In health news, a 2023 poll found that many Americans planned to focus their mental health resolutions on a variety of areas, from exercise to spirituality. Scott Brocato spoke with Dr. Melanie Longhurst, a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, about what the public can do to set realistic resolutions to improve one’s mental health.
SCOTT BROCATO:
A poll from 2023, from the American Psychiatric Association, found that 29% of Americans plan to focus their mental health resolutions, featuring some of the following findings: 65% said they would exercise more, 45% said they would meditate, 38% said they would see a therapist, etc. So first of all, what are some of your thoughts on some of those mental health resolutions? Do you feel there's a greater focus this year on mental health resolutions than in the past?
DR. MELANIE LONGHURST:
You know, I think the pandemic obviously had really significantly more negative effects on people's mental health. But one thing that I have seen is that it has brought upon us a little more awareness, and I think reduction of stigma associated with it, by having conversations like the one that you and I are having today, Scott. It's opening up this door to being able to talk about things that normally people feel are too difficult to talk about or they shouldn't be talking about. So I have seen an increase in people wanting to talk about mental health and establishing goals that are more in line with what we would typically see as our mental health.
But as you mentioned, things like exercise, we may not always associate it with mental health, but at the end of the day, our physical and mental health cannot be separated. I come with a focus of a holistic perspective on a person. And I actually work in a family medicine clinic where we're seeing people who are presenting with medical concerns, but they very much fall into that gray area oftentimes, where mental health is also being affected and physical health is being affected by their mental health and vice versa. And so something like exercise is often something that we prescribe for somebody who's experiencing something like mood concern. So they're experiencing a lower mood, something like cardiovascular exercise can really help to boost mood, but can also lower those feelings of arousal associated with things like anxiety and just kind of feeling really jittery. And so it can help reduce stress, it can help with sleep. And so something like exercise is a perfect resolution to add for somebody who's looking to improve their mental health.
The same thing with meditation. That's often something that we typically just kind of associate with maybe mental health, but is also part of our physical health. It can help to reduce things like stress, which can also lead to more chronic issues like cardiovascular problems, reproductive issues, digestive issues. So a lot of our mental health that we typically think of is also felt physically. And so many people might feel things like tension or GI distress, so their stomach is having some kind of issues. And oftentimes doctors are telling them they need to reduce their stress levels, and to do something like exercise or meditation or talking to a therapist can help people reach these types of goals that will affect them more holistically and not just their mental or physical health.
SCOTT BROCATO:
Well, let's talk about what some of the other things that the public can do to set realistic resolutions that can improve their mental health. One of the recommendations from the mental health experts with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso: don't set sweeping resolutions, focus on setting obtainable goals.
DR. MELANIE LONGHURST:
Yes. So I don't know if you've heard of smart goals. Scott, so I'm going to use exercise, because that's a big one that I hear often every year. Just saying "I'm gonna work out this year" is not very specific. So does that mean, once and you've met your goal? Are you looking to work out every day? Weekly? What exactly tells you that you have met this goal? So a smart goal is specific. It is measurable, it is attainable, it's relevant to you, so it's important to you. And it is time-bound.
So for example, this is a personal goal of mine that I set several years in a row and have finally been more consistent with it: exercise, for me. So specifically the way I started was I said OK, I'm gonna work out three days out of the week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, the moment that I wake up before I go into work, before I get ready for work, right? So that's very specific. And I said I would do 15 minutes of a workout and that's it. And so it's specific because I'm stating the time, when I'm going to do it, the days I'm gonna do it, and what it is that I'm looking to do. So that's part of it: making it part of your routine. And then the other part is you can definitively say whether or not you've met your goal, and then you can add to it. So it's also something that should be relevant to you, something that is meaningful to you, and that's really important.
And then it's also helpful to review possible barriers to meeting your goal, and ways to overcome that, because oftentimes people will set unrealistic goals that don't meet their own expectations. They get down on themselves. And then that just kind of reconfirms a lot of negative thoughts that we oftentimes have about ourselves. And then we say, “ohh, you know, forget it, I knew I couldn't do it in the first place”, but that's not the thing. Sometimes it's too lofty or not specific enough or it's not really important.
