At Mental Health Technologies, we celebrate and bring awareness to mental health concerns daily. However, each year everyone quickly goes from the hustle and bustle of the holiday to feeling worn and weary starting a new year of work or school. That is why every year during the month of January, the nation focuses on mental wellness as a whole — when almost all of us are feeling its exhausting toll.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates approximately one in five adults suffer from mental health problems each year. However, as you may have noticed, the effects of mental illness quickly spread and are capable of directly or indirectly affecting us all — such as experiencing depression from seeing a loved one suffer from their own mental health issues.

The first six weeks of a New Year’s Resolution are all many of us actually do. Even the most manageable and realistic resolutions can seem daunting. Especially when we mess up for the first time — it seems easier to accept that we cannot pull it off for an entire year and completely give up instead of shaking it off and starting over.

Our mental state is commonly overlooked in how we approach and succeed at our resolutions. And, when our new year goal is something that creates a healthier us (such as eating healthier or exercising more often), we need all the help we can get to stick to our resolutions.

We’re going to dive into five mental health resolutions you can make for the coming new year. But first, let’s talk about how you can prepare yourself to succeed.

While helpful for work, school, and staying in close contact with family and friends, internet social media platforms have reached the point of overuse—and it is taking a toll on our mental health.

The amount of information available online is unfathomable.

We can:

• Follow others’ personal lives, which sometimes includes intimate details

• Learn critical information about happenings around the world

• Forego waiting rooms and medical bills and self-diagnose symptoms

And much more!

In moderation, the above is not necessarily a bad thing. However, many people take things too far. With many jobs requiring work tasks to be completed on the computer, the majority of our lives appear to revolve around the usage of the world wide web — which encourages unhealthy habits.

Approximately one in six children suffer from a mental health condition — such as depression or anxiety — yet only half of those receive any type of treatment.

Overwhelming evidence shows that early treatment for adolescent youth is effective and helps set up children for success in school. In addition, the earlier proper treatment begins, the lesser the financial burden is later on.

Through recent studies, it has become clear that patients respond more truthfully when answering sensitive, yet pertinent information regarding their health without having another person involved — such as a nurse or other member of clinician staff. This privacy provides one with time to thoroughly reflect and answer without judgment.

Suicide is a community-wide public health issue that requires coordination between individuals, families, clinicians, and other healthcare professionals.