HelpGuide January Newsletter

[View in browser]( 7 Tips for Getting Your New Year Resolutions Back on Track Every January, about half of us decide to make New Year’s resolutions. But whether we want to lose weight, exercise more, or break a bad habit like smoking, overusing social media, or drinking too much, most of us fail to stick to our resolutions for more than a few weeks.  Often, that’s because the resolutions we set are too ambitious, or we don’t appreciate just how hard making a change can be, or, well, real life gets in the way, and it’s just easier to slide back into old patterns of behavior.   If you’ve set resolutions this year and are already struggling to keep them—or have even ditched them altogether—know that there are ways to make breaking bad habits or developing healthy new changes easier. And they don’t have to be done on January 1. You can resolve to make a change at any time.  1. Be realistic. When your goals are too ambitious—like resolving to exercise every day for an hour, drop 50 pounds by spring, or to never be late for work again—it’s easy to feel like a failure and give up when you don’t hit them. Pick one goal at a time and try to make it realistic: “I’ll exercise three times a week, even if it’s just a quick walk,” or “I’ll replace my lunchtime fries with a salad.”  2. Take small steps. Building a healthy new habit doesn’t have to be done all at once. If your resolution is to get up an hour earlier to hit the gym before work, you can start by getting up 15 minutes earlier and doing a few exercises at home. Once that feels comfortable, make it 30 minutes earlier and go for a quick walk or run. When that becomes routine, getting up an hour earlier than before probably won’t seem nearly as difficult.  3. Replace one behavior with another. Many people with addictions find it helpful to replace their addiction with a new, healthy habit. Instead of drinking in a bar every night, for example, they go to the gym, take a class, or begin a new hobby. If your resolution is to kick an unhealthy habit, decide on what you’ll replace it with. instead of scrolling through social media on the commute home, for example, you might decide to read or listen to an audiobook.  4. Find the joy. Creating new habits is much easier if you resolve to do something you enjoy. If you want to exercise more, for example, don’t join a gym if you hate working out in gyms. Instead, find an activity you do enjoy, whether it’s swimming, running with your dog, or playing in the park with your kids.  5. Identify and prepare for triggers. Triggers are places, situations, or people that make you want to slip back into old, unhealthy behaviors. Going out to dinner might trigger you to ditch your diet, for example, or seeing a certain friend might trigger you to drink. Planning for these triggers can help you keep your resolution on track. Look at the restaurant menu online and decide ahead of time the healthy choice you’ll order. Or arrange to meet your friend somewhere alcohol isn’t available.  6. Deal with urges and cravings. Whether it’s to light up a cigarette, open a bag of chips, or take a drink, you'll often feel the urge to give in to a craving. But instead of trying to tough it out or immediately giving in, you can use a technique called [urge surfing](. Urges come and go so try sitting with your urge, examining how it feels, and how it changes over time. Often, you’ll find an urge loses its intensity and even disappears completely after 10 or 20 minutes—so set a timer and surf the urge for that long.  7. Don't try to be perfect. Accept that lapses are part of the process of changing habits. So, one night you skip the gym and eat a pizza instead? That doesn’t mean your resolution to lose weight or exercise more has failed. Instead of dwelling on this one slip up, remember the times that you did meet your goals, and resolve to get back on track the next day. Remember: something is always better than nothing.  Whatever habits you’re trying to change in 2024, remember that HelpGuide is always there for you.  ­ HelpGuide articles you may have missed Cultivating Happiness Whatever resolutions you've made this year, one goal is the same for all of us: We all want to be happy. But is becoming happier even possible? These five tips can show you how to get more joy and satisfaction out of life.  [Read more]( How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off There's a better way to lose weight. These dieting tips can help you avoid diet pitfalls and achieve lasting weight-loss success. [Read more]( Best Exercises for Health and Weight Loss Think a single type of exercise will take care of all your needs? These tips can help you build a comprehensive fitness plan to improve your health and waistline. [Read more]( Mental health news from around the web Body dissatisfaction linked with depression risk in children (University College London) Body dissatisfaction at age 11 is linked to increased risk of depression by age 14, finds a new study. The findings show that body image concerns explain a large proportion of an association between body mass index (BMI) and depression in children, particularly in girls. [READ MORE →]( Relationships with Caring Adults During Childhood Provide a Buffer Against Depression, Anxiety (Columbia University) A Columbia University study demonstrates that children who have at least one positive, committed adult-child relationship are less likely to experience depression, anxiety and perceived stress later in life. [READ MORE →]( Better mental, physical health in older people tied to living near nature (Washington State University) Even small differences in the availability of urban green and blue spaces may be associated with better mental and physical health in older adults, according to a Washington State University study. [READ MORE →]( More evidence suggests a multivitamin may help slow memory loss (NBC News) Taking a daily multivitamin may protect against memory loss in older adults, according to a trio of studies that included more than 5,000 participants. [READ MORE →](  Study shows how social media fuels unhappiness and materialism (News Medical) Materialists who compare themselves with others on social media causes stress and, ultimately, leads to low life satisfaction and unhappiness, according to researchers from Bochum in an online survey of over 1,200 participants. 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