Letters for Media Interviews
New Year Resolutions
|
More releases: |
Date
Dear Medical/Health Reporter:
Is this the year for change…in your relationship, your career or your health? Whether you want to implement a healthy new habit like exercise or eliminate a bad habit like smoking, don’t try to do too much at once. This year, pick only one resolution and it’s more likely that the goal will be attained. Achieve success in one area before you move on to the next. Here’s how to begin:
- Your resolution should be specific, measurable and realistic. Be sure your resolution is something you want. Think about it as a lifetime change and ask yourself if this is a behavior you can maintain. Don’t be vague. Specify how many pounds you want to lose and set weekly benchmarks to motivate and reinforce positive behavior.
- To eliminate a bad habit, take note of how often and when the behavior occurs. What are the possible motivations and triggers? Do you smoke, for instance, when you have a cup of coffee or a glass of alcohol? Recognize patterns so that you can begin to change your behavior.
- Share your goals and objectives with others and enlist their support. Making your commitment public will help convince you and others that you are serious about change. Enlist the aid of a friend when dieting, for example, and the support system will help you succeed. Knowing that you are accountable to someone else will help you keep your resolution.
- Think positively. Remind yourself that your goal is within your reach. Visualize yourself having achieved your goal. Expect occasional setbacks and don’t be discouraged when they do occur. Focus on your long-term goals and keep working toward them. Your objective is progress, not perfection.
As a service to your community, the APA’s Psychologists in Independent Practice would like to offer a psychologist in your area to speak with you on the subject of changing or altering behavior. He/She would be able to discuss basic guidelines for successful change and how to handle setbacks along the way. Your readers can call toll-free 1 (877) 603-4000 for a free copy of “Tips for Keeping Your Resolutions."
APA’s Psychologists in Independent Practice represents independent psychologists, each of whom is a doctoral level professional licensed by his or her particular state. When you need to talk to someone who can help, you need an experienced, licensed psychologist. I look forward to speaking with you.
Sincerely,
Tips for Keeping Your New Year's Resolutions
Make Only One Resolution. It takes 21 days to break a habit or adopt a new behavior. With everything else going at this time of year, the chances of success are greater when a person can channel his or her energies into changing just one new behavior pattern. Confidence is the key to making the change so choose realistic goals.
Build Your Confidence. Start by implementing a new habit rather than trying to shake an engrained bad habit. Research shows that more people are willing to adopt a new “right” behavior, such as exercise, than are willing to abandon an older “wrong” behavior, such as smoking. Each success, whether small or large, teaches lessons and leaves a lasting desire for further accomplishment.
Addictions Are the Hardest Habits to Break. There are physical and psychological components to addiction. The physical aspect of smoking, for instance, is a result of continued exposure to nicotine, a powerful and addictive drug. The psychological component is called conditioned association. Over time a smoker develops consistent patterns. For example, a smoker may find that he or she typically smokes when driving, when talking on the phone, when having a cup of coffee or a drink of alcohol, when feeling angry, or sad, etc. These patterns become strongly ingrained and the activities, thoughts, feelings, etc. that often accompany smoking become automatic triggers that elicit a craving for a cigarette. A smoker may reach automatically for a cigarette without thinking or suddenly have a strong urge for a cigarette when in a setting where they normally smoke. That is a conditioned craving. This is a very powerful effect that can make it difficult to quit. To kick the habit, you must be willing to endure bodily changes, such as headaches from caffeine withdrawal or overeating when giving up smoking, in order to ride out the behavior change.
If at First You Don’t Succeed…Try, Try Again. If you succeed, pat yourself on the back and take full credit for it. If you don't, look at the barriers that were in your way, alter or remove the barriers and try again. The important thing is not to give up on yourself.
Return to Press Releases Table of Contents