Prioritizing Wellness for the New Year

Whether it’s work, personal relationships, school schedules, or more, our mental wellbeing can affect multiple facets of our lives. The more we prioritize our mental health, the more balanced and prepared we are in these various facets. Consider the following suggestions to help improve your mental wellness in 2022.

1. Take care of your brain. Your mental wellbeing is partially contingent on how well your brain is functioning. Give your brain the nutrition it needs with a healthy diet and plenty of sleep. Studies show that adequate sleep contributes to healthy brain functioning and builds both mental and emotional resilience. On the other hand, sleep deprivation is linked to increased negative thinking, emotional vulnerability, and mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders.
2. Incorporate exercise into your routine. Exercise does wonders for maintaining body wellness and mental health, and additionally contributes to other areas of health as well. Regular exercise helps you sleep more deeply, boosts your metabolism, and releases endorphins and other neurotransmitters in your brain that play an important role in regulating your mood throughout the day.
3. Invest in the things you love. Don’t put your hobbies on the backburner this year. Allow yourself to get creative through music or art. Maybe challenge yourself and invest in a new outdoor activity or sport. If people are your priority, make a point to rearrange your schedule to spend quality time with the friends and family that mean the most to you. You have one life, so spend it doing the things you love!
4. Invest in healthy relationships. Cultivate and invest in the relationships that improve your self-esteem and make you feel cared for. They should not feel draining, abusive, or insecure. Identify the relationships that are not serving you, reevaluate why you are still in them, and then shed the unhealthy relationships from your life. This includes digital devices and social media as well! Consider taking a tech detox to restore your emotional balance.
5. Don’t disregard your emotions. Suppressing your emotions is a short-term fix and can result in deep emotional wounds in the long run. Keep your emotions in your awareness and address them as they come. Consider seeking therapy for tangible solutions on how to deal with your emotions. A therapist can provide the tools to help you digest, process, and resolve conflicts and emotions in a healthy way.

Don’t get too down on yourself if you don’t always uphold your wellness resolutions. Remember, it is your mental wellness that we are prioritizing so try not to be hard on yourself. In addition to helping you cope with emotions, seeking a therapist can also help you uphold resolutions. A qualified therapist can give you the resources and tools you need to cope and start anew this year. Get in touch with a therapist in your area with our online directory!

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