7 Achievable Mental Health Goals 

Do you want to feel healthier, happier, and more hopeful in the new year? A great place to start is to focus on mental health growth. Since mental health starts with brain health, your pathway begins with developing brain healthy habits. When you make changes to your lifestyle that support brain health, your emotional and mental well-being improve too. 

What does goal setting for mental wellness look like?  It’s not making bold new year’s resolutions, which tend to be unrealistic and are often abandoned by mid-January, according to market research.  Lasting change is attained by focusing on making new behavior a daily habit—by aiming for your big overall goal with small, doable regular actions.

Indeed, brain and mental wellness require daily practices, which are needed now more than ever as levels of anxiety, depression, memory issues, ADHD, PTSD, and bipolar disorder steadily increase.

Here are our best mental health tips for 2025, culled from the mental health experts at Amen Clinics. Consider them your roadmap to improve mental well-being in the new year!

7 SELF-CARE GOALS FOR BETTER MENTAL HEALTH

Mental Health Goal #1: Combat negative thinking.

Personal development goals for mental wellness must include learning to overcome habitual negative self-talk.

Negative self-talk is insidiously harmful, and it all starts in the brain. Your brain is always on, listening to all of your thoughts. When you have a positive, uplifting thought, it triggers your brain to release chemicals that affect all of the cells within your body, which make you feel good. However, when you have a negative thought, your brain releases chemicals that make you feel bad.

Rumination and self-blame are associated with a higher risk of mental health disorders, research has found. Worried, stressful and negative thoughts can also make existing mental health issues worse. It’s important to your mental health to combat these automatic negative thoughts (ANTs).

You can calm these stressful thoughts by practicing mindfulness techniques such as meditation, yoga, or tai chi—all of which promote relaxation in the mind and body. You can also combat them directly with this technique inspired by the work of author and self-help expert Byron Katie: 

1. Start to pay attention to ANTs that enter your mind. When you recognize a persistent negative thought, write it down. This helps get the thought out of your mind.
2. Ask yourself, is this thought true?
3. Then ask, how does this thought make you feel?  What would it feel like if you didn’t have this thought?
4. Turn the thought around to its opposite. Ask yourself, might this new thought be more true than my original thought? Find evidence that supports this new thought.

Mental Health Goal #2: Cultivate gratitude.

Part of enjoying mental wellness is having a sincere appreciation for the good in yourself and in your life. Research indicates that recognizing what you are grateful for helps to calm the deep limbic system in the brain and amplifies the judgment centers.

Individuals who regularly express gratitude are healthier, more optimistic, make better progress toward meaningful goals, enjoy a greater sense of well-being, and are more helpful to others.

Cultivating a mindset of gratitude is more than saying thank you now and again (although that’s a great practice); it is developing the ability to find gratitude for blessings received amidst hardships, challenges, and setbacks.

Here are some tips for cultivating gratitude: 

• Get a journal or notebook and start writing down three things you’re grateful for every day. Try this before going to sleep at night (or at another regular time that works for you). The act of writing helps to solidify the experience of gratitude in your brain and may help you feel happier almost instantaneously.
• Be sure to always record pleasant experiences or memorable surprises in your journal.
• When noting your gratitude, place more emphasis on people and relationships over things.
• When you’re feeling down, read earlier entries to boost your mood.
• Keep your journal and pen on your nightstand or a place to make it easier to do.

Mental Health Goal #3. Improve your social connections.

As human beings, we require connection with others, a feeling of belonging, and an overall sense of community. Make sure you focus on strengthening your social connections as one of your personal development goals for mental wellness. Isolation and poor mental health travel together. Indeed, research shows that a lack of social connections is associated with higher rates of depression and anxiety. 

We have a deep need to feel seen and heard by others. If you focus on strengthening your friendships, relationships with family, coworkers, and the community at large, you’ll be bolstering your well-being perhaps more than you know.

Here are some ideas to make that happen:

• Make sure you have a few social plans each week with family and friends.
• If you are lacking in friends, take a risk and ask a friend, neighbor, or acquaintance for a walk or other activity, or ask a coworker to lunch.
• Start doing activities you enjoy that bring you in contact with others.
• Go for a walk or run in nature on a regular basis with others. You’ll be getting the benefits of being nature, exercising, and companionship all in one!
• Try being vulnerable with a friend you trust or express how you appreciate them.
• Get to know your neighbors.
• Volunteer for something in your community.
• Stay connected with others during busy times with a quick text or sending a funny meme.

