New Year's Resolutions

I gave some suggestions last year on how to make and keep New Year's Resolutions. Here are a few more suggestions:

1. Make the resolutions concrete and measurable.
2. Be realistic - don't set the bar too high.
3. Some progress is better than none. If you did set the bar too high to begin with, adjust it so that it is more realistic. For instance, let's say that you were not exercising at all in 2007. You make the resolution to go to the gym at least 5 times per week and work out for one hour. That's a huge leap over nothing at all. If you find this goal is too challenging at this time, rather than giving up completely and going back to what you were before (0 times to the gym per week), adjust the goal to something that is more attainable, like 3 times per week for 30 minutes. This is still a substantial improvement over not working out at all.
4. Tell your significant other or a close friend of your resolution so that he/she can help support you in reaching your goals.

Good luck & Happy New Year!

Holiday Connections

For these holidays, try taking 15-20 minutes to contact a long-time friend or relative with whom you've lost contact. Our best memories of the holidays are usually about the good times spent with friends and family members. Instead of (or in addition to) just sending the usual holiday greeting cards, give someone a call and catch up on things. They'll be glad you did and so will you.

Don't Feed the Anxiety Beast

If you are prone to anxiety, there are some things that are best to avoid. One broad category of material that should be avoided is violence in the media. I know that this might sound very obvious, but I'm often surprised by how frequently I hear that a client is experiencing anxiety yet is watching a lot of horror movies or violent crime programs (e.g., CSI).

In essence, when we become anxious, we are perceiving threats to their physical or psychological well-being. Our brain and bodies respond to these perceived threats by getting into fight or flight mode. We are on a heightened state of alertness and ready for action. Back when we were in a more primitive state of evolution, this could mean that we are ready to flee an immediate danger or fight for our lives. However, now we can often just imagine dangers and our bodies are put into alert status.

Violent movies and television programs can feed this beast of anxiety in that our minds become more preoccupied with threats to our well-being. This can cause us to vastly overestimate the chances that we will become victims of a violent crime. Social psychologists have found that persons who are exposed to a great deal of violent media start to view the world and others as more hostile than they really are (e.g., vastly overestimate the chance that they will be mugged while walking down the street). As our minds become more saturated with violent images from the media, it naturally adds fuel to the fire of anxiety. We are putting ourselves into fight or flight mode when the situation does not really call for it.

So, if you know that you are prone to anxiety, try cutting back on your exposure to sources of media violence. This can include books, magazines, prime time news (where if it bleeds, it leads), and newspapers. I'm not advocating that you stick your head in the sand - just be careful with what you are feeding your brain. It's not that this is a panacea for anxiety, but even if it helps a little, that's something.