12 Hopeful Ideas to Improve Your Mental Health 2025
In January and February each year, Sanford Behavioral Health creates an article series that looks at hopeful ways to improve your mental health. As a behavioral health organization, we know that treatment and medication management are important elements of improving and maintaining mental health. However, science has shown that community, passionate interests, and even limiting cellphone use can augment a mental health regimen and enhance quality of life. At Sanford, our goal is to manage our client’s symptoms effectively and improve their daily functioning. To that end, we bring you 12 hopeful ideas from Sanford experts to improve your mental health all year long.
12 Hopeful Ideas to Improve Your Mental Health
1. Please remember to put down your phone and smell the “roses” for a natural high.
Dopamine Rush – 27 Things to Do Instead of Scroll!
These days, there are studies, marketing campaigns, and warnings about excessive scrolling on smartphones, but many of us reach for our phones the moment our eyes open in the morning or a beep tells us we have a message. Grabbing the phone can be practical, such as checking the schedule, weather, and time. However, according to theย US Surgeon General, continuing to scroll through our social media platforms and the distractions brought by the irresistible dopamine rush on our phones can be hazardous to mental health. CLICK HERE for 27 feel-good ideas that don’t include your phone (hint: petting your doggie and eating ice cream are on the list)!
2. Every family needs healthy boundaries! Learn how to set boundaries that work with your key relationships and improve mental health.
Hope for Creating Personal Boundaries
Recently, Sanford Behavioral Health Founder Rae Green and clinical therapist Carli Noffsinger gave an educational in-service for the Mental Health Association of Michigan. Their focus was on boundaries (personal or external) for recovering families. Families dealing with addiction have issues with establishing and maintaining healthy personal boundaries, but so do families that are not dealing with a substance use disorder. CLICK HERE for practical tips on setting and keeping boundaries in 2025!
3. The sparklers and resolutions may have fizzled, but it’s never too late to make changes for the better.
Resolutions and Changes in the New Year!
A “resolution” is a statement of commitment to change our behavior. Unfortunately, we often need to set these resolutions with better-informed expectations. To accomplish any behavioral change in our lives, we must first understand that we are engaging in a process rather than achieving a single event or goal. Have resolutions in January have dwindled? Remember that it is never too late to start over and make changes. CLICK HERE for great information onย the change process and the various shifts that go into accomplishing and maintaining change.
4. Take a break from alcohol or reduce alcohol intake. A World Health Organization study finds that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.”
Why Not Try Dry January (February, March, April)?
Dry January started as a public health campaign by the British charity Alcohol Change UK. Their slogan was, “Ditch the hangover, reduce the waistline, and save some serious money by giving up alcohol for 31 days.” Dry January, Dry July, moderation management, sober curiosity, and #damplifestyle are all methods of creating awareness and cutting back on habitual drinking habits. CLICK HERE for more on the benefits of teetotaling for 30 days!
5. Make 2025 the year you take your mental health seriously. You do not have to be at rock bottom to get help with issues that impact happiness, functioning, and well-being.
Excuses? Our Admissions Team Has Heard Them All
CLICK HERE to read about our “favorite” excuses and how we debunk them. And please, pick up the phone, forget the excuses, and change your life for the better in the new year.
6. Find a job you love and get in the habit of writing about it in a journal (it might become an article or memoir someday).
Modern-Day Nursing in Mental Health
While science and technology have advanced tremendously since the days of nurses like Florence Nightingale, the art of modern-day nursing remains much the same. The best nurses have a heart for people, not just scientific know-how. They have intangible qualities of empathy, concern, and discretion that are impossible to teach in a classroom. CLICK HERE for a first-person account of nursing in a mental health facility by RN Michelle Koets.
7. Listen, really listen to peopleโespecially those who have a different area of expertise. Wisdom can be found in the words of a child, life experiences, learning from mistakes, and reflecting on what you have learned from others.
Sanford Behavioral Health Clinical Director on OCD, Access to Care, and the Campus Concept
As Clinical Director, Tessa Sterling brings empathy, openness, and a passion for clinical mentoring and training. We sat down with her to talk about OCD, access to care, and the campus concept at Sanford Behavioral Health. CLICK HERE for our interview with Tessa Sterling, LMSW; it’s the next best thing to being in person.
8. An annual list of “Ideas to Improve Mental Health” wouldn’t be complete without mention of Sanford’s therapy dogs, Apollonia and Lola. Simply put, dogs are good for mental health.
Announcing Therapy Dogs of Sanford
We launched a new Instagram account called @therapydogsofsanford. Jacqueline Campbell (Jacq), a licensed vet tech with a certification in animal-assisted therapy, spearheads the account, which chronicles dogs’ mental health benefits. It’s an approachable way to discuss difficult subjects like depression, trauma, loneliness, and addiction.ย CLICK HEREย for more on these beloved team members.
9. Protect your mental health with preventative measures and early intervention.
How’s Your Mental Health Today?
If you are feeling alone with your mental health struggles, you are not alone. A report from Mental Health America finds that nearly 60 million adults experienced a mental illness in the past year, and only half of them will receive treatment. The good news? The report advocates for upstream prevention and early intervention. CLICK HEREย for options to improve daily functioning.
10. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it can’t create mental health issues! Educate and advocate for yourself.
Michigan Cannabis Update – Stats, Recreational Use, and Addiction
As a behavioral health organization, it is important to recognize the complexities surrounding the use of cannabis, particularly in light of its increasing legalization across the United States. For many individuals, using cannabis can be a means of coping with stress, enhancing experiences, or managing social anxiety, depression, and mood swings. About 13% of US adults use cannabis, and although its mind-altering effects can bring about enhanced sensory experiences and mood shifts, it can also lead to negative outcomes. CLICK HERE for stats, information on harm reduction, and potential red flags.
11. Talk to the grocery store check-out guy, the woman walking her dog, or a co-worker in the hall -the workplace can also improve mental health.
Meet Sanford Behavioral Health Chief Operating Officer Tracy Rogers, LMHC
Meeting new people can improve mental health! Social interaction reduces loneliness and boosts mood. Likewise, connecting with new and interesting folks can even keep the brain active and contribute to better cognitive function. Sanford CEO Tracy Rogers says, “My primary focus has been creating a compassionate and inclusive culture that prioritizes well-being and growth for our employees, our clients, and the surrounding community. In my experience, a positive employee culture directly impacts patient outcomes. I also think that a strong company culture promotes safety, accountability, open communication, and effective teamwork.” CLICK HERE for more on the benefits of openness and teamwork.
12. Learn from your mistakes and adopt what works to improve your daily life!
Ideas to Bolster Your Mental Health – 12 Days of Hope Series 2024
Last year, we published a series of hopeful ideas for improving mental health during the winter holidays and beyond, too! CLICK HERE for 2024’s great ideas, including awe walks, being a role model for your children, and changing the drinking norms in your social sphere!
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, eating disorders, co-occurring mental health conditions, or daily functioning, don’t wait to change your life for the betterโ click the link below to speak with an admissions specialist today. Our programs are varied, including 3-hour, 3 times per week intensive outpatient programs.
