Kaitlyn Hughes | features editor

As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day, people around the world have hopes of becoming a better person in the year to come.

With this being an annual ritual, Duquesne mental health experts shared how these goals, or failure to reach them, can affect people’s mental well being.
The impact of the New Year

Through the cold, dark days of the winter months, many cultures hold space for being celebratory and hopeful, said Elizabeth Fein, associate psychology professor and chair of the department.

“[Resolutions] can be a way to remember that a brighter time is on the way,” she said.

To Luke Fabisiak, pre-licensed staff psychotherapist, the first step in creating meaningful change is setting intentions. He believes that for many, New Year’s serves as a symbolic time of reflection.

The holiday marks a collective time for people to reflect on their past and create hopes for their future.

Setting and achieving these intentions in a successful manner requires dedication.

“When it comes to sustainability and actually meeting those goals, that’s what takes effort and discipline,” Fabisiak said.

How to be successful

There are multiple ways to set an intention that is not only attainable but lasts throughout the years.

It’s important to think realistically, Fein advised.

“It’s going to be about the world that surrounds you,” Fein said. “A world that supports you in everything you want to be, and do the kind of things you want to be doing.”

Creating a vision for the future that outlines specific goals can help assist when making reasonable expectations, Fabisiak said.

To guide this process, he suggested pretending like you are giving advice to a friend.

“We have a tendency to put a lot of pressure on ourselves,” Fabisiak said. “It’s an invitation to look at this as ‘Is this something that I would expect from somebody else, and if not, why do I expect it from myself?’”

Since there are many different approaches to goal-setting, the process is a matter of trial and error and figuring out what works best for the individual, said Melissa Kalarchian, professor of nursing and psychology.

Although these intentions can be approached differently, do not focus on the outcome, which is out of your control, she suggested.

“What’s more in your control are your behaviors, like your healthy eating or activity. I think setting realistic goals that focus on behavior change, small incremental changes and celebrating the successes or steps along the way to a bigger goal,” Kalarchian said.

Kalarchian said to follow the acronym S.M.A.R.T. This means to make your goals specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time-bound.

“Rather than saying ‘I am going to get more active this winter or this term or this year,’ be very specific. ‘I am going to go to the Power Center with a friend twice a week for 20 minutes,’” Kalarchian said.

Keeping your goals reasonable makes them attainable, Kalarchian said. Making sure they aren’t too easy or too hard can help.

Overcoming Barriers

In a study on New Year’s goal keeping, 77% of people maintained their goals for one week, but only 19% stuck with it after two years, according to the Journal of Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment.

Resolutions can take a toll on someone’s mental health when they strive for things that are too challenging and they do not receive the desired outcome, Fabisiak said.

Even when setting a reasonable goal, change can be uncomfortable. Becoming accustomed to this discomfort is what will help people create new habits.

“While the vision of this is going to be something positive in my life, you haven’t been doing it for some time,” Fabisiak said. “It takes some changes to not only implement it, but reach that goal. Our tendency for stagnation and comfort can get in the way, but we have to be willing to push through that.”

Anticipating barriers can be a way of combating them.

“If you pause and think about what could be a challenge, or reflect on previous resolutions or previous years, you might have some sense of what could be challenging,” Kalarchian said.

Although it’s important to strive to be better, people must acknowledge the good things that are already present in their lives.

“I think the opportunity for gratitude for what we do have already is important in tandem with that self-improvement,” Fabisiak said.