New Year's Resolutions for Better Mental Health

Make 2016 the year you feel a little better. (Picture: METRO/myles)

New Year’s resolutions tend to be themed around ‘I’m going to lose so much weight you can’t see me when I turn to one side’, or ‘I’m going 

to write an ENTIRE BOOK and it will definitely be a best seller’.

We need to calm down a bit. Take it easy. Make our resolutions achievable things that make us feel good when we manage them, not sad 

and ashamed when we mess up.

One thing that’s worth committing to this year is yourself – your wellbeing, your happiness, and your general mental health.

The great thing is that there is no failure. If you’re dedicating some time and care for your mental health, you’re already doing something 

brilliant.

Here are a few resolutions that will help you along the way.

1. Meditate

Try the Headspace app to get started. You’ll probably feel a bit silly at first, but meditation really can work wonders – even if it’s just to give 

you a few minutes of true calm.

You don’t even need to sit like this. (Picture: Getty)

2. Schedule in some quality alone time

Spend some time alone doing something that makes you genuinely happy and relaxed – whatever that may be.

Do it at least once a week, and make sure to actually schedule it in your planner with a set time and day. Why? So you’ll actually commit to some me time (or masturdating, if you prefer).

3. Keep track of your moods

Get out the planner again, and start making a little note each day of how you’re feeling, even if it’s just a smiley/sad face.

This will help you stay on top of when a bad day has become a bad month, and lets you see if there’s any damaging patterns emerging.

4. And each day, write down something good that happened

It can be something tiny, like ‘excellent doughnut at lunchtime’ or big, like ‘got offered my dream job’. Putting a positive slant on your day will help you feel more positive overall.

Plus, at the end of the year you get to look back at 365 days of great things that have happened. Which is nice.

(Picture: Getty)

5. Open up to the people you care about

They need to know what’s going on so they can step in and help when necessary.

Plus, talking about whatever you’re going through helps you deal with it.

6. And on that note, make sure you spend time with those people

Loneliness helps no one. Try to stay social and get out of your own head for a bit. Surround yourself with lovely, supportive people. It helps.

7. Take a break when you need it

It’s easy to get into a strange mindset of always needing to be at work because there’s so much stuff to do/it’s your job to be there/people might secretly resent you when you’re not there.

Dudes, you have holiday time for a reason. You’re supposed to take time off to relax and recharge. Do it.

(Related: stop saying so late at work every day. You’re only going to get run down. You’re allowed to leave on time.)

Hammock not necessary, but definitely recommended. (Picture: Getty)

8. Find a hobby you love

It doesn’t matter what it is. If it makes you feel happy, relaxed, and fulfilled, it’s worth doing.

Make this the year you find your ‘thing’.

9. Learn self-help techniques for times of stress

Do some research into cognitive behavioural therapy and self-hypnosis. This is no susbstitute for professional help, but it’s incredibly helpful to have some techniques that work for you when you’re in the middle of a panic attack or depressive episode.

10. Get more sleep

There is not a person in the world who’s their best self on too little sleep.

Try getting into bed 10 minutes earlier each night for a few weeks. Eventually you’ll be getting an extra hour of sleep and feeling the benefits.

Get your snooze on. (Picture: Getty)

11. Learn to be okay with saying ‘no’

People will understand if you’re not up for hanging out, taking on extra work, or doing them a time-consuming favour.

Make it your resolution to become okay with saying no when you need to. Seriously, no one will hold it against you.

12. Give up on that New Year’s diet

Because it’s most likely much too strict and not doable long term – you’re just going to feel guilty and disappointed in yourself when you give in to your natural instincts and eat whatever you’re craving.

Don’t make eating healthily a succeed/fail mission. Try to implement healthier changes if you need to, but give yourself a break when you fancy a plate of nachos.

13. Stop the comparisons

As everyone on your Instagram keeps saying (and originally, Theodore Roosevelt): ‘Comparison is the thief of joy.’ And it’s true.

Make a conscious effort to stop comparing yourself to others. You’re doing your thing, they’re doing theirs.

