As the new year approaches, Americans are not just making resolutions to improve their physical and financial health, but also resolving to make strides toward improving their mental well-being. A recent poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association found that 38% of adults in the United States plan on making at least one mental health resolutions in 2026; this is a significant increase from one in three respondents in 2025. This boost in resolute people will result in tens of millions of individuals working on making positive changes related to their mental state.
A few examples of typical resolutions that Americans are pledging to make this year include: getting more sleep; getting to work on time every day; going to therapy or engaging in an ERP system of therapy, such as Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT); reducing the amount of time they spend on social media to catch up on negative news; and spending more time with friends and family who are supportive and healthy. Some Americans are even pledging to find professional help for long-standing anxiety or burnout; to stay on their medication for depression once they show improvement; and to not stop taking their medication even though they already feel like they have recovered, to avoid suffering from depressive symptoms again later.
What is new now is the degree of accessibility. Many young adults now indicate, through survey responses, that they feel comfortable talking to their friends and/or posting online about their new year’s resolutions around mental health, and they perceive seeking out therapy and support groups to be similar to how previous generations viewed joining a gym. Mental health professionals view this as a positive societal change because as more and more people use everyday language to talk about their resolutions related to mental health, there is less stigma associated with asking for assistance.
Experts recommend that people set realistic and compassionate Mental Health New Year’s Resolutions instead of setting unrealistic and expectation-based ones. An example of this would be rather than committing to attending therapy every week for the entire year, a person could agree to attend therapy once a month for a few months, then gradually increase the frequency at which they attend.
Additionally, people may create small daily goals (e.g., walk for 10 minutes) or do extremely simple daily tasks (e.g., journal for 10 minutes) rather than trying to make a complete life change in one day.
If this trend continues, mental health new year’s resolutions could become a regular cultural milestone that would enable individuals, families, companies, and government or policy makers to evaluate what supports have been effective and where individuals continue to encounter barriers, and promote emotional well-being being a common goal versus a private struggle.
Source: U.S. News – Mental Health a Popular New Year’s Resolution, American Psychiatric Association – More Americans Plan Mental Health Resolutions Heading into 2026
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