new hobby like gardening or playing the piano. This would add a burst of freshness to your routine.

 

4. Be Gentle When Setting Goals: Try breaking the goals into achievable steps and allow enough time for self-care while propelling yourself towards progress. Making healthy changes like these can help jumpstart the journey towards improving overall well-being, both physically and mentally.

 

5. Live In The Present Moment: Try not to get bogged down by anxiety or fear about past events or future possibilities and concentrate more on living in the here & now. Practice mindfulness.

The new year is a time to reflect on the previous twelve months and make plans for the next twelve. Taking charge of our mental health does not have to be daunting or overwhelming; it can be as easy or as complex as we want it to be. Making mental health-related New Year's resolutions gives us more control over how we care for ourselves emotionally in 2023, ensuring growth in all aspects of life - physical, social, mental, financial, spiritual, and behavioural. Make a commitment to good mental health today!