Five Mental Health Resolutions Worth Setting in 2025

As the first month of the year, January provides an opportunity to embrace a fresh start. That means a month of new goals, new habits, and new priorities that help us to better ourselves and create positive changes throughout the year. January is also Mental Wellness Month, which highlights the importance of mental health when it comes to your overall well-being. This makes right now the perfect time to focus on improving your mental health, especially as you’re already thinking about the resolutions you want to achieve in 2025.

Before jumping into what goals you want to set for yourself, it’s good to gain an understanding of what mental wellness is. Wellness differs from well-being, though the two go hand in hand. While wellness is an active process that integrates physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, intellectual, occupational, and financial dimensions, well-being is the optimal and dynamic state in which people can achieve their full potential. Well-being is reached through the pursuit of wellness, though wellness is a continuous process that requires consistent practice.

This practice of prioritizing mental health through wellness is essential for overall well-being, and it can also lead to enhanced happiness and self-worth. In this article, we will provide a few ideas for mental health-related resolutions that are worth setting for yourself in the new year.

1. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is about being fully present in every moment. It’s an ancient practice dedicated to the influence of awareness and slowing down in order to fully experience your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surroundings. In addition to preventing the feeling of being on “autopilot,” mindfulness has also been shown to help with managing stress, reducing anxiety, increasing relaxation, and enjoying more enthusiasm for life. A study supported by the NIH has even found a link between practicing mindfulness and measurable changes in the regions of the brain related to memory, emotion, and learning.

What makes improving mindfulness such an achievable resolution is that it can be done at any time and in any setting. Whether you’re completing your daily chores, stuck in traffic, or spending time with friends, take a few moments to appreciate what is going on both within and around you. This can help you find joy in even the smallest of moments, and—with practice—could even lead to improvements in your mental health.

2. Embrace gratitude

Gratitude and mindfulness work in tandem, as taking stock of what you are thankful for in any given moment trains your brain to appreciate more of what you have in life (rather than what you don’t have.) What you’re grateful for can be as small as the roof over your head or the clothes on your back, or it can be as large as your health or the friends and family you are surrounded by. You can practice gratitude by listing a few things you’re grateful for in a journal, or you can simply think of them to yourself. It’s a healthy way to start and/or end each day that can quickly become a subconscious habit that fuels your overall mental wellbeing.

3. Volunteer

Volunteering may not seem like a mental health-related goal at first, but the benefits of volunteering go far beyond doing good for your community. According to an umbrella review by the National Library of Medicine, the effects of volunteering include social, psychological, and physical benefits for volunteers. These include positive changes to volunteers’ self-esteem, motivation, purposefulness, and sense of community, as well as reduced anxiety and burnout.

4. Ask for help when you need it

Even when times get tough, asking for help can be a challenge—especially when it comes to mental health. Admitting that you can’t handle everything on your own does not make you weak, though, so don’t be afraid to reach out for support whenever you may need it. Whether you turn to a friend, parent, partner, or counselor, asking for help is a way to strengthen your connections and improve your mental health when things are feeling particularly heavy. Even if all you need is a little extra push, asking for help can make all the difference for your well-being. By setting this resolution, you can create a support system that makes it easier for you to navigate whatever comes your way in the new year.

5. Stop comparing yourself to others

When it comes to any goal, try your best to avoid comparing yourself to others. Comparing your job, living situation, relationship, or other factors can lead to feelings of jealousy and low self-esteem as well as stress and anxiety over things you have little control over. On the other hand, avoiding comparison and focusing on your own progress will help you keep yourself on track. Try to practice gratitude for what you already have as you work toward whatever it is you want. You can also break goals down into smaller, more manageable ones that make you feel more accomplished as you go, rather than getting upset with yourself for not achieving something as quickly as someone else may have.

Make mental wellness a part of your life this January and beyond

This Mental Wellness Month, focus on starting small as you work on your resolutions. Remember that well-being is a state of thriving that requires being kind to yourself as you recognize and experience a wide range of emotions, so be patient with yourself as you move towards your goals. Check in with yourself regularly and adapt your resolutions as needed—after all, wellness is about progress, not perfection.