The new year is not merely a period when the calendar changes; it is also a symbolic threshold where the idea of ‘starting over’ intensifies psychologically. During this period, phrases such as ‘This year I will focus on myself,’ ‘me first,’ and ‘I will choose myself’ become commonplace in both individual discourse and social media. While this emphasis on psychological well-being may initially appear to be a sign of healthy awareness, it does not always represent a genuine inner transformation.
This article aims to discuss the fine line between self-awareness and self-escape by examining the concept of ‘turning inward,’ which has become popular alongside New Year’s resolutions, in light of psychological theories.
Turning Inward: The Uncomfortable Side Of Awareness
In psychology, turning inward involves the individual being able to notice not only their positive emotions but also their challenging internal experiences. Self-awareness does not, as is often believed, only create peace and tranquillity; on the contrary, it also brings with it contact with emotions such as anxiety, guilt, regret, and uncertainty. Therefore, the process of self-reflection is not always comforting; it is often challenging.
Mindfulness-based approaches particularly emphasise this uncomfortable dimension of awareness.
True awareness requires the individual to make space not only for thoughts that ‘feel good’ but also for emotions and thoughts they tend to avoid. In this context, turning inward is less about a technique that increases emotional comfort and more about the courage to connect with one’s içsel gerçeklik.
Escaping Oneself: The Masks Of Well-Being
The increased motivation and personal development discourse that comes with the new year can, in some cases, overlap with psychological defence mechanisms. Defences such as repression, denial and glorification allow the individual to postpone emotional confrontations for which they are not yet ready.
The emphasis on ‘positive thinking’ may render difficult emotions invisible rather than facilitating their processing.
At this point, the statement ‘I am focusing on myself’ may indicate not that the individual is in touch with their inner world, but rather that they are delaying this contact through aesthetic language.
The constant obligation to feel good may reinforce the impression that the individual cannot cope with negative emotions, rather than legitimising them. Thus, the state of well-being transforms into a performance rather than an experience.
New Year From An Existential Psychology Perspective
According to existential psychology, an individual’s psychological development requires confronting the inevitable realities of life. Anxiety, uncertainty, loneliness, and meaninglessness are not pathological but natural parts of being human. As Rollo May and Irvin Yalom emphasise, it is not by avoiding these feelings but by engaging with them that the individual approaches psychological wholeness.
From this perspective, the new year is less a romantic beginning where ‘everything will be fine’ and more an invitation for the individual to take responsibility for their own life.
Real change begins when the individual stops postponing uncomfortable questions.
Psychological Flexibility: An Alternative Definition Of Well-Being
Psikolojik esneklik refers to an individual’s capacity to act in accordance with their values despite challenging emotions. The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach defines well-being not as avoiding emotions, but as learning to live with them. This perspective removes happiness as a constant goal, making it a by-product of a meaningful life.
The concept of psychological flexibility is rooted in the idea that individuals can adapt to new situations and challenges by accepting their emotions and committing to meaningful actions. Setting New Year’s resolutions solely on the basis of ‘feeling better’ may cause the individual to become vulnerable to inevitable emotional fluctuations. Psychological resilience, however, enables the individual to maintain contact with life even during challenging periods.
Conclusion: Is The New Year A Beginning Or A Postponement?
The new year can offer an individual a real opportunity for transformation; however, this transformation is possible not only by clinging to positive emotions, but also by embracing the uncomfortable. Turning inward is not always a healing experience; it often requires the individual to face the truths they have been avoiding.
Perhaps the real question is this: in the new year, is the individual truly turning inward, or have they merely found a more aesthetic and acceptable way to escape from themselves?
True transformation does not begin when the calendar changes; it begins when the individual stops postponing contact with their own internal conflicts. The new year does not have to offer the promise of ‘fixing’ everything; sometimes it is enough to simply remind us of the courage to stand alongside questions we are not yet ready for.
Perhaps psychological well-being is less about finally feeling good and more about the capacity to honestly recognise what is being felt — the foundation of all içgörü.
References
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156.
May, R. (1983). The discovery of being: Writings in existential psychology. W. W. Norton & Company.
Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books.