Mental Health Goal #4: Make sleep a priority.

Of all the new year mental health resolutions you could make, consistently getting quality sleep each night is a chart topper. That’s because adequate sleep is critical to brain function and emotional well-being.

Brain cells repair themselves during sleep and brain toxins that build up throughout the day are washed away. Neuronal connections vulnerable to deterioration are activated. 

Research shows that sleep deprivation interferes with connections between the brain’s prefrontal cortex (an area involved in judgment, planning, and impulse control) and the limbic system (emotional centers) and the reward network. This can lead to poor judgment and irrational behavior—quite the opposite of mental well-being!

Poor sleep is also associated with many types of health issues and diseases including depression, anxiety, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, poor decision-making, weight gain, and more.

Improve mental health in 2025 simply by creating a sleep routine that allows you to get 7-9 hours of sleep a night.

If you think your sleeping issues may relate to a sleep condition, reach out to a sleep specialist, such as Dr. Shane Creado at Amen Clinics, and/or get tested for obstructive sleep apnea.

Mental Health Goal #5: Eat more fruits and vegetables.

When setting mental health priorities, don’t overlook your diet. What you habitually eat has a major impact on your overall brain health, mood, and mental health—for better or worse.

Research has found poor nutrition plays a crucial factor in the high prevalence and incidence of mental health disorders. On the flip side, eating brain-healthy foods enhances mental wellness.

One study found that the number of servings of fruits and vegetables you consume is directly tied to your level of happiness. For every serving you eat (up to eight per day) the happier you become. And it happens nearly instantly—faster than prescription antidepressants!

Mental Health Goal #6: Move your body to boost your brain.

Regularly engaging in some form of exercise offers up mental health benefits such as stress relief, a more positive outlook, better sleep, and a greater ability to manage low mood and anxious symptoms. That’s a lot of mental health bang for your buck!

In the spirit of making achievable mental health goals, gently increase your movement if you have been mostly sedentary. Find exercise that you enjoy (or at least are willing to do!) at your current fitness level.

That could be as simple as a walk. Even 30 minutes of walking a day can boost your mood. That might look like a 15-minute walk in the morning and evening.  Research shows that strength training can also be effective in helping to reduce anxiety levels. Stretching offers up mental health benefits too, research has found!

Find ways to make movement a fun, regular habit. Buddy up with a friend to walk on a regular basis. Go for a weekly hike with your family. Take a yoga class. Garden. Dance around to music. Try pickleball. Explore and find exercise that resonates with you.

Mental Health Goal #7. Get targeted treatment for mental health issues.

If you have undiagnosed and/or untreated mental health conditions like anxiety or depression, it can be challenging to stick to brain healthy habits.

If you’re struggling with a substance abuse problem, behavioral addiction, or eating disorder—efforts to improve mental health will be sabotaged until you address these issues. To successfully improve mental well-being in the new year, it is essential to get targeted treatment for any mental disorders you may have.

Start with a full psychiatric evaluation from a qualified mental health professional so you can get an accurate diagnosis and customized treatment. Primary care physicians, admittedly, are not as well trained to deal with mental health conditions and lack confidence in prescribing psychiatric medications, according to survey research.

Amen Clinics’ comprehensive approach recognizes that mental health disorders and substance abuse problems come in many shapes and sizes. More than 250,000 brain scans have shown that mental conditions have multiple types—and each type needs its own tailored treatment.

Additionally, Amen Clinics understands that mental health conditions are brain health disorders. Brain SPECT imaging is used to see how the brain is working as part of an evaluation. SPECT imaging looks at blood flow in the brain, revealing where the brain works too hard, not enough, or about right. It plays a big role in developing a targeted treatment.

A comprehensive treatment plan may include lifestyle changes, nutraceuticals, therapy and, when necessary, medication. About 85% of those who are treated at Amen Clinics report a better quality of life after six months of treatment. These are some of the highest success rates published, compared to up to 60% of people with mental health disorders who experience treatment resistance.

HOW TO MAKE LASTING CHANGES

Achieving better mental health is indeed possible, but it requires sustained effort and support. To better ensure success, share your goals with trusted friends and family members who can support you. Work with a therapist or coach, if need be.

To keep you motivated, listen to the Change Your Brain Every Day podcast hosted by Dr. Amen and his wife Tana Amen. In each weekly episode, they provide brain health tips and practical strategies to improve mental well-being.

Reviewed by Amen Clinics Inc. Clinicians