It is at this time of year where many people choose to set a goal in which to complete throughout the year ahead, many of these will involve losing weight, quitting smoking or spending more time with family.
It is arguable that many of these resolutions could also impact mental and emotional wellbeing .
For example, the resolution of adopting a strict diet in order to lose weight, on the one hand is coupled with positive impact on mental wellbeing. Scientific study has found that people who are not obese are more likely to be generally healthier and not be plagued by the stress of problems such as heart disease and diabetes .
However it may be the case that dieting and setting unrealistic goals may set one up to be disappointed, unhappy and potentially show symptoms of depression if and when they fail to reach them.
Instead it could be suggested that a more favourable New Year’s resolution could be to adopt a Mindfulness practice each day, techniques such as the body scan and mindfulness eating has been found to instigate weight loss without the need for dieting but more importantly has been scientifically proven to have a significantly positive impact on emotional states too.
Mindfulness can be a stress management technique and can help to encourage the maintenance of a present state of mind and an enhanced level of awareness that can be just the ticket to face the upcoming year.
