As we recently discussed, now is the time of year when people start to attack their New Year’s resolutions. Millions of Americans resolve to accomplish or improve something when the calendar flips, but unfortunately the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions fail. While that’s always been the case to some extent, a new poll regarding people’s desire to achieve mental health improvement in 2022 is one that we hope takes hold and succeeds for obvious reasons.
Given the past two years, a reasonable argument can be made that all of us can use some type of mental health improvement, almost regardless of our individual circumstances. A poll recently released by the American Psychiatric Association lays out some of the specifics regarding this desire expressed by millions of Americans. Below we’re going to delve into the data and offer some insights into how we can provide ourselves with the best opportunity to achieve long-term mental health improvement.
About the Mental Health Improvement Poll
A link to a download of the poll that the American Psychiatric Association published can be found here. An organization known as Morning Consult conducted the poll with a representative sample of 2,129 American adults. The poll asked several questions regarding the state of people’s mental health. Below are some examples of the findings:
- 26 percent of respondents, which equates to approximately 67 million Americans, state that mental health improvement is on their minds as a goal for 2022.
- 37 percent of respondents stated that they are anxious about the state of their mental health.
- 22 percent of people classify their current state of mental health as fair.
- 9 percent describe their mental health as poor.
- 42 percent of respondents describe their current mental health as good.
- 26 percent state that their mental health is currently excellent.
Among the people who have made mental health improvement a part of their New Year’s resolutions, their strategies for doing so include:
- Meditation – 53 percent
- Seeing a therapist – 37 percent
- Taking a break from social media – 35 percent
- Journaling – 32 percent
- Using a mental health app – 26 percent
- Seeing a psychiatrist – 20 percent
Finally, in terms of stress relative to this time last year:
- 20 percent of respondents stated that they feel more stress now than one year ago.
- 44 percent stated that their stress level is about the same as last year.
- 27 percent responded that they are feeling less stress than this time last year.
Overall, it appears that the millions of people thinking about mental health improvement are not just thinking about it on the surface level, but they are digging deeper in an attempt to formulate strategies for success in achieving their goals.
What It All Means
As a team of professionals who provide an Orange County mental health facility treatment option for people who are struggling, we’ve long been engaged in increasing mental health awareness. When we see that almost 70 million people are interested in achieving some type of mental health improvement in the coming year, we find that encouraging. It means that more people are not only aware of the importance of mental health, but also that they are interested in doing something about it.
While it’s troubling that so many people are concerned about their current mental health state, it’s also quite understandable given recent world events and other factors that influence people’s mental states. As long as those who are concerned take that all-important next step and push towards some level of mental health improvement, they and their loved ones will be all that much better off for it.
How SoCal Empowered Can Help
One surefire way to make a push towards mental health improvement is to speak to professionals who help people in this regard every day, particularly if you are concerned about your own mental health or that of a loved one. We pride ourselves in listening to what people have to say and then not only giving them guidance, but what we strongly feel is the right guidance towards a solution to their situation.
That means that if you call us to discuss your desire for mental health improvement, from our perspective all options are on the table. That could include coming to stay with us in our inpatient Orange County mental health facility if your situation is serious. That could involve us referring you to an outpatient facility that would better serve your needs if we think that’s a better fit for your circumstances.
Our goal for everyone with whom we speak, even if it ultimately works to our detriment, is mental health improvement for everyone who needs it. We all deserve to be happy and healthy, and health includes our current states both physically and mentally. We’re here to listen to your story and guide you towards a resolution to your challenges.
It Starts With You
Ultimately, though, mental health improvement starts with you. If you are concerned about your own mental health, contact us. You should do the same if you’re concerned about a loved one. We will even deal with your health insurance carrier directly so that you know exactly where you stand before you commit to a stay with us.
Get 2022 started on the right foot with your own mental health improvement. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.
