“My New Year’s Resolution : I want to really take care of myself”
Photos DR
Words Paul-Arthur Jean-Marie
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In 2021, Johan decided to only make one resolution: he wants to take care of himself and his mental health. He thinks it is very important for his overall well-being. We had a chat with him on the matter as we explored the idea of these famous year-end resolutions.
"It's something I've never done before, but for this new year, I've decided to take care of myself," says Johan, a twenty-year-old Parisian. In 2021, he decided not to have so many resolutions but only one. As historian Hélène Monsacré explains, the inhabitants of Babylon in Antiquity - to whom we owe this tradition - also made only one resolution: to return the agricultural tools they borrowed during the year.
Johan's resolution is even more precise: he wants to take care of his mental health. "It's something I've never done," he explains, "and after this particular year, it's time. And that means consulting a therapist. As he sees it, that doesn't necessarily mean there's something seriously wrong.
"I think that going here and there, as I'm going to do starting in January, can only be good for me," he adds. I don't have any big problems but rather little anxieties and worries here and there. The idea is to learn to understand them and know how to deal with them. The year 2020, with the health crisis, the social context and the attacks has not been the most restful. I found myself having anxiety attacks in the night - fears of dying too young, which had never happened to me before".
Knowing how to understand yourself
What he expects from his or her psychologist, Johan has a rather precise idea: "I would like to receive keys and tools to analyze my thoughts and desires. I don't expect miracle solutions or answers, that's not necessarily the role of a therapist. I think it will also be useful to realize what is going well in my life and to see things in a positive way as much as possible".
And how will he go that he found the right person? "I know I need to test, so I'll ask friends for recommendations. There's a little more free speech on this issue and that's great." Above all, in this willingness, he sees a way to really stick to a resolution: "It's not going to be a resolution like the ones I've made in the past like 'I'm going to do sports', 'I'm going to eat healthy' where you can quickly lose motivation”. He's not the only one. According to a study by the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, 92% of people would not keep their New Year's resolutions. "Often people want to set goals that are too high and are too hard on themselves," the study notes. For Johan, taking care of his mental health is a first step: "Once I get my head in order, chances are the rest will follow and I'll take care of myself physically as well, or at least even more so".