Anxiety, depression derail adults from meeting New Year's resolution, study says

Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Anxiety and depression is the main cause of adults not sticking to their New Year's resolution, new data says.

According to a new survey published by BodyNutrition, more than 33 percent of women and 23 percent of men say anxiety and depression has prevented them from meeting any resolution in the past.

"I think people give up on their resolutions for two main reasons, they either pick too ambitious a goal, or anxiety and depression causes them to feel like they'll never achieve their goals," Michael Aragon, a marketing representative for BodyNutrition, told UPI.

More than 18 percent of adults and 21 percent of teens in the U.S. will suffer from mental illness in any given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health.

One study links social media to loneliness and recommends limiting time on sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to 30 minutes a day.

Another study associates more time on social media with a higher risk of depression.

This idea aligns with other research estimates that 77 percent of people in the U.S. have at least one social media profile.

According to the BodyNutrition data, more than 27 percent of men and more than 23 percent of women are going to focus on self-care in 2019.

"Self-care can mean many things to many different people. It can be anything from taking a mental health day to simply dressing nicely and thinking positively about yourself," Aragon said. "In recent years it's almost become a fad. I think the rising popularity of it has to do, at least partially, with the rise of anxiety as a major struggle for people."

The first step to self care is knowing whether there's a problem. The Centers for Disease Control has created a checklist for people to see if they have any symptoms for depression.