We used the following analogy in our recent article on Mental Health Tips for the Holidays but it bears repeating because it is extremely apt to today’s topic. It goes something like this; If you were driving on the highway en-route to an exciting new destination, and suddenly realized that you were headed in the wrong direction, would you continue driving passed available turnarounds for a couple more hours? Certainly not! Well, that’s what waiting for January 2nd to come around to start making positive changes in your life is like.
As we get deeper into the Holiday season Kindbridge Behavioral Health encourages you to write down New Year goals earlier than normal and get moving on one or more of the most important ones in the first week of December (or any of the days after). Common goals of this nature include the following:
- Quit a bad habit (substance use, excessive gambling/gaming, et cetera)
- Make better financial decisions
- Adopt healthier dietary habits
- Pay more attention to physical fitness
- Spend more time with family and loved ones
- Find a soul mate
- Start a business, find a new job, or seek career advancement
- Start a productive hobby (art, music, etc.)
While all of the above may fit into their own categories, they all have one thing in common – they relate to mental and emotional wellbeing. This is the root of why we recommend starting New Year’s resolutions early. Please keep reading.
4 Reasons Why Starting New Year’s Resolutions Early Can Be Very Beneficial for Your Mental Health
I. There May Be Dire Consequences to Waiting Longer
Do you have a bad habit to shake-off in the year ahead? Has this habit developed into a hard-to-control compulsion in the weeks or months leading into the Holiday season? If so, you may be dealing with a process addiction. Common process addictions that millions of Americans currently struggle with include the following:
- Problem gambling
- Unhealthy gaming
- Problematic use of pornography
- Sex addiction
- Social media addiction
- Online shopping addiction
- Other digital addictions
On top of these, millions of others struggle with more substance abuse addictions, eating disorders, and more.
While the consequences of any of the above vary, depend upon how severe a given compulsion or addiction is, and whether or not there are cooccurring mental health issues, they are consequences nonetheless. Those who are on the moderate to severe side of the spectrum could be right around the corner of a dire consequence. By waiting until the new year to attempt to correct a behavior or take a stance against a possible disorder, you place your mental health, your overall wellness, and loved ones at risk. For instance, given that large debt is the inevitable consequence of problematic gambling behavior, that first BIG loss and financial hole may happen in the thick of the Holiday season. Can you imagine what something like that would be like for someone with children and a family that depends upon them to make the Holidays special? Or even more concerning, is that depression and suicidal ideation cooccur with nearly every mental health issue listed above. Given that suicide and self-harm peak at this time of the year, it’s a bad idea to wait to attend to any sort of compulsive behavior.
II. Because the Indulgences of the Holidays Make it Harder to Change
This carries over from the consequences of bad habits and compulsive behaviors discussed above. Exposure to triggers to engage in every single one of these potentially addictive (process or otherwise) “activities” increases exponentially during the days leading into the new year. Online gambling and gaming sites in addition to porn streaming and subscription services (i.e. OnlyFans) on top of shopping sites/apps invest heavily in marketing to get users to spend/consume more than usual in December as they strive to meet their own fiscal goals. Further, added trigger exposure comes from being around family, friends, and coworkers who partake in such indulgences through the numerous gatherings and events that you are expected to attend in December.
If like millions of others you plan to throw caution to the wind and indulge more than usual with the intent to abstain after the ball descends upon Time Square, you may find it a LOT harder to do so than if you instead began today. While excessively binging on substances, food, gambling, gaming, porn, sex, social networking, and shopping you will concurrently be increasing dopamine levels in your brain. These dopamine spikes are followed by dopamine crashes which cause the brain to demand more. Therefore, when you indulge and wait until January 1st or 2nd to make a change, it will become exponentially harder to quit. Most people don’t realize this, but now you do.
III. Because the Old Method Almost Always Fails
Research consistently shows that nearly every American abandons their New Year’s resolutions. And this occurs earlier than you think, with a whopping 88% walking away from their goals within the first two weeks of the new annum! The number gets even higher as the months progress, landing at around a 92% abandon rate. This whole New Year’s resolution thing simply doesn’t work all that well. Given the mental health implications, isn’t it time to try a new approach? Look, you needn’t start all of your written resolutions early, only the one/s that you stand to gain the most from.
IV. If You Find You Can’t Do It, You Can Discover Why
If your most important New Year’s resolution is to temper or outright abstain from something that has become unhealthy and problematic for you, starting now is beneficial because it allows you to find out early if you are not able to succeed on your own. If the Holiday season triggers are too much, and you are not able to maintain control over your mental/behavioral facilities, you will be gifted with invaluable knowledge – that you need a helping hand! This realization and subsequent action to get help may also uncover that you have an underlying cooccurring mental health concern that has made positive change a challenge in the past.
Disorder and behavioral health issue specific Kindbridge counselors are on standby through the Holidays. Our care coordinators are ready at this very moment. They will connect you to a specialized therapist who can help you get healthy via our easily accessible, confidential, and effective virtual (online or telehealth) platform. Get support today, through the Holidays, and beyond by reaching out through your preferred form of contact below. We’re here for you.
Make Mental Health Your Top New Year’s Resolution
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