19 Unhealthy Habits for Your Mental Health

Did you know? For most of us, poor mental health is due to these unhealthy habits we follow every day. Find out these 19 unhealthy habits for your mental health.

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Struggling with mental health is common for everyone, while many mental health issues require serious therapy to understand the root cause and solution.

Other issues that are not that serious come from a few habits in our daily life.

We may not realize it, but these habits are building up and contributing to our poor mental health!

I am no psychologist or have any such qualification to share about mental health solutions,

But I am someone who has experienced poor mental health for many years in the past, and what I realized was

The reasons for my poor mental health were the few things I was doing every day.

When I stopped doing them, the constant sadness and anxiety slowly went away.

Below, I will share those 19 unhealthy habits for your mental health, if you don’t lie in any of the given below and struggling with poor mental health.

I highly encourage you to seek a profession to help you find a root cause and help.

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19 Unhealthy Habits for Your Mental Health

1. Negative self-talk

One of the first things I discovered that resulted in my poor mental health years ago was negative self-talk.

I have talked about it in many of my posts before, the negative self-talk was a part of my life for many years and resulted in many issues

low self-esteem
Struggling to try new things
Always feel low, and frustrated with myself

I realized on a fine day how many mean things I say to myself in my head all the time.

Things, I am ugly, I am not talented, I can’t do this

Being a victim of everything feels easier, to us, and that is one of the things that results in negative self-talk

After realizing, when I started to consciously reverse these habits, it took time…months

I started, to practice positive affirmations and be mindful of the words I used for myself

and slowly, it went away…

I could feel the burden lighting of my head, feeling light after the voice inside me was gone.

Notice how you speak to yourself, if you are being harsh, then, you need to remove this habit ASAP!

Because it’s not only contributing to feeling low but also not making you take risks and enjoy life, do things you want to do without doubting yourself!

And it’s the voice inside you, it can go away if you make it stop!

2. Not moving your body at all

Okay…hear me out!

We all love to lie on our bed and just spend our day watching TV or hardly moving, don’t we?

But, have you ever noticed that when you actually do this on a Sunday or holiday, you spend too much time on your bed or hardly move, which you love to

Do you end up feeling more low? You feel too lazy to even get up and more depressed about things in life.

I am sure many of us can relate to it.

When you go about your life without spending even 30 minutes of the day actively, moving your body

You will feel low to some extent.

However, if you find anything you enjoy doing that comes under sports or exercise. You will feel better after doing it and through the day.

Even if you are feeling sad because of something else, actively moving your body will help you boost your mood

No matter how much you want to deny, it is the truth. Moving your body every day is really essential for mental well-being.

I know because I have experienced this!

3. Staying at home all day

I learned this at the start of this year… how staying at home all day can be damaging to your mental health.

I spent most of my time last year at home, weeks and months just not going out.

And the result of my mental was bad. All year, I experienced depression, but this was not the only reason.

I was going through a rough time in life, but this habit was worsening it

By the end of the year, I started to go out almost every day

I experienced a sudden boost in my mental health, and that’s when I realized this

Moreover, one of my friends experienced depression a few years back, and she mentioned that staying indoors was one of the main reasons for it

Once she changed her environment and started going out, she overcame depression naturally.

Make sure to go out of the house every day, even if, it is for a grocery run, going to the park for 15 minutes.

Don’t stay indoors all day!

4. Not getting Sunlight

Another major reason why staying indoors always causes poor mental health

Sunlight or Vitamin D for the sun is an essential part of our mental health.

When we are out in the sun, we get vitamin D, which contributes to mental well-being

as well as the release of a hormone called Serotonin,

When sunlight enters your eyes, it stimulates the parts of your retina that then cue your brain to produce serotonin. Serotonin appears to play a role in regulating mood, emotions, appetite, and digestion.

That’s why you may heard the term winter depression, as in winter we see less sunlight.

5. Using Too much Social media

In recent years, social media has become one of the major reasons for poor mental health for many.

I love social media and find a great way to learn and connect, but sadly these apps are made in such a way.

So we can stay glued to it all day long,

It’s essential to be away from the screen because not only it’s damaging for the brain, but it is also keeping you away from the real world.

If you don’t believe it, then try it for yourself.

Challenge yourself to not use social media for 1 week only and see how you feel by the end of the week.

6. Unhealthy sleep cycle

Many people sadly believe that sleep is not important and we are wasting time by sleeping, and also try to stay awake all night and sleep during the day.

I want to break it to you that both these beliefs are wrong scientifically.

Sleep is an important part of our health, and I cannot stress enough. Sleep is just not rested and lying down whenever you want

Our body functions by nature, When the sun sets down

A hormone called melatonin is produced that helps in sleep, which is why, it is essential to sleep at night.

Moreover, apart from taking rest, during sleep is the time our body starts the healing