As we journey through our mental health management, it’s important to be able to recognize the need for tools and how they serve a role in our recovery. I am sharing here the mental health goals, the smart goals examples, and the mental health coping skills list. I will also explain why it is important to create measurable mental health goals. I have spoken about building your mental health toolbox, and my mind led me to our first tool: The Tape Measure.
The Tape Measure
The Tape Measure to me represents; Goal setting, the length of time they will take, and all the steps necessary to take in between.
When you open a tape measure, you notice all the little marks that get you to each desired length. This concept also applies to goal setting. It is important that we brainstorm each small step that needs to be taken to reach our goals. If we miss steps, this could lead to setbacks or disappointment when the plan does not go as you pictured.
I like to use the example of my brother Ben, when we were kids we had a treehouse, he, of course, did not want us girls in there so he thought it would be best to remove some of the top stairs to keep us out. The problem is that it also became difficult for him to get in ultimately leading him to fall out of the treehouse, and eventually putting the steps back on. If we don’t properly plan out our goals, we will fall short, and in turn, push these hopes and dreams aside assuming that they are unreachable or never going to happen. This is why it is important to create measurable mental health goals.
Have you ever heard of mental health goals called SMART goals? I use this regularly with my consumers and in my videos. It’s a simple concept to use and makes a lot of sense. You can read more about this at: www.mindtools.com. Here I give you some mental health goals examples. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time.
SMART Mental Health Goals
Specific –
Before you start a project, you use your tape measure to identify specific measurements, this way you will get exactly what you need and have it all laid out for more successful completion. When setting goals, you need to be as specific as possible, this will prevent any confusion or uncertainty about what it is you want, and when it’s achieved you will know that you got exactly what you were hoping for. Simply saying you want to manage your mental health is too broad, overwhelming, and too much all at once.
By stating you want to manage your depression; we aren’t quite sure why or what that would look like if your depression was managed. An example would be, “I want to be able to manage my depression daily by taking all my morning medications by 8:00 am every day by December 2021.” You could take that a step further depending on what this would look like for you. Another example could be “I want to reduce my anxiety in the community while grocery shopping by using one grounding technique 50% of the time by October 2021.” Check out the “Golden Rules of Goal Setting” tab in the same above link, this will provide you with some more tips on setting your mental health goals.
Measurable –
Next, we are going to make sure that our mental health goals are measurable. By adding a percentage or a number amount, you are giving your goal more substance to better gauge where you are at in achieving your goal and hold yourself accountable. Let me explain why it is important to create measurable mental health goals. The more measurable you can be the better.
By stating you want to lose 20 pounds in a weight loss goal, this can feel daunting and difficult, but by breaking it down further and stating you want to lose 1 pound a week for the next 5 months. It appears more manageable. If your goal was to add one new coping skill a week to manage your mental health, you would be able to see that progress or not. The most important piece in goal setting is making sure it’s important to you and for you.
Achievable –
Achievable – this to me is one of the most important ones. Because if we do not set ourselves up with something realistic, defeat kicks in and really sets the tone for any others goals we choose to set for ourselves. When managing your mental health if your goal is to be symptom-free for 1 year. That’s unrealistic, we all experience a mental health roller coaster throughout the year. We are human beings with emotions and stressors. But if your goal is to remain medication compliant over the next year to manage your mental health, with the proper steps and accountability this is achievable.
You want to make sure that you recognize your resources, daily/weekly schedules, and support, at times working hard on our goals can be challenging, making them a far stretch to reach will decrease our motivation and self-esteem. We have to make sure that our mental health goals are always in sight, this will keep your energy levels up, giving us the push, you need to keep going.
Relevant –
Relevant mental health goals are necessary because they demonstrate their importance to you. When picturing your marks on the tape measure ask yourself “Does this goal matter to me now?” “Is this the right timing, or should I be focusing my attention on other things first?” When we choose goals that potentially put the cart before the horse, this can quickly make us lose steam, because it’s not important and other action items take center stage. Write down the “why’s” of your goal and keep it close, this always gives us a good reminder and a little boost when we are getting discouraged.
Time –
Finally, time helps us keep focused. It gives us a beginning and an end. Without a timestamp, it becomes never-ending and loses its priority in your life. Time is the driving factor for us to work hard, set appropriate steps and cross them off our list each time we complete them. I believe time frames keep our eye on the prize. The victory dance is much sweeter when we can see the end and know we completed what we set out to do. However, again make sure it’s an achievable time frame, it should not be something that becomes stressful and anxiety-producing.
Mental Health Goals – The Tape Measure
Pick up your tape measure, open it and start asking yourself, “What do I need to achieve my mental health goals?” “What do I want to change about my mental health?” “What resources and steps must I take in order to work on my recovery and feel my best?” For every mark on the tape measure, jot down a step and a resource before you know it you will have a whole list of ideas to get you started. Follow me on YouTube, Facebook or http://vikinglandcsp.azurewebsites.net. Here are a few more resources to check out while setting your goals: https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-exercises, https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/nc-smart-goals-fact-sheet.pdf. Stay connected for more mental health coping skills list coming on Healthieyoo!
Rebecca Schmitz
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