Starting Off On A Good Foot

Have you ever had a conversation with rock climbers about how they do it?  If you’ve never climbed before, you may be under the impression that it’s all about upper body strength.  Actually, the opposite is true!  Your legs are much stronger than your arms, and most of climbing is about having a solid foundation with regard to positioning your feet.  

Good footing is important in all walks of life and is the foundation for success.  We’re in the middle of the coldest time of the year when there’s the least amount of daylight.  Heating bills are high and people are often recovering from the holidays.  It sounds like a challenge to figure out, “what now?”  As we enter the month of January, kicking off a new year, we want to make sure that we start off on a good foot, so here’s some ideas:

1. Make new connections: Have you been thinking about checking out a volunteer opportunity or a support group?  Start off the new year with new relationships and some type of scheduled group activity.  This will help to set some regularity to the cold winter months and, most likely, will introduce you to some good people who are ready for something or someone one.  You can be that person.

2. Explore a new hobby: Look through the library shelves and read up on a hobby that you’ve been interested in but haven’t explored yet.  Low on cash?  Look for ideas on Internet sites such as Pinterest, where you can find craft ideas for items you probably have laying around the house already.  A little bit of hot glue goes a long way.

3. Read through a local community newspaper:  Chances are you’ll find something of interest, whether it’s a local news piece, a group or volunteer opportunity, or a new place to go explore.

4. Utilize community resources:  We already talked about local papers, which are often free and libraries, which are also free.  If you need any help with getting some food on your shelves or catching up on a bill, in any community, there are a lot of free resources to help you out.  The catch is that finding them is often the hard part.  That’s where input from peer-support groups can help.  You can also call up some of the larger churches in the area to get some ideas too, as they usually have resources for outreach and support.

If you’re struggling to get off on the right foot this New Year, we’re here to help.  At PTI we offer mental health screenings and assessments, group and individual therapy, medication management support, and much more.  We accept most major insurance plans, Medicaid, Medicare and offer most mental health services under one roof.  If you’ve been waiting to experience the PTI difference, then wait no longer and give us a call.