Maybe your scoop’s smaller, but hey. You’ve got chocolate. (Picture: Getty)

Every time you find yourself spotting the difference, pause, stop, and tell yourself one cool thing about what they’re doing that inspires you, and one cool thing that you’re doing.

It’ll help you get into the mindset of ‘hey, we can both be amazing’ rather than ‘this person is better than me at this, this, and this’.

14. Put a stop to damaging relationships

If your ‘friend’ makes you feel like crap whenever you spend time together, it’s okay to end the relationship. You’re not a failure, it’s not worth keeping them around, and you’ll feel so much better once it’s done.

Life is way too short to keep negative people around.

15. Do something physical at least once a 

week

Yes, it can feel impossible to get out of bed when you’re in a serious down period (and if you’ve reached that point, we’d reccomend talking to your GP).

But for usual day-to-day happiness, a little bit of exercise is magical. All those fit people weren’t lying about the power of endorphins – they’ll flood your system and make you feel loads better.

Plus – if you choose the right exercise – it can be a great way to vent any stress and anger. Boxing, running are both great for that, while yoga, pilates, and swimming are ideal as soothing downtime.

Or just walk around on a Sunday. It helps, promise.

Get a workout buddy. (Picture: Getty)

16. Take some time out to assess the past year

Were you dissatisfied with your job? Living situation? Relationship?

Dedicate some time in the New Year to reflect on 2015 and how you’re really doing. If there are any negatives you’re able to change, start working on doing that.

17. Talk to yourself like a friend

Whenever you find your mental voice being super critical, stop, take a moment, and ask yourself if you’d say the same stuff to a friend. Or your nan.

If you wouldn’t, put a stop to it, stat.

Rephrase it so it’s friend/nan-ready (ie. positive and helpful, not mean). Then go ahead.

18. Try something new

Don’t get too stuck in routines. Make 2016 the year you try at least one thing that scares (and excites) you a little bit, whether it’s finally doing that pottery class or just speaking up in meetings.

You’ll feel really accomplished, and mind find you actually like that thing that terrified you last year.

Try an art class, if you like. (Picture: Getty)

19. Really take a look at how you’re spending your time each day

You’ll probably notice that you’re spending about three hours a day scrolling through the internet or watching TV you don’t even like.

A new way to look at the things you use to fill your time: is it helping you achieve your future goals? Does it make you feel good? If it’s a no on both, you shouldn’t be doing it.

Because really, why are we ‘relaxing’ by doing things we don’t enjoy.

20. Get help if you need it

Maybe it’s medication, maybe it’s therapy, maybe it’s just talking to your family and telling them you need some support.

Whatever it is you need, you don’t need to feel embarrassed or ashamed about asking for it.

It’s okay. You deserve to feel good, and happy, and fulfilled. If you need a little help doing that, commit to getting it.

It’ll be scary at first, but the benefits are endless.

Here’s to a happy and healthy New Year, everyone!

Tips to Make Your New Year's Resolution a Success

10 tips to make your New Year's resolution a success

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Most of us will make a New Year's resolution - maybe to lose weight, quit smoking or drink less - but only one in 10 of us will achieve our goal.

Psychologists have found we're more likely to succeed if we break our resolution into smaller goals that are specific, measurable and time-based.

Professor Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, tracked 5,000 people as they attempted to achieve their New Year's resolutions.

His team found that those who failed tended not to have a plan, which made their resolution soon feel like a mountain to climb.

Some focused too much on the downside of not achieveing their goal, adopted role models, fantasised about their goal or relied on will power alone.

"Many of these ideas are frequently recommended by self-help experts but our results suggest that they simply don't work," says Prof Wiseman.

"If you are trying to lose weight, it's not enough to stick a picture of a model on your fridge or fantasise about being slimmer."

He said the 10% of participants in the study who had achieved their target broke their goal into smaller goals and felt a sense of achievement when they achieved these.

"Many of the most successful techniques involve making a plan and helping yourself stick to it," says Prof Wiseman.

Top 10 goal-setting tips

Prof Wiseman's top 10 tips to achieving your New Year's resolution:

1. Make only one resolution. Your chances of success are greater when you channel energy into changing just one aspect of your behaviour.

2. Don’t wait until New Year’s Eve to think about your resolution and instead take some time out a few days before and reflect upon what you really want to achieve.

3. Avoid previous resolutions. Deciding to revisit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment.

4. Don’t run with the crowd and go with the usual resolutions. Instead think about what you really want out of life.

5. Break your goal into a series of steps, focusing on creating sub-goals that are concrete, measurable and time-based.

6. Tell your friends and family about your goals. You're more likely to get support and want to avoid failure.

7. Regularly remind yourself of the benefits associated with achieving your goals by creating a checklist of how life would be better once you obtain your aim.

8. Give yourself a small reward whenever you achieve a sub-goal, thus maintaining motivation and a sense of progress.

9. Make your plans and progress concrete by keeping a handwritten journal, completing a computer spreadsheet or covering a notice board with graphs or pictures.

10. Expect to revert to your old habits from time to time. Treat any failure as a temporary setback rather than a reason to give up altogether.

A Cure for Sugar Cravings?

Could this be a cure for sugar cravings? Scientists identify hormone 'that suppresses your sweet tooth'

• Scientists found a hormone in the liver that stops sugar cravings
• The hormone FGF21 is produced in response to high carbohydrate levels
• It then sends signals the brain to suppress your preference for sugar
• The discovery could help improve diets - and stop your sweet tooth
• It could also help reduce diabetes and obesity, the study revealed 

By LISA RYAN

The holidays are tough for those of us with a sweet tooth.

It's a time when we're constantly surrounded by cakes and sugary treats.

Thus, we find ourselves giving in to our sugar cravings far more often than our waistlines would like.

But, scientists may discovered an antidote to our insatiable hankering for sweets.

A new study from the University of Iowa revealed that a hormone produced by the liver can suppress our preference for sugar.

The hormone – called fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) – is produced in the liver in response to high carbohydrate levels.

It then enters the bloodstream and sends a signal to the brain – suppressing the sugar craving.

The findings could help improve diet and help patients who are diabetic or obese, researchers said.

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Scientists discovered a hormone produced by the liver that works to suppress sugar cravings. The research could improve diet and help patients who are diabetic or obese

The study’s co-author Dr Matthew Potthoff, assistant professor of pharmacology, said: ‘This is the first liver-derived hormone we know that regulates sugar intake specifically.’

Past studies have already explored how certain hormones affect appetite.

Yet, those hormones don’t regulate a specific macronutrient – such as carbohydrate, protein or fat – and are produced by organs other than the liver.

Lucas BonDurant, co-author and a doctoral student in molecular and cellular biology, said: ‘We’ve known for a while that FGF21 can enhance insulin sensitivity.

‘Now, there’s this dimension where FGF21 can help people who may not be able to sense when they’ve had enough sugar, which may contribute to diabetes.’

The research is rooted in human genome-wide studies, where associations were found between certain DNA mutations and people’s intake of certain macronutrients.

Two of these mutations were located around the FGF21 gene.

That discovery led the Iowa scientists to look at FGF21’s role in regulating macronutrient preference.

Scientists utilized genetically-engineered mouse models and pharmacological tests to investigate FGF1’s role in sugar cravings.

They injected GFG21 in normal mice and gave them the choice between a normal or sugar-enriched diet.

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The hormone - called FGF21 - is produced in response to high levels of carbohydrates. It then enters the bloodstream and sends a signal to the brain - quelling your preference for sugar

While the mice didn’t stop eating sugar completely, they ate ‘seven times less than normal.’

The scientists genetically modified mice to either produce no FGF21 at all – or to produce high levels of the hormone.

They found that the mice that lacked FGF21 ate more sugar.

As a result, the study concluded that FGF21 decreases appetite and intake of sugar.

But, it doesn’t reduce intake of all sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose – equally.

Nor does it impact the intake of complex carbohydrates.

The scientists said further research is necessary to identify the neural pathways that regulate FGF21’s ability to manage macronutrient preference.

The study focused on the hypothalamus – which is the section of the brain that regulates feeding behavior and energy homeostasis.

Dr Potthoff said: ‘In addition to identifying these neural pathways, we would like to see if additional hormones exist to regulate appetite for specific macronutrients like fat and protein, comparable to the effects of FGF21 on carbohydrate intake.

‘If so, how do those signals intertwine to regulate the neural sensing of different macronutrients?’ 

Quirky But Effective Resolutions from a Top Doctor!

For a healthier New Year have a hug every day! (and other quirky but effective resolutions from a top doctor) 

• More than 40 per cent of our daily actions are due to habit
• 'Too many people have ingrained habits that sabotage their health' 
• Cancer doctor David Agus shares vital new secrets of how to live longer

By DR DAVID AGUS

Dr David Agus is one of the world's leading cancer doctors. He is a professor of medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and heads USC's Westside Cancer Centre.

Want to live a long and healthy life? Who doesn't? You have more chance of achieving it than before. We are entering a medical era where diseases once thought lethal are becoming treatable and every detail of our health can be checked and monitored.

I call these the lucky years - soon we will have access to information and technology that will transform the outlook for our well being.

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We are entering a medical era where diseases once thought lethal are becoming treatable

Yet I worry many people will not survive to benefit from this medical revolution because too many have ingrained habits that sabotage their health.

More than 40 per cent of the actions we perform each day, from what we eat and how we exercise, are due to habit rather than conscious decisions.

So, how should you be living? Here I share some of the most vital new secrets of how to future-proof your body:

AVOID PROCESSED FOOD ADDITIVES

The bacteria in our bodies outnumber our cells by ten times. Collectively, they are called our microbiome and it turns out to have a sweeping say in whether we live robustly to a ripe old age.

The science of understanding the microbiome is still in its infancy, but I expect it to explode in the coming decade. Already, scientists have identified a 'diabetes fingerprint' of gut bacteria that correlates with the disease.

In the near future we will learn how we can adjust the microbiome to prevent and treat a variety of chronic illnesses simply by tweaking our diet.

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Look on labels for carrageenan, polysorbate-80, polyglycerols, guar gum, locust bean gum, carboxymethylcellulose and xanthan gum

A study by Georgia State University scientists in the journal Nature this year warned emulsifiers seem to have particularly damaging effects on our microbiome.

Emulsifiers are blending agents in foods with unmixable ingredients such as oil and water, and are found in processed foods such as ice cream, salad dressings and cream cheese.

Look on labels for carrageenan, polysorbate-80, polyglycerols, guar gum, locust bean gum, carboxymethylcellulose and xanthan gum.

When Georgia State investigators fed emulsifiers to healthy mice, they developed intestinal inflammation and a metabolic disorder that caused them to eat more.

They became obese, their blood sugars rose to unhealthy levels and they became resistant to insulin and at severe risk of diabetes.

Emulsifiers appear to disrupt the protective layer of mucous that protects the intestinal tract.

As a result, gut bacteria can cause inflammation as the body reacts to the bacteria being in the wrong place. The inflammation interferes with systems that regulate appetite and fullness.

SHARE MORE CUDDLES

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Human touch has the power to change our heart rate, lower blood pressure and cortisol levels, spark the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain and stimulate the hippocampus

If you want to optimise your immune defences, hugging could be key.

Like a magic wand, human touch has the power to change our heart rate, lower blood pressure and cortisol levels, spark the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain and stimulate the hippocampus - the area that regulates memory.

In 2014, researchers from the universities of Virginia and Pittsburgh monitored more than 400 adults over two weeks, asking them about their daily hug counts and social interactions.

Then the people were sent to rooms on an isolated hotel floor where they were exposed to a common cold virus.

About three-quarters became infected and a third showed obvious signs of illness. But those who had the most loving social interactions sailed through the infection with fewer symptoms. Researchers said social support, in particular, hugging and touching, reduced symptoms by 32 per cent. So keep cuddling.

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Popular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs), for example, can increase risk of heart attack [file photo]

CUT BACK ON VITAMINS

Sir William Osler, a 19th-century Canadian physician, fondly known as the father of modern medicine, once said: 'The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine.'

Take an inventory of your medications and the conditions for which they were prescribed. Include over-the-counter drugs, vitamins and supplements you take, and why you take them.

You may find you can't fully answer 'why'. This may inspire you to taper off certain medications or find alternative ways to manage your condition that are better for you and your body.

Before you stop taking any prescribed drugs, though, you should consult your GP.

Don't underestimate over-the-counter medications - many of which were once only available on prescription. Popular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs), for example, can increase risk of heart attack and stroke with regular use - even within a few weeks.

In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told drug makers to strengthen warnings about this on packaging.

AVOID FRIENDS WHO UPSET YOU

It's a cliche, but it's true: a positive outlook is key to health.

And if people were more attuned to their changing moods and behavioural triggers, would so many take powerful mind-altering medications to regulate their moods? I think not. Tracking changing daily moods can help you to better understand why symptoms occur when they do - such as being moody when talking to certain people - and avoid things that trigger low mood.

It can reveal whether drugs or therapy work.

Online mood trackers and apps are available, but you can do it the old-fashioned way with intuition - tracking your mood throughout the day and taking note of it.

You can then alter your habits to avoid low mood triggers.

THROW OUT YOUR ALARM CLOCK

With our 24-7 access to media, online retail, artificial light and our urge to check phones and emails constantly, many of us suffer from a lack of sleep.

Yet sleep directs many of your body's physiological rhythms.

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Don't use an alarm clock. Go to bed when you get tired. Stop using electronic devices beforehand

One of sleep's most important roles involves helping the brain to set our hormonal balance.

This includes hormones that control appetite, help us manage stress, heal and fight infections, rekindle our fat-burning systems and renew skin and bones.

sleep-replenished hormones can lower our risk of heart disease and stroke, sharpen planning and memory skills, improve concentration, regenerate the heart, liver, lungs and kidneys, and rejuvenate organs and tissues.

Track your sleep with a diary or an electronic device. If you feel refreshed and awake during the day, you've probably found your optimal sleep time

Side-effects of poor sleep habits include hypertension, confusion, memory loss, an inability to learn new things, obesity, cardiovascular disease and depression.

It only takes two weeks to figure out your optimal amount of sleep.

Don't use an alarm clock. Go to bed when you get tired. Stop using electronic devices beforehand, because the light they emit can suppress the body's production of the sleep hormone melatonin.

Track your sleep with a diary or an electronic device.

If you feel refreshed and awake during the day, you've probably found your optimal sleep time.

The challenge is then to alter your habits to allow yourself to get that much sleep.

WALK DAILY FOR A LONGER LIFE

Having a good proportion of muscle in your body is arguably as fundamental to health as food and sleep.

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450 minutes' exercise is the optimum weekly amount for a long life. This is a little more than an hour a day

Studies associate muscular strength with wide-ranging health benefits, such as lower blood pressure, lower diabetes risk and better cholesterol levels.

Higher levels of muscle mass are associated with lower levels of chronic inflammation in the body.

Such inflammation can significantly raise the risk of heart disease and cancer. Multiple studies show the lower the muscle mass, the longer it takes to recuperate from illness.

Losing strength as you age isn't inevitable. A Pittsburgh University study in 2011 of recreational athletes aged 40 to 81 found muscle mass declines often from disuse, rather than muscle ageing.

Two large-scale studies in JAMA Internal Medicine suggest 450 minutes' exercise is the optimum weekly amount for a long life. This is a little more than an hour a day.

And it need not be strenuous - walking counts.

The studies, involving 660,000 people, found this reduced the exercisers' risk of dying early by about a third, compared with people who didn't exercise.