How to Set (and Keep) Your Mental Health Goals

Written by Calgary's Child

Being the healthiest version of yourself means taking care of your mental health. To do this, set goals to practice self-care and prioritize your well-being.

Setting goals

Everyone has different needs and priorities. Regardless of what your mental health goals are, these guidelines can help:

• Evaluate your mental health. Before you decide where you’re going, you have to know where you are. Check in with yourself and assess your mental state. Ask yourself what you’re worried about, if you’re feeling easily overwhelmed, and what negative thoughts continually pop up.
  
  
• Create a self-care and resilience plan. Rather than treating self-care as an afterthought, strive to build it into your daily routine so it becomes a natural part of your life - write in a journal, take a break from social media, or break habits that no longer serve you.
  
  
• Take small steps. Tackle your goals in small steps. For example, if you want to read 12 books this year, break it down by reading one book a month or 10 pages a day.
  
  
• Make daily promises to yourself. To nurture, build, or rebuild self-trust, try making daily promises to yourself, such as turning your phone off at 10pm, taking 60 seconds to practice deep breathing, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or cooking a healthy meal.
  
  
• Keep your goals. Setting a mental health goal is the first step: keeping it is where the real work comes in. It’s easy to let everyday struggles or a perceived lack of progress discourage you from sticking to these goals, especially during times of uncertainty.

Here’s some tips to help you stay on track:

• Create a support team. Seek advice and support from your trusted friends, family members, and mentors. Talking to someone about what you’re going through helps keep you accountable and grounded.
  
  
• Set and enforce boundaries. Setting and enforcing boundaries is a key component to reaching your mental health goals.

Steps include:

• identifying what behaviors you are and are not willing to tolerate,
  
  
• communicating what your boundaries are,
  
  
• setting consequences for violating your boundaries, and
  
  
• following through on these boundaries if you receive pushback.

Practice mindfulness. Check in with yourself to see how you’re feeling. Behaviors are rooted in emotion, so identifying what you’re feeling and why can help shift harmful habits and adopt good ones.

Be kind to yourself. Be aware that you will have good days as well as hard days. Accept that this will not always be a linear process, and rather than give up, practice self-compassion.

How we can help

Alberta Blue Cross plan members have access to Balance®, our online wellness program. You can setup notifications and use online trackers to assist with goal setting.

Interested in checking out one of Alberta Blue Cross’s benefits plans to gain access to Balance? Visit ab.bluecross.ca.