Every new year we set about making New Year’s resolutions. Usually, they’re related to our physical health: going on a diet, joining a gym or drinking less. But what about our mental health?
Mental health is central to every part of our lives: how we interact with loved ones, how productive we are at work, and how we feel when we are alone. Here are six things research says you can do to improve your mental health in 2018.
1. Stop Dieting
A lot of people make strict and prohibitive New Year’s plans to slash their calorie intake. But there’s evidence such resolutions just don’t lead to weight loss, and instead restrictive dieting typically leads to long-term weight gain.People with poor body image typically avoid social outings, physical intimacy, and exercise. Poor body image is also linked to depression, anxiety, and a raft of other mental health problems. Self-loathing does not make us thinner, but it does make us mentally unwell.
It doesn’t matter if you’re walking around your backyard or running a marathon—any sort of movement is going to help you. Adhering to an exercise plan can be hard. Aim to identify exercise you find enjoyable, that gets you out socializing, and that allows you to build competence.
Ultimately, you should pick goals that genuinely reflect who you are and what you want, and aim to break them down into concrete, specific steps (specify the “when”, “where”, and “how). The research suggests doing this will maximize your chances of success.
is a senior research fellow at The University of Queensland in Australia. This article was originally published on TheConversation.com.
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