Nine Habits That Are Bad for Your Mental Health
Hi, Kimberley here
Good Morning 😊
We’re up to day 3 of our light hearted look at habits and why some are good and why some are bad for you .. that way you can choose which ones to keep and also which ones it might not be a bad idea to change :)
Enjoy, and here’s to a transformative 2021
Kimberley xx
These nine habits can cause problems that eventually affect your mental health. Being aware of them can help you check yourself regularly to ensure that you’re not experiencing negative mental health issues based on your bad habits.
1. You Have Bad Posture – You might not think of something as physical as this to cause problems with mental health. However, if you tend to slouch and sit wrongly, your mood might go with it - especially if you tend to experience pain from your bad posture. And if you don’t now, you will as you age.
2. You’re Prone to Perfectionism – Some people think "perfectionism" is a good quality to have but the truth is, having perfectionist tendencies is not a good thing. It can mean that you’re procrastinating more or it may mean that you are fearful of your life, including both success and failure.
3. You Experience Guilt Easily – One of the worst emotions that you can allow yourself to have regularly is guilt. Most of the time, guilt is a useless emotion not based on real reasons to feel guilty. If you feel guilty regularly, you probably don’t feel loved or cared for, which can affect your mental health.
4. You Don’t Exercise Regularly – Being sedentary is one of the worst habits you can have. Some studies suggest it’s worse than smoking. That’s pretty bad. If you sit more than four hours a day, you’ll need to incorporate intentional exercise to avoid problems. When you don’t move much, you may end up depressed.
5. You Have a Negative Mindset – If you’ve allowed yourself to develop the habit of always thinking negatively about things, it’s time to turn that around. Negative thinking leads to anxiety and depression and feelings of powerlessness.
6. You Use Social Media Too Much – Reading social media posts is a proven bad habit for your health, especially your mental health. The main reason is that people tend to share and post more negativity than positivity.
7. You Don’t Have Downtime from Screen Time – If you transition from your work computer to your home computer to your TV, that’s way too much screen time. The light emitted from screens can interfere with your circadian rhythms, causing insomnia and daytime sleepiness.
8. You Don’t Get Enough Sleep – If you have a habit of staying up late and not sleeping enough, you need to try to ensure that you do sleep between 7 to 10 hours a night. Everyone needs different amounts but if you’re always tired, it will affect your mental health and make it harder for you to deal with issues.
9. You Don’t Stay Hydrated – Drinking enough water and liquids each day is an important component in ensuring good health. Many people walk around dehydrated and don’t realise it. If you are not counting your water and you feel tired, double check because it may be the water. When you feel tired, it can affect your mental health and make you foggy and unable to make good decisions.
These bad habits can lead to poor mental health due to the fact you’re not going to be operating at the top of your game. If you want to ensure your mental health remains as good as possible, try to reverse these bad habits.
Look out for tomorrow’s “Day 4 … Eight Seemingly Harmless Habits That Are Actually Bad for You”