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Building healthy habits to better mental health

How often do you attend a gathering, whether on a holiday, birthday party, or some other occasion, and you see a spread of food that all looks so delicious that you fill your plate with so much that you find that the paper plates can’t support the weight? Then, you do your best to consume every ounce of the food because it tastes good and you don’t want to waste any of it. You then regret that decision as you are left miserable. 

We also do this in life. There are so many awesome things out there to do and get involved in that we fill our plates until they can’t support the weight and then we try to consume them all, often feeling miserable and possibly failing at some of them along the way.

This can leave you feeling overwhelmed, miserable, and at times like a failure. We will usually sacrifice healthy habits along the way because they take more time or more effort, and then we are left even more miserable.

 

66 days to a routine

 

According to Dr. Philippa Lally, it takes 66 days on average for a behavior to become routine. Which means those lofty New Years goals you are going to take on will take more than two months of discipline and routine to build them in your lifestyle. Along the way we need to spend those 66 days letting go of unhealthy habits.

 

"Let’s be clear that some unhealthy habits are disguised as healthy. They become unhealthy when they have negative consequences to your overall health, both physical and mental."

                                                                                                - Jeremy Stimac

 

 

It is good to start with a piece of paper and write down what healthy habits you want to incorporate into your life and which unhealthy ones to let go of. Then day by day start the practice of adding the new habit and letting go of the old one. It may take more or less than 66 days, but along the way you will see how the habit is incorporated into your life.

 

Journal your progress

Along this journey, try journaling your progress - how you feel at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day.

 

 

Then after 66 days, look through and see if you have noticed a change. Likely you will see that taking unhealthy habits off your plate and incorporating new, healthy ones will have helped you to not feel so full - your plate will be easier to carry, and your mental health will have fewer obstacles.

 

 

 

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Jeremy Stimac is a Mental Health Therarpist intern. He is currently in graduate school at the Univeristy of Illinois | School of Social Work. Jeremy see clients of all ages and has immediate openings. Schedule your appointment today!