Resolving to Go Back

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What do you already know that you should be doing for yourself in 2019?

As the new year begins, people you may be looking for resolutions to make implement change. If your resolutions are like most, they probably center around feeling better, taking better care of yourself, or being more productive.  

But maybe instead of coming up with inventive new ways to have a better life, you should consider circling back to the things that have worked in the past.

People come in to my clinic for mental health evaluations, and they often start by saying, “I don’t feel good and I don’t know why.” They go on to say that things have slipped into a perpetual state of stress or unhappiness over a stretch of days or weeks.

I ask questions:

“Have you ever felt this way before?”

“When you felt like this in the past, did you discover any reasons?”

“What made it better back then?”

As people talk through their experiences, the answers often come on their own:

“You know, I stopped exercising when I got really busy, and exercise was a big part of what was keeping my anxiety under control.”

“I let my healthy diet lapse, and I started eating junk again because it was fast and easy. That always makes me feel crummy, but I hadn’t thought about it before now.”

“I lapsed into trying to take care of difficult people again, after I had decided that was unhealthy for me.”

“I stopped going to church.”

“I quit meditating.”

“I haven’t been to an AA meeting in 6 months.”

 

For 2019, what activities can you bring back in? What helped in the past? What is tried and true.

Start there.

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Melissa Deuter.