HOUSTON – Many people make New Year’s resolutions to exercise more or eat better, but what about improving your mental health too? Okay to Say Licensed Professional Counselor Marcy Melvin shares ways you can stay mentally healthy in the new year.
“We often get hung up on the concept of ‘New Year, New You’ with resolutions, but the reality is that we are still dealing with continued collective trauma as a result of the pandemic and other current events,” said Melvin.
Rather than setting lofty goals for 2021, Melvin suggests being realistic with your expectations and focusing on things you can easily control.
Here are some of Melvin’s tips for staying mentally healthy
“It’s really important that we remember all of those tactics that we used to get through 2020 to help us as we move through 2021,” said Melvin.
According to Melvin, establishing healthy habits to promote mental wellness is simple and goes hand in hand with good practices for physical health too.
“It is amazing what happens if we do not practice good sleep hygiene,” said Melvin. “For adults that may be seven to eight hours of sleep a night. For children, that’s going to mean eight to nine hours of sleep.”
Melvin also recommends eating clean, at least one meal a day, and getting your body moving. Whether that equates to a full workout or ten minutes of walking is up to each person, but Melvin reminds us to be realistic about our goals.
“We also need to stay as connected to our family and friends as possible,” said Melvin. “So making sure we’re picking up the phone and we’re calling, or we’re texting, or we’re FaceTiming, or we’re using Zoom.”
Lastly, Melvin says it’s important to know when negative feelings have reached a troublesome point, and it’s time to seek help. Melvin recommends first scheduling an appointment with your primary care physician, reminding us that many healthcare professionals are currently offering convenient telehealth options for patients.
“It is okay to not be okay. However, when we have a pattern of several days where we are just not okay, it is time to reach out and have a conversation with someone,” said Melvin.
To find downloadable resources or connect with Okay to Say partners for additional information, visit the Okay to Say website.