As we head into the New Year (finally!) we typically set goals for weight loss, financial status, and career aspirations.  With a year so full of losses and loneliness, I think it’s especially important to be attending to the well being of our moods and mental health and providing ourselves with the care we deserve. So for my last post in this strange and challenging year of 2020, I hope you’ll take the time to watch to an inspiring video first posted to The NY Times Op Ed on December 7th (link provided below).  After watching this video, I hope you’ll give equal attention to setting some mental health goals for 2021. 

Alexi Pappas is an elite athlete.  After the 2016 Olympics, she experienced a severe major depressive episode.  She felt alone and lost.  Even though she had powered through injuries and setbacks her entire running career, she found she was not well equipped or supported in facing her mental health injury.  This brave woman shares how she began to approach her mental health with the same amount of resources and attitude of healing as her physical health.  

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approximately 1 in 5 adults in the US or 43.8 million people experience mental illness in a given year and 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18 will experience a mental health disorder at some point.  Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US and is the only one in the top ten on the rise.  Among those 10 to 24 years of age, suicide is the third leading cause of death.  Mental illness occurs indiscriminately across race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or culture.

With the uncertainties and stresses of 2020, I am sure these numbers will rise, unfortunately.  One silver lining this year has been an effort to publicly reduce the stigma of mental illness and encourage people to speak up.  One such noted effort is the “I’m Listening” campaign, where celebrities including musicians and athletes have opened up and shared about their struggles with anxiety and depression (see Radio.com) and stressed the importance of both talking about your experiences and the benefits of being heard by someone.  

So as you make your list of goals for the New Year, please include some goals for your mind as well as your body.  This can be a great year to try a new meditation app (Insight Timer or Calm), educate yourself (read books like Ambiguous Loss, The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, The Body Keeps the Score) and/or even reach out to see a therapist (we are only a phone call away, especially while we work via telehealth!)  But the main goal I encourage for you to set this year, to be done with people you love and trust, is to talk about how you are feeling and ask someone else how they are doing.  Whenever we share what feels like a dark secret, we most always feel a little better by bringing it to the light.  Remember, you are not alone!!!

Please watch this beautiful account of growth and healing:

https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007372207/alexi-pappas-depression.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20201207&instance_id=24780&nl=the-morning&regi_id=83086246&segment_id=46245&te=1&user_id=2d09d4cb91922563a691ccabdbe83abc

Some resources:

Text Line (741-741) Text to Talk 24/7 crisis counselors

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 1-888-333-2377

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance  1-800-826-3632

Psychology Today : Website for Therapist Referral

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 1-800-662-4357

The Trevor Project (LGBTQ 24/7 hotline) 1-866-488-7386