4 Habits that harm your Mental Health

 




Mental health awareness has become more discussed than ever, which is excellent. We need more of these conversations to remind others:

“Hey, you are not alone in this. I understand you.”

While it’s important to make others feel less alone in life, it’s also great to remind ourselves of bad habits that harm our mental health.

If you always feel like you are in a bad mood, try to look at your environment and the habits you apply every day without being aware of it.

I’m sure you have a bad habit that is harmful to your mental health. You may not be aware of it until you become aware of what the problem is.

What I will share with you is based on my own personal guidance as I’ve had these thoughts before thinking: “Wow, these habits really bring me down mentally.”

Here are the four habits that are harmful to your mental health.


1.You Are Using The Technologies Way Too Much…

This is one of the most addictive habits most people have these days.

Suppose you don’t spend time on social media. In that case, you will spend time playing video games the whole day or watching the news on television without taking a break.

The more time I spend consuming technologies, the more lifeless I feel. I feel less of a real human being.

I mean, why watch tv shows of people living their life to the fullest when you can turn off the tv and create magic in your own life?

Why are other people’s lives on tv more worth than your own life?

I know you love music, but please take the headphones off once you are in nature and listen to the beauty of nature instead. Once you come home, you can listen to your favorite songs.

That is my suggestion, but you do you, I just feel more alive listening to the sound of nature or birds singing in the morning. It helps to make you stay in the present moment a lot more.

I know it sounds cliche, but it feels amazing.

It can be too much for your mental health if you spend time on the computer the whole day. Doing too much of the same thing makes you feel bored.

We, as humans, aren’t designed to be on the computer all the time.

The technologies shouldn’t control you — You should control the technologies.

Control your consumption of technologies, and you take your power back.


2.You Scroll Down On Social Media As First Thing In The Morning…

There is so much toxicity on social media, and there is a darker side to social media. Misusing it is a bad habit, and social media should never be the priority in the morning.

It’s been more common to scroll down on useless posts on auto-pilot. It’s as if you don’t know what you are doing, but it’s draining your energy.

It’s difficult to have a great day if you compare your life to other people on social media, which can harm your mental health.

People only show the positive side of their life online, and you never know what happens when the camera is turned off.

You prioritize your smartphone more than your family, which is a problem.

Nothing in life can fulfill you more than having meaningful relationships with those who love you.


3.You Don’t Get Physical Exercise As Much As You Should…

Science said exercise helps to fight off depression, adding:

“Even just a few hours of exercise a week can help depression. Exercise improves mood and protects against future bouts of depression.”

I recently started jogging for at least an hour, and I come back home feeling more alive than I did an hour ago. I feel less depressed and happier.

Getting plenty of exercises is the primary key to a healthy body; also, getting exercise is good for your mind, body, and soul.

It has been proven that regular exercise helps to reduce stress, prevents anxiety and depression, boosts your self-esteem, and improves the quality of your sleep.

Your body releases endorphins (the happy hormones) which are linked to happiness and are your body’s natural way of responding to stress, anxiety, and pain in your body.


4. You Get Zero To No Sleep At All…

I used to have trouble sleeping at night, especially if I had plans the next day.

Getting too much sleep is unhealthy, and getting no sleep is also harmful. There needs to be a balance in everything you do.

I know that if I don’t get sleep, it’s because I spend a lot of time on my phone, which has blue lights in it. The blue lights make me stay awake for a more extended period.

Sleepfoundation.org explained how blue lights affect the sleep:

“Blue light suppresses the body’s release of melatonin, a hormone that makes us feel drowsy. While this may be helpful during the day, it becomes unhelpful at night when we’re trying to sleep. Being exposed to blue light in the evening can trick our brain into thinking it’s still daytime, disrupting circadian rhythms and leaving us feeling alert instead of tired.”

The other reason why you don’t get sleep is that you are overthinking and overthinking can kill you. I know it’s not easy to stop overthinking and this is why I often suggest meditation as it helps you to calm down.

I used to overthink a lot until I started meditating in my daily life.


What You Can Do Instead…

Stop looking at your phone first thing in the morning. Instead, replace it with habits such as meditating or taking a walk in the park with a cup of coffee.

Like I said, avoid going on social media first thing in the morning. It would be much better if you woke up writing a list of the things you are grateful for or simply playing uplifting music in the background.

You don’t have to exercise for 1 hour, but you can always start small such as stretching out for a few minutes or simply taking a walk outside to move your body. It’s much better to work out in the morning than scroll down on social media.

Try to be aware of why you don’t get enough sleep. Is it because you spend too much time on your phone before falling asleep? Your phone has blue lights on it, and the blue light can be one of the causes of having trouble falling asleep.

If you have trouble falling asleep due to overthinking, try to meditate daily or exercise.

It helps to drink a warm cup of tea. These two tips can help you become more tired because you’ve been working out mentally and physically.


The Closing Statement…

I’m very grateful that mental health gets more recognition and awareness today.

If you think life only worsens, look at where we were 20 years ago.

Mental health was taboo, and you would be seen as “crazy” for having normal breakdowns. No one took it seriously back then, as we do now.

Life has only gotten better when we raise important awareness.

It’s important not to take everything too seriously all the time. It helps you look at the bright side of a situation.

You may lash out at someone, but you can always think back, “Wow, how silly of me to be so dramatic!”  It’s a healthy way of being easy on yourself.

A few tips on feeling better are watching comedy shows, laughing more, dancing, singing, reading funny stories, petting your cat or dog, and perhaps traveling around the world to gain higher awareness and improve your confidence.

I hope we get mental health as a subject in school one day in the future.

Just know that you are not alone in this.

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