New Year’s Resolutions are often helpful when trying to move forward with intention. However, your chronic illness requires that you think through them with more detail. Here are some tips to make the best New Year’s Resolutions with a chronic illness.
1. Balance Your Ideals with Reality
Many people approach New Year’s Resolutions by setting large goals that sound good but are not realistically planned out. You’re in a better position to keep the New Year’s Resolutions you set with a chronic illness by setting realistic goals that honor your body’s limits.
Acknowledge what your daily life looks like right now and consider what reasonable adjustments can be made that enhance your life. Shape the goals in ways that they accommodate how your body responds in different situations (i.e., energy levels, discomfort and pain, or mobility concerns).
If your New Year’s Resolutions expect you to be void of any health symptoms in order to successfully meet it, you may be putting yourself in an unfair and overwhelming situation. Start with your current reality and build gently on that over time.
2. Prioritize Setting Meaningful New Year’s Resolutions
The best New Year’s Resolutions are meaningful and have a direct positive impact on your life. This helps you feel more motivated, boosts your self-confidence and connects you with your sense of purpose.
Make an initial list of goals and then go back through it to delete anything that isn’t important to you. This balances hopes with reality and speaks more to YOU.
3. Break New Year’s Resolutions into Smaller, Achievable Steps
Another way to realistically meet your New Year’s Resolutions is to break large goals into small, achievable steps. Smaller goals give you more momentum to keep going when things get difficult. It can still feel like you’re accomplishing something along the way.
A win is a win – big or small.
For example, setting an exercise goal is more effective when starting smaller (with the guidance of a trusted health professional) and adding more intensity when your body shows it’s ready. Setting New Year’s Resolutions to run a marathon is more possible when working up to it over time.
4. Take Time to Reset
Take breaks to reset while moving forward with the New Year’s Resolutions. Breaks allow you to check in with yourself without judgment and notice any steps needed to move towards your goals – big or small. Intentionally use your break time to make adjustments, meet your needs, reduce stress and proceed with a clear mind.
Resetting also shifts your attention back to the present moment. This practice can be accomplished through mindfulness and gently observing what’s going on right now. The STOP Exercise can help get you started and can be used anywhere.
5. Encourage Yourself Every Day
New Year’s Resolutions often get derailed within the first couple of weeks because people feel discouraged when they don’t see immediate progress. Speaking positively to yourself and taking in motivating content (books, television, podcasts) encourages you to keep going during hard moments. Place encouraging messages in places you see often for constant reminders. Completing the GLAD Exercise at the end of your day to keep your mind focused.
I recommend not overlooking this tip because you will not always feel motivated to stick to your plan. You’ll need something to push you forward even when you don’t want to.
This means a lot when your health symptoms leave you feeling depleted when you wake up in the morning (even after a full night’s rest).
What are some encouraging messages that help you keep going?
6. Keep Track of Your Progress Towards New Year’s Resolutions
Keep track of your progress towards your goals in writing (e.g., dry erase board, journaling). Refer to your New Year’s Resolutions every day to observe the progress (big or small). Remember that you’ve likely pushed through a lot to make the progress happen with your chronic illness. And the progress you’ve made doesn’t always feel glamorous or exciting.
I get it. Just remember that success with a chronic illness looks different from other people without a health condition. Be sure to give yourself credit for all that you’ve done each day – even if that means giving yourself time to rest. That’s absolutely something!
7. Distance Yourself from Unsupportive People
Surrounding yourself with people that make you feel defeated and unsupported is a major barrier to meeting your New Year’s Resolutions. Unsupportive people contribute to poor health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and chronic health concerns. Set clear, firm boundaries on how you interact with them if you’re unable to completely avoid certain people.
8. Surround Yourself with Supportive People
Are there any people in your life that give you hope, encouragement and a sense of joy? These are traits of supportive people that are essential to helping you move forward with your New Year’s Resolutions. It’s important to surround yourself with supportive people on your health journey this year so that you feel more empowered and supported during the hard moments.
Supporting a chronically ill loved one can be difficult for many reasons, but it’s absolutely possible to do with open conversations and accurate information about your health condition. Prioritize putting yourself around people who make your life better and are determined to show up for you no matter how uncomfortable they feel about it.
Your mind and body will thank you later.
9. Allow Yourself to Pivot to Accomplish New Year’s Resolutions
Chronic conditions bring on flare ups or symptoms that make it hard to accomplish your New Year’s Resolutions. These chronic illness flares can last a while and make you question whether or not your goals are even possible, bringing on feelings of hopelessness and frustration.
Give yourself permission to pivot during these moments by making adjustments to your New Year’s Resolutions, resting and prioritizing recovery to meet your mental and physical health needs. Sometimes this will require you to postpone your goals entirely to focus on recovery, and that can be a critical moment that turns your sadness into anger.
Allow yourself to feel what you feel during this moment and consider how to pivot when you’re ready. You’re in a better position to have more good days and meet your personal goals when treating your body with self-compassion in its vulnerable moments or seasons.
Be gentle with yourself and allow yourself to adjust along the way.
10. Schedule that Postponed Medical Appointment
Have you ever had that one medical appointment that you’ve avoided scheduling lingering in the back of your mind? You’re not alone.
Medical appointment anxiety is real and often interferes with accomplishing New Year’s Resolutions.
Some of the understandable reasons people postpone scheduling medical appointments include feeling fearful of the news from your doctor, burnout and overwhelm with other scheduled appointments on your calendar, medical trauma history and a toxic relationship with a past or current doctor.
You don’t have to deal with this alone. If your medical trauma history is making it hard for you to address your health needs, consider scheduling an appointment with a Health Psychologist or a Chronic Illness Therapist.
Once you’re ready, set aside 10 minutes to make the call or schedule through your online portal this week. It becomes another task you’ve accomplished on your list and is one step closer to meeting your New Year’s Resolutions.
Moving into the New Year with Chronic Illness Support
As a licensed Mental Health Therapist living with a chronic illness of my own, I understand the importance of feeling a sense of direction and finding hope when my health condition makes it hard to do so.
Although your journey with a chronic illness has been hard, there are many benefits of going to therapy as you head into the next chapter of your life. You also have the option to invite your loved ones for family therapy or to participate in chronic illness group counseling to overcome life challenges with support.
New Year’s Resolutions are not for everyone. And that’s okay.
The goal is to turn the page for the New Year in the way that works best for you. Whether you’re in survival mode or trying to get to the other side of it, I’d love to help you.
Schedule your first appointment with me by booking a free 15-minute consultation.
