ALL ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH Let's talk about mental health. The more we talk it , the easier it gets. Helping you look after your mental health. TALKING ABOUT… RESOLUTIONS Posted 2/7/2023 Episodes, Weekly Episodes BY DIANA KIBUUKA What are resolutions? Why do new year’s resolutions fail so often? And what’s the secret to setting better resolutions? That’s what I’m talking about this week here on… All About Mental Health — the weekly podcast about looking after your wellbeing, with simple ideas you can put into practice immediately. So, get comfortable, Lets Dive in to ALL About Mental Health… Hello and welcome to Episode and thanks so much for joining me as I talk about resolutions and mental health! I'm Diana KIBUUKA, I share simple Tools on healthier mental health. As a psychiatric Registered nurse, I have spent the last 25 years dealing with people with anxiety and depression. I've worked with veterans dealing with PTSD, inmates in maximum security prisons, people with substance abuse problems in treatment centres, and teenage mothers who themselves dealt with domestic violence in their own homes. After my mental breakdown from COVID-19 at the end of 2019, I wanted to learn more about mental health, so I went back to school for a Masters in Psychiatry, and now I'm sharing simple mental health tips Health to improve your Mental Well -being , from people who truly understand the challenges of going through mental health problems . Each week I look at how to improve a specific aspect of our well-being. In this episode, I'll discuss what resolutions are (and aren't), why it's important to make well-thought-out resolutions, and how to set yourself healthier resolutions that work. So, with all of that in mind, let’s talk about resolutions! Introduction Be prepared to be enlightened! Contrary to what you may think given the direction of this conversation, I do not make resolutions. I prefer to label them as 'intentions' or 'focus areas' since they differ substantially. And despite what others may do, I definitely do not make resolutions at the dawn of a new year. Excited to hear why? Keep listening to find out! You might not expect it, but compared to resolutions, I prefer to set intentions or focus areas throughout the year. Why? Allow me to explain! By looking and feeling quite different than resolutions, I feel more motivated and capable in attaining my goals. Therefore, I do not believe in setting resolutions at the start of each new year. Since this is just the first quarter of the year , and so you may be thinking about what you want the year ahead to look like… or perhaps just happen to be thinking about making some changes or improvements in your life. Either way, this episode is going to help you to create resolutions that actually work so you have a better chance of achieving them in the long term by taking small steps every day to achieve what you want and need. So let’s get ourselves onto the same page with some definitions as we talk about… Resolutions . What are resolutions? Making Resolution may some how mean getting organized , Getting organized is a skill that many people use in their daily lives. Organizing helps you stay on track and makes your life easier. Organized people also perform better at work, making decisions and completing tasks. Organizing is also key to staying healthy and reducing stress. No matter what type of lifestyle you have, there are many benefits to organizing your thoughts and actions. Everyone makes a commitment to improve themselves at some point in their life. They do this by making resolutions- strong promises to change themselves for the better. For example, a person who wants to lose weight may decide to reduce their calorie intake by 25 percent for the next 30 days. People make resolutions for many different reasons. For example, a teacher may decide to improve his teaching skills or a corporate professional may decide to increase his knowledge base. Making a commitment to yourself is the first step in improving your life. Different types of resolutions exist, such as self-help books or fitness programs. You can also make mental or physical health goals. For example, you can make a physical goal such as losing weight or making healthy lifestyle changes or you can make a mental goal such as improving your study habits or reducing anxiety levels. It's important to set goals that you can achieve and to keep track of your progress. This makes it much easier to stay motivated and focused on your goals. It's important to make a plan before committing yourself to any goals. You should analyze your strengths and weaknesses so you know where to focus your efforts first. Next, you should identify any obstacles in your way of success- such as lack of motivation or poor eating habits. You should also set goals that are achievable but difficult enough to push yourself but not too hard ...
