New Year's resolutions for mental health may not be on your radar yet, but as we approach the end of 2018, many are thinking about the new year. Common goals include behavior changes like healthy eating, increased exercise, or quitting undesired habits like smoking. In year's past, my goals have also been about changing my behavior. This year, I am shifting my mindset around resolutions and creating goals focused on improving my mental health. New Year's resolutions for mental health aren't just motivated by a desire to behave differently, but by a desire to feel differently.

As the new year rolls around, many people create yearly goals or New Year’s resolutions. Plenty of people also create targets throughout the year; I personally set monthly objectives, which are broken down from my yearly goals. However, at times, goals can be harmful to mental health. What are the symptoms of unhealthy yearly goals?

Perfectionism and being perfect often hold you back from living in bliss. You've heard the phrase "nobody's perfect," and you've probably said it yourself many times. It's a term people use without much thought. I've been thinking about perfectionism a lot recently, both because I've had substantial growth in this area, but also because I have more work to do. Perfectionism, trying to be perfect, can be a real happiness killer if it goes unchecked.

Recently, I began to wonder if my medication is an emotional crutch. An emotional crutch is something that one relies on during a period of difficulty. But is using medication as an emotional crutch really that bad? 

Setting healthy boundaries is an essential element of relationships but navigating the implementation of boundaries can be intimidating. A therapist once said to me, "We teach people how to treat us." Those words stayed with me. Once I understood that I teach people how to treat me based on what I will and won't tolerate, I felt empowered and began setting healthy boundaries in my relationships.

Reducing clutter improves mental health. Clutter can affect your mental health and get in the way of your blissful life. Reducing clutter by spending even 10 minutes each day organizing or cleaning can make a difference in your overall happiness and health.

Conflict resolution skills are important because interpersonal conflict can be tricky, but there are simple skills you can use to resolve conflict with ease. Recently, I employed my best conflict resolution skills when I accompanied my sister to her wedding dress fitting. Anyone who has planned a wedding knows how stressful it can be. There is so much pressure to put it all together, and emotions can run high. It is helpful to expect some conflict and to be prepared to use healthy conflict resolution skills.

You most likely experienced a trauma trigger if you have ever experienced a strong emotional response to a person or event that seemed disproportionate to the situation. Most people experience trauma triggers, often without conscious awareness. When we don't know how to identify our triggers, they can interfere with our happiness. A trigger occurs when you encounter someone or something in your environment that reminds you of a traumatic experience from your past. It doesn't have to be a significant trauma. Any reminder of a painful event you haven't fully resolved might manifest in your life as a trigger, and it can limit your ability to create happiness.

Using sensitive suicide-related words can uplift those who are struggling; conversely, insensitive words, however well-intended, can cause further pain. Most people often find great difficulty in discussing suicide; especially in these delicate situations, suicide-related words exert immense power. 

Self-compassion practices are often overlooked in our discussion of self-care. Most of us acknowledge the importance of engaging in self-care to maintain our physical, mental, and emotional wellness. When we talk about self-care, we often refer to engaging in fun, or relaxing activities. While that is certainly an important aspect of self-care, there is another equally important element that we often ignore: self-compassion practices are also part of self-care.