A recently published survey of 1,005 US adults by Forbes Health/OnePoll found that most plan to try to improve their mental health in 2023.
“Improve mental health” was the most-cited new year’s resolution among respondents aged 18 to 25 and 26 to 41, and it was No. 2 for those aged 42 to 57 (No. 1 for this latter group was “lose weight”).
A full 50% of respondents aged 18 to 25, 49% of those aged 26 to 41, and 39% of those aged 42 to 57 said they want to improve their mental health this year.
Are you taking action to help the mental health of those in your organization — or those who might want to join your organization?
Such actions can include the formal — such as the medical benefits and perks offered to employees, policies that encourage personal/professional life balance, and even training on effective interpersonal communication and optimal workplace behavior — to the less formal, such as the kindness shown to colleagues.
It’s also about being good to ourselves, and one way we all can treat ourselves better, according to Forbes, is by not putting too much pressure on ourselves to make and keep new year’s resolutions.
One tip that Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, a clinical psychologist, professor, researcher and Forbes Health Advisory Board member, shared with the media brand is to be flexible. “Do not hold these resolutions rigidly. Accommodating change and new revisions to resolutions is adaptive,” she said.
So here’s hoping we all have success in keeping our resolutions but also hoping that we won’t be too hard on ourselves if we don’t.
Lois A. Bowers is the editor of McKnight’s Senior Living. Read her other columns here.
