As we enter a new year laden with uncertainty, our mental health and sense of well-being are being tested. It’s OK (and normal) to fail these tests once in a while.

Here are some of the insights from the last year.

Find mental health careIndividual sessions with a therapist are effective for a lot of people. For others, they’re expensive, time-consuming or impractical. But therapy can come in many different forms, and if you can, make it a habit and priority to manage your mental health before you reach a breaking point.If you can’t afford such services, you can look for other options. Your workplace, school or place of worship may have free sessions with counselors. There are hotlines and warmlines to call.

Personalize your careWhat does resting and destressing look like for you? Does it look like sitting in a cross-legged position and chanting mantras, or does it look like hiking up to the highest peak in your area? Does it look like curling up in a blanket and reading, tending to your garden, getting to the ocean to surf or playing your favorite video games? Find the combination that leaves you feeling rejuvenated.Similarly, if you’re looking for a therapist, what kind of therapist would be best at understanding your challenges? A therapist’s job is to help you with your goals for mental well-being. So first, figure out your goals.

DestigmatizingSharing our own stories — even if it’s just to our small circle of loved ones — can encourage empathy and help others feel less alone.This includes when we are talking to young kids about difficult topics. The American Psychological Association encourages parents to acknowledge their own feelings and emotions to show that they’re human. And don’t forget that destigmatizing mental health challenges includes giving ourselves grace when we’re struggling.

Learn how to relaxMarlene Valter, psychologist and founder of the mental health company AnaVault, acknowledged that not everyone is able to take a break or walk away when something stressful happens.Valter suggested getting in the habit of taking five to 10 seconds to scan your body for tension from the top of your head to your toes, relaxing all your muscles along the way. And you can do that throughout the day, 50 times a day, she said.“Now when you’re facing a stressor, a deadline, a difficult boss or co-worker or family member, you can take five seconds to relax and face the trauma and forever change the wiring of your brain,” said Valter. “This gets you off of an old hamster wheel of anxiety.”At the end of the day, she said, it’s not about living a stress-free life. It’s about tackling your challenges.

Feel free to reassessIf whatever you’re doing to manage your mental health isn’t working, try something else.“I always tell my clients during the consult that the first few sessions are going to be assessing fit,” Anjali Alimchandani, a psychologist and an advisory board member of the National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network, said.“If a therapist doesn’t work out, that doesn’t mean therapy is not a good fit,” David Rudesill, a psychotherapist at Cal State Los Angeles, said. “Find another one. Some people do this for several sessions, or even for years, and then they drop out, they stop going or they make an excuse, and it’s unfortunate, because something didn’t change that they wanted to change.”