New Year's Resolutions for Mental Health & Wellbeing

As we look ahead to the new year, many of us will be thinking about one of the most significant festive traditions - making our new year's resolutions. The new year is always an opportunity to make positive changes and this includes looking after your all-important mental health and wellbeing. 

We at National Accident Helpline believe that new year's resolutions can aid good mental health and wellbeing, and help give you a head start. So, here are some of our favourite, achievable resolutions we've selected with your mental health and well-being in mind.

After self-indulging in glorious, tasty but often fatty foods over the festive period, eating well and healthily is likely to be on the top of many people's new year resolutions. Eating well is not just about reducing what you eat and counting calories but is also about eating the right things. This ensures your body gets the nutrients and vitamins it needs to positively affect your wellbeing.

Also, specific foods can help make you feel in a better mood and less stressed and anxious, so overall in better mental health and well-being. Try foods rich in folic acid which includes spinach and avocado and also omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods which include tuna and salmon.

Making time for regular exercise is probably a new year's resolution you have made many times but this time, we say stick at it! Exercise is excellent for mental health and well-being and guess what, even simple movement daily is enough, such as a brisk walk. So exercise as your new year resolution is something this 2023 you CAN stick to. 

Did you know that exercise boosts endorphins in our brains which you may have heard referred to as ‘happy hormones'?  Exercise helps with:

• stress
• self-confidence
• sleep
• anxiety
• depression
• mood levels
• sense of wellbeing

You don't need us to tell you that lack of sleep is not good for you, but it is always good to be reminded! 

Sleep gives you the chance to recuperate your physical body health and mental well-being. So make your new year's resolution to relax more and sleep more.  Sleep problems are experienced by 65-90% of people with depression which goes to show how directly linked sleep is to your good mental health. 

Good sleep habits ensure you have enough quality sleep hours to put you in a good mood and allow you to face the day ahead.  Making your bedtime routine a regular one and finding ways to unwind can help with your sleep. 

Screen time is a daily part of our lives. However, it is important to control our addiction to screen time as it is not good for our mental or physical health, For example, overusing devices can cause:

• depression
• anxiety
• eye strain
• sleep problems
• relationship issues

So one of your new year's resolutions could be to try to challenge the amount of time you spend on screen time.  

Also what you do on your devices counts. Social media can make us feel anxious and self-doubting as we begin to compare our lives with everyone else's. It can create a false sense of reality. So as part of your new year resolution to challenge your screen time, challenge what you do on your screens too.

Spending time with friends and family is crucial for good mental health and well-being so ensure you make time for them as part of your new year's resolutions. Being with those you love and enjoying their company can do wonders for your mental health. Being with friends and family you trust can make you feel inspired and nurtured as well as safe. Spending time with friends and family can really boost your mood. 

You may even decide to meet new people to make new friends. A way to do this is by joining a group as part of your new year's resolutions, where you may participate in new activities. Volunteering is always a great way to meet new friends, and it could help your mental health further by giving you the feel-good factor as you are helping others.

One of your new year's resolutions could be to make time for yourself and to practise self-care. Self-care can be a selection of activities which make you happy that you can combine into your daily life. Something as simple as a walk can be a form of self-care or a long bubble bath followed by your favourite movie. 

Making time for yourself as a new year resolution can also simply be learning how to say ‘no'. Many of us find it difficult to do this even when we know it is a blessing for our mental health and well-being if we learn how to.  It is not always selfish to say no but instead, can be honest and good for your wellbeing.

When you make time for yourself and practise self-care you can also practise mindfulness. This helps target stress and anxiety. You may also find it beneficial to meditate as this can improve anxiety and blood pressure.

Unfortunately, it is easy to focus on the negative such as the things which worry us, rather than enjoying the good and living in the moment. Why not make celebrating the good things in your life a new year's resolution, as a way to increase your sense of well-being? 

Celebrating the good in your life can be done by practising gratitude. Feeling grateful for the good things you have can make you realise how fortunate you may be which can create a positive perspective on life. This can then improve your mental health and well-being- it is one of the quickest and most effective methods for making you happier!

As the festive period draws near, many of us feel exhausted from a year of hard work and have longed for the festive break. However, it really should not take the end-of-year festivities to allow us a rest from work. Instead, it is important to have a regular work/life balance. Life should not be all about work but rather a careful balance between that had the rest of our life such as:

• family
• social occasions
• hobbies
• leisure
• relaxation

Above all, it is important to be kind both to yourself and to others. So make this a new year's resolution a priority and one that we think shouldn't be hard to keep. 

Remind yourself that it is normal to make mistakes and forgive yourself for these. Just keep doing your best as we say your best is good enough.

Recently our team found a post when scrolling through social media which said that rather than ask someone to look on the bright side when their mental health is poor, let them know that you're there by their side no matter how they are feeling. We think that pretty much sums up being kind to others mental health!

Despite all our well-meant new year's resolutions, there will, of course, be times when your mental health and well-being are low and you need to reach out and ask for help. We suggest you make doing this a new year's resolution in itself to ensure that you do ask for help when required. 

Asking for help with your mental health and wellbeing can help you to deal with the more stressful tasks in your life. At times, you may need to find a professional service for help. There is nothing wrong with asking your GP to refer you somewhere for help with your health and well-being.

You may need to ask for help for your mental health and well-being through:

• medicine
• therapy
• psychiatric help

You can also get 24/7 help from theSamaritans on 116 123.

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