Mental Health New Year's Resolutions From the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
January 1, 2025 – 6 min read
By AFSP
Each new year brings hope and serves as a perfect time to look kindly at ourselves and set gentle intentions for managing our mental health in the year ahead. The holidays and January are also a nice moment to find comfort in community and purpose. With these thoughts in mind, here are some reflections from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s leadership team on their own goals for the coming year, and suggestions we might all draw inspiration from. If you’d like to get involved and meet others dedicated to the cause of suicide prevention in the year ahead, we encourage you to connect with your local AFSP chapter, consider volunteering, and make a difference in your own and others’ lives.
"Suicide prevention is gaining momentum, and I'm hopeful we will see a decrease in suicide in our country this year. I'm dedicated to doing everything I can in 2025 to make this a reality — and to carrying out the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s important mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide."
Bob Gebbia
AFSP Chief Executive Officer
“This coming year, I'm planning to focus on practicing active listening skills to help me connect better with my loved ones and colleagues. I’m also planning to pursue therapy for myself — not because of any sort of crisis, but because throughout my life, I've learned to listen carefully to even subtle signals when I feel it might be time to engage in therapy again. There doesn’t have to be a big reason. Mental health impacts our everyday lives and talking with someone occasionally helps me be my best, healthiest self.”
Dr. Christine Yu-Moutier
AFSP Chief Medical Officer
“By reaching out or by bravely sharing our stories with others, we can form lasting connections that allow us to learn, grow and gain understanding. Whether it's with our family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, or our favorite coffee barista, let’s make space together this year for these new connections or healthy relationships in our lives. Our days can often fill quickly, but having #realconvos with other people, sharing personal anecdotes or simply checking in with one another, can bring joy to our daily lives and is a protective factor for our mental health and against suicide risk.”
Stephanie Rogers
AFSP Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer
“I found out this morning (12/17/24) that my youngest brother passed away. He was a good friend, and I love him dearly. His loss will be hard to replace. I don't have many male friends, so losing one is particularly hard on me. I know that evidence is clear on the role our social network plays in both our physical and mental wellbeing. As an introvert, making friends has always been difficult, particularly with men. My new year's resolution is to strengthen the male friendships I currently have and be open to making new connections.”
Daniel Killpack
AFSP Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
“The new year is a time of reflection and new beginnings. This year, I encourage you to make a resolution to forgive yourself for past mistakes, broken relationships, and real or perceived failures, and remind yourself that you are not the sum of your past mistakes. One of the toughest parts of being human is experiencing the pain of being hurt by someone else, whether it's a deliberate act of cruelty or unintentional thoughtless behavior. But carrying resentment against ourselves can injure us even more.”
Victor Armstrong, MSW
AFSP Vice President for Health Equity & Engagement
“Something we’ve learned from suicide prevention research is that when someone is thinking of ending their lives and you want to help them, one of the first steps you can take to help relieve their pain is to simply listen and truly hear them share their experience, without judgement or fear. For someone in crisis, that one moment of feeling heard can be a life changer! So, this coming year, let’s all make it a point to learn how we can help #TalkAwayTheDark, and reach out to others in our lives.”
Dr. Jill Harkavy-Friedman
AFSP Senior Vice President of Research
“With every season, there is a reason to get involved and advocate to save lives through public policy related to suicide prevention and mental health. Anyone can sign up to be a Volunteer Advocate! With every new year, every new Congress, and every new Administration, there are opportunities — even amidst challenges — that empower us to prioritize the advancement of policies and funding related to this public health crisis. There’s so much we can all do, and there is reason to stay positive! And so, as we ring in the new year, I’m reminded of the chorus of one of my favorite 1970s disco songs, ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’ by McFadden and Whitehead — and I encourage you to join with me and sing these (slightly modified) lyrics:
‘Ain't no stoppin' us now
We're on the move
Ain't no stoppin' us now
We've got the (ADVOCACY) groove
Ain't no stoppin' us now….’”
Laurel Stine
AFSP Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer
“I have found that making strong personal connections helps me to enhance my emotional well-being. With that in mind, my 2025 New Year’s Resolution is to meet at least one AFSP volunteer I have not met before, from each of AFSP’s 73 Chapters. Spending time with compassionate, giving volunteers is definitely self-care for me. I encourage everyone to make it a point to reach out and increase personal connections in their own lives, as well, whether it means making new ones, or deepening the ones we already have.”
Janice Hurtado Aeppli
Senior Vice President, Chapter Operations
“As someone who recently had two (yes, two!) major hip surgeries in one year, and then went through months of grueling physical therapy and rehabilitation, I have a new perspective on my own resilience. Inspired by that experience, I’ve decided my new mantra for 2025 will be, ‘I can do hard things!’ Because of my role at AFSP, I like to think in terms of impact measurement, so I am also going to apply that to mental health and focus on short-term self-care outcome objectives, like setting aside 10-15 minutes daily for movement, knowing that the small self-care wins will pave the way for greater mental health outcomes down the road.”
Heather Mavronicolas
AFSP Vice President, Impact Measurement
“When I think about New Year’s resolutions, I think of the phrase, ‘Treat yourself like someone you love.’ That’s a phrase that really resonates for me. I feel gratified by the fact that it’s reflected in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s support programs for suicide loss survivors, and our suicide prevention education programs that include the importance of self-care. This coming year let’s all try and take a step back and see ourselves the way someone who adores us sees us. We all deserve that love, and I find this to be a truly healing exercise.”
Trisha Calabrese
AFSP Senior Vice President, Programs
“I’ve not always been big on New Year’s resolutions because most of the time people don’t keep them! But for 2025 I am renewing my commitment to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and its mission. I have the great honor to work with an incredible staff and passionate volunteer base to create an environment where we all can succeed. While I am approaching my 21st year with AFSP, I am as dedicated to our work as ever and will let nothing get in the way of our success! To quote one of my favorite artists, Bruce Springsteen:
‘We made a promise we swore we’d always remember: no retreat, no surrender.’”
Mike Lamma
AFSP Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer