Tonight, another year ends, and we welcome in 2026. At Burton & District Mind, we understand that this can bring with it some difficult emotions, so we think this is a good opportunity for us to discuss that.
Back on January 1st, 2025, you probably had an idea as to how you’d like the year to go with goals, hopes and maybe a few things you’d like to work on throughout the year. These could be work-related, about your health, or even related to the relationships in your life. Now 12 months on, it’s only natural to look back on everything you may have done over the past year.
For some, the year may not have worked out in the way you hoped. Whether that be because you didn’t reach targets, or just never got the chance to do the things you hoped to do. This can lead to feelings of disappointment and even regret.
However, just because you never achieved the goals that you set at the start of the year, that doesn’t automatically mean something bad or that the year has been wasted. For every goal you may not have reached, you may have overcome 10 different challenges that may have felt like everyday things in the moment, but in reality, are big achievements.
Try to not look at it as what you didn’t achieve, but instead what you did achieve.
So please, we’d like to invite you to stop reading this blog post and spend 30 seconds (or more) just thinking about the things you have done this year. You could even write them down if you wish…
These could be anything from…
- Overcoming social challenges and putting yourself out there more. Perhaps you put yourself in a social setting you’d normally avoid.
- Spending more time doing the things you enjoy
- Reading a set target of books
- Eating healthier
For example, here are some of ours!
- Reaching 1000 followers on Burton & District Mind’s Facebook page. It’s been a long process reaching that target, but we finally did it!
- Launching our brand-new website
- Running a wider variety of activity projects across Staffordshire
- Having our Bat & Chat Cricket on BBC News
- Our Safe Haven Crisis Café moved to a new location in central Tamworth
And even after doing this, if you still feel disappointed in the year just gone, that can be more motivation for 2026!
The end of a year can also bring in some other challenging thoughts…
If you don’t have any plans to celebrate, it can sometimes be a very lonely time of the year. Especially if you are looking on Instagram and seeing Stories of people out having a great time etc.
If you are struggling with loneliness, here are some things you can do:
- Keep yourself busy. You could plan a day of activities that may help distract you and keep you busy throughout. Just because you’re not out in a crowd of people doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun day.
- Perhaps you could reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Sometimes with friends, it can be like a game of chicken, waiting for the other to reach out first out of fear of being annoying, so take the first step!
- Look at other local groups that may be taking something on the night that you may be interested in joining.
- Remember, at the end of the day, New Years is just one night in a year full of many. Even if you don’t end up doing anything exciting for that one night, there are plenty of opportunities after.
If you are struggling with your mental health on that night, please remember that you are not alone.
Whilst our main office may be closed on that day, we’ll be running our Virtual Peer Support Group, and our Safe Haven Crisis Café will be open too.
For more information on our Safe Haven Crisis Café please check out our website -> https://www.burtonmind.co.uk/
Additionally, Mind has a service called Side by Side.
This is a 24/7 online community with someone to talk to ,whether it be day or night. If you’d like some more information on what this is, you can find that here -> https://sidebyside.mind.org.uk/
If you need Urgent Support, please find it here -> https://burtonmind.co.uk/urgent-help/
From all of us at Burton & District Mind, we hope everyone has a wonderful New Year, and an even better 2026. Lets make 2026 a great year for our mental health.
