New Years Resolutions: You Make 'em, You Break 'em.

We all have New Years Resolutions. Among the top 10 health related New Years Resolutions include quitting smoking, start working out, and lose weight. A few others are drink less alcohol, get more sleep, and decrease stress. If any of these sound like something you have attempted in the past and have not succeeded, consider that will-power may not be enough.

Psychotherapy can explore what began these habits in the first place. Breaking a pattern is sometimes very difficult to do alone. With a therapist, you can explore what distorted your eating, why you drink an entire bottle of wine with dinner, or what is keeping you up at night. The search could go back to childhood or adolescence, and the change may take several weeks or months.

Here are some action oriented tips from Gordian Health Solutions for keeping several common New Years Resolutions. It is important to keep your goals measurable, achievable, and rewarding, good luck and Happy New Year!



"Start Working Out." Make the action steps of your resolution more specific, like "I will walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes, three to four times a week" or "I will wear a pedometer to work, park farther from the door and take the stairs instead of the elevator to get in more steps per day."

"Lose Weight." Make your goal more achievable and timely, like "I will lose 5 pounds by the end of the month." Then come up with action steps involving nutritional changes, exercise, etc.

"Eat Better." Change your thinking from "I'm going on a diet" to "I'm making lifestyle changes to improve my eating habits." Consider keeping a food journal to find specific areas you can change. Specific action steps to take might include "I will limit eating sweets to twice per week" or "I will reduce my consumption of fast food from three times per week to once per week" or "I will increase my servings of fruits and vegetables to five per day."

"Quit Smoking." Set a realistic quit date. Make sure you are not setting yourself up for failure by trying to quit during an especially stressful time. If you're a heavy smoker, talk to your doctor and consider using nicotine replacement therapy such as nicotine patches, gum or medications. Clear your home of all smoking-related paraphernalia (cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays, etc.). Set action steps to reduce your tobacco intake slowly, like "I will cut back by one cigarette per day over the next week." Also think about a plan to deal with cravings and challenging situations.

"Reduce Stress." Identify and write down your stressors. Identify positive steps you can take when feeling stressed and what sources of support you have. A realistic action step might be something like "During times of stress, I will practice deep breathing techniques, write in a journal or go for a walk to clear my head."