5 Daily Habits That Are Actually Hurting Your Mental Health
This article first appeared on the Talkspace blog.
If you’re anything like me, you have a routine set in place from the moment you wake up.
Open eyes.
Check the dog…yep, still breathing.
Roll over and check on my boyfriend — yup, he’s still breathing, too.
From there, I immediately grab my phone and open each social media app to see what breaking news I’ve missed over the last, oh, six hours, and then begin my day.
Some of my routines, the morning workout, might be beneficial, but the more I work on my mental health, the more I realize that some of my daily habits could potentially be harming my well-being. Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit and former business writer for the New York Times, writes that “Routines are the organizational analogue of habits,” and that starting new habits can be as difficult as breaking bad ones — but that harnessing the power of routine can have powerful effects on both productivity and our mental state.
Below, we’ll discuss a few of the most common habits, how they might be harming your mental health, and how to improve them.