And there are a lot of other barriers to it. For example, if somebody is a working parent who is having trouble getting to a gym because they have a small child, well then perhaps if it is feasible, then they could go take a walk around the block with their child for 5 minutes every day when they get home from work. And that would be an example of a way to overcome that potential barrier for that person and still staying in line with what their goal is, and what's important to them, and what is feasible.
SCOTT BROCATO:
Well, one item is on the list which I found interesting is: make gratitude a daily practice.
DR. MELANIE LONGHURST:
Absolutely. So you know, we operate on what some psychologists refer to as the hedonic treadmill. So that means that we always are looking to the next best thing to essentially define our happiness, right? So if I get that new iPhone, if I get that new job, if I get that new home, if I get that new car, if I get those new sneakers. And after a while, we go back to our baseline happiness. So it spikes for a little bit and then we're back to where we started, and we're always chasing after the next best thing that is going to be the answer to all of our problems. And so we're just kind of chasing something that we're never going to attain. Even when something bad happens to us and is difficult, we also then get close to our baseline happiness. A lot of people underestimate their ability to bounce back from problems.
So all that is to say, one of the things that has been found to be a buffer against that is gratitude, and really being able to reflect on what we have, what is going on well in our lives that without just focusing on everything that is going badly. And so making that part of a daily practice can be very, very helpful to our mental health.
SCOTT BROCATO:
Another one is: establish a strong circle of friends and family and even co-workers.
DR. MELANIE LONGHURST:
Yeah, that's really important. So we are social creatures, whether or not we particularly like humans all of the time or being around them often. Some of us tend to be more introverted. Other folks are more extroverted or in between. But at the end of the day, we are social creatures and so we do need others, and that support that we can receive from other people--not just in the bad times, good times as well-- can really buoy us, and really help with when we're struggling, but even when we're not struggling.
So an accountability partner, for example. I didn't mention that going back to the idea of setting a resolution or a goal, but having somebody that you could say, “Hey, help to keep me accountable, or we'll check in at the end of the week together to see if we met our goals; or, you know, reach out to one another or do it together”, those are opportunities where we can bring each other close to one another. We can also (help) sometimes just by listening or having been heard. Sometimes that's all we need. We don't need somebody to solve our problems. And so it really helps just to be heard. And sometimes even just by talking out loud, we hear ourselves and we think, “huh, that doesn't seem like such a big problem anymore”. Or we might sometimes already have the answer to our own problem, but we just didn't give ourselves the opportunity to kind of say it out loud. So all of those things can be really helpful.
SCOTT BROCATO:
And finally, schedule time for fun activities.
DR. MELANIE LONGHURST:
Yes! So we need to make time for joy and for pleasure and for fun, because we can really burn ourselves out with whatever it is that we may be doing. And so even if that's 10-15 minutes a day that you can set aside for you or for fun or something that's enjoyable (and) more pleasurable can really make a big difference in kind of stepping away from that daily grind, whether you work in-home, outside of the home--no matter what the case is, it can really be helpful just to kind of step away for a little bit. And being very intentional about each of the things that we've talked about, it's about being intentional setting this.
I also wanted to say this: a lot of times we are focused on the new year. That may not be a good time for everybody to set a goal or resolution. And so you don't have to just go with that set date. I think January 2nd, that's known as Quit Day or something like that, because everyone kind of is like, OK, this is the day. If that day doesn't work for you, that's OK. If March 1st works better for you, or April 23rd is a better day for you, then that is OK. It's really about trying to, again, be intentional. Trying to find what works for you. Trying to overcome any potential barriers, and not getting down on yourself for not meeting the goals that you initially set out. And really giving yourself grace and modifying. So if you didn't meet the 15 minutes three times a week, then decrease to 10 minutes twice a week, or 10 minutes three times a week and start there and just figure out what works for you and build as you go.
SCOTT BROCATO:
Don't beat yourself up so much.
DR. MELANIE LONGHURST:
Right. We do that all the time. We don't need more of it. And one thing that I would also, in regards to that, Scott, what I like to ask people is to think of somebody they really, really love and care about, and ask them, would you say the things that you're telling yourself about yourself to that person? And if the answer is no, then you need to reevaluate the way you're talking to yourself.
