Setting therapy-related goals!

[Ennui.]

I wasn't sure if I should put this in mental health or here, but I mean, they ARE goals so.


I started therapy again yesterday and the therapist wants me to create a list of long and short-term goals. I'm not sure where to start to be honest and was wondering what you all think! Obviously, not all goals will apply to me specifically, but it may spark ideas. So far I have:

• Work on my anxiety/other negative mental health issues related to driving
• Work on scheduling myself so I don't overwhelm myself. Going along with this, learning to say no and prioritize.
• Work on the thoughts, etc associated with my eating habits. While I don't have an ED, my eating habits are disordered.
• Find better replacement behaviors for self harm.
• Find better coping and self-care mechanisms.

I'm not sure what else may be good but I'm open to suggestions!

[Celyn]

I like your goals!

When I started therapy, I wasn't sure what goals to set either, so I just said I wanted to work on anxiety and self-esteem. I like how yours were more specific than mine and I think the more specific the better sometimes!

[Arabesque- golfing girl.]

Hello, what great goals you have Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us and I wish you the best with all of this too. You will do great. Lots of hugs.

I think those are good goals! Best of luck with therapy.

[Panda Solo]

Hi Dez,

Thank you for sharing with us, I wish all the best for you. Here's some tips on making short-term and long-term goals.

Short term goals are those that can be achieve in days, weeks, or several months such as change of diet (eating more vegetable, drinking more water), getting a good grade in a following quiz/exam, saving to buy a good camera, cleaning the living room, getting a job, reading a book, learn 10 vocabularies in a foreign langauge, losing several pounds, making calls to relatives and good friends, learn how to play a specific piano piece,.etc). They should be achievable, specific, realistic, and clear.

Long term goals are generally life and career goals that takes more than a year to acomplish, and they can be qualities and habits that you wanna learn and keep for a lifetime. (be a life-long learner, graduate from University, get a masters/PhD degree, buy a house, get married and be a good parent, live a healthy lifestyle, lose more than 20 pounds, be a life-long reader, speak a foreign language fluently, and so on.)
Long term change/goals are made by countless short term goals. Each successfully achomplished STG boosts our confience and encourages us to keep going. Long term goals should be realistic and achievable in a way that they could be broken down to doable short term goals, and you have to sincerely want to achieve those LTG because they take so much time.

[Dawn.]

Hi Dez!

I think they are amazing goals to have as well and it's awesome you do have something to work on.

[Mallika]

Hi Dez,

Thank you so much for sharing these with us! It's always great to set some goals to overcome what's been challenging us - the very fact that you've thought these goals through and are planning on working them is half the battle won

I wish you the very best of luck. The goals look amazing. I like how you've made some detailed goals. Whenever the going gets tough as you work on these goals, remember to keep going. You're already on the right track