Think Positively: Your New Year's Resolution

HealthyPlace Mental Health Newsletter

Think Positively: Your New Year's Resolution

Let's face it, most people are not realistic with their New Year's resolutions. However, I have a resolution you may be able to keep without breaking the bank or your back which could yield huge results in improving your mental health. Think positively! That's right. Think positively.

Here are some ways to accomplish that. All you have to do is everytime you begin down that path of negative thinking, stop for a moment, reflect on your negative thoughts and reframe them to a positive frame of reference. Our Adult ADHD blogger, Liz Prager, shares a technique called "Thought Stopping" to help you accomplish this. Using a thought log can also help you stem the tide of negative thinking.

Another self-help tool, affirmations, can help build self-esteem, which leads to more positive thinking. Our "Best Mental Health Quotes" on Pinterest may be another helpful tool to assist in accomplishing that.

Humor, Smiling and Thinking Positively

Lighten up a bit. Enjoy humor. Be open to recognizing the potential humor in a situation. It can lessen your stress and brighten your outlook. And smile a lot. If you're not used to smiling, in the beginning, you may have to force yourself to smile to get in the habit of smiling.

Finally, I want to stress the importance of optimism in relation to thinking positively. To put it lightly, it is challenging to live with a mental health condition. There are symptoms and medications to deal with. It affects the ability to get and keep a job as well as important relationships. But if you are working on managing your mental health, there's plenty of reason to feel optimistic. Congratulate yourself for that. Give yourself credit for moving in a positive direction. In fact, when things go right in your life, don't forget to give yourself credit for that. And they don't have to be huge accomplishments. Give yourself a pat on the back daily if you can for even the small things you are achieving.

Practice these things every day to get in the habit of thinking positively. If you can reach the goal of thinking positively in 2014, I have a feeling it's going to be a great year. All of us at HealthyPlace.com wish that for you.

(For additional help, read this article on "Positive Thinking: Focusing on the Positive." You'll find more ideas on how to change negative depressing thoughts and think positively.)

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: What one thing would make a big difference in your mental health recovery efforts in 2014? We invite you to participate by commenting and sharing your feelings, experiences and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page.

Help Spread Awareness of Mental Illness

Get Our Mental Health Blog Widget

Over 370 sites and blogs are helping spread awareness of mental illness. How about putting our mental health blogs widget on your website, blog or social page? The latest HealthyPlace blog headlines appear as soon as the articles are posted on our site. Just click "Get Widget" at the bottom of the widget, grab the embed code and paste it into your page. You'll also see embed links for Wordpress, Blogger, Linkedin and other social sites there.

As a bonus, put the blogs widget on your site or blog, email us (info AT healthyplace.com) with a page link where it appears, and we'll give a shoutout to your site, blog, or social site on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Share our Stories

At the top and bottom of all our stories, you'll find social share buttons for Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest and other social sites. If you find a particular story, video, psychological test or other HealthyPlace feature helpful, there's a good chance others in need will too. Please share.

We also get many inquiries about our linking policy. If you have a website or blog, you can link to any page on the HealthyPlace website without asking us beforehand.

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

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Mental Health Experiences

Share your thoughts/experiences with any mental health subject, or respond to other people's audio posts, by calling our toll-free number (1-888-883-8045).

You can listen to what other people are saying by clicking on the gray title bars inside the widgets located on the "Sharing Your Mental Health Experiences" homepage, the HealthyPlace homepage, and the HealthyPlace Support Network homepage.

If you have any questions, write us at: info AT healthyplace.com

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From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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Stand Up for Mental Health

Thousands Have Joined the Stand Up for Mental Health Campaign

But we still need you. Let others know there's no shame in having depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trichotillomania, OCD, ADHD, schizophrenia or any other mental illness.

Join the Stand Up for Mental Health campaign. Put a button on your website or blog (buttons for family members, parents, mental health professionals and organizations too). We also have covers for Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

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Is My Teen College Ready Or College Unready?

Is my high school senior ready for living away at college next year? The Parent Coach, Dr. Steven Richfield, shares some signs that your high school senior is not ready for living away at college.

Latest Mental Health News

These stories and more are featured on our mental health news page:

A Psychotherapist Warns Of The Developmental Costs To Small Children Who Use Electronics
Embracing The Imperfect. Stop Feeling Like You Always Fall Short
Gene Involved In Adolescent Brain Development May Play A Role In Mental Health Vulnerability
Marijuana Use Linked To Schizophrenic-Related Brain Changes
FDA Approves First Generic Versions Of Antidepressant Drug Cymbalta
Diabetes Blamed For Brain Neurochemical Abnormalities In Bipolar Disorder
Rich Club Disconnectivity May Be ‘Core’ Schizophrenia Feature
Bipolar Disorder Patients Hold Contradictory Self-Associations
Quitting Cannabis Improves Psychosis Treatment Adherence
Marker For Inflammatory Bowel Disease Linked To Bipolar Disorder
Teenager’s Sentence in Fatal Drunken-Driving Case Stirs ‘Affluenza’ Debate
Listening Skills, Reapplied
DSM-5 Mania Duration Criterion Questioned

That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or digg) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week:

back to: HealthyPlace.com Mental-Health Newsletter Index

APA Reference
Staff, H. (2013, December 30). Think Positively: Your New Year's Resolution, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, December 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/other-info/mental-health-newsletter/think-positively-your-new-years-resolution

Last Updated: September 3, 2014

Medically reviewed by Harry Croft, MD

Think Positively: Your New Year's Resolution

HealthyPlace Mental Health Newsletter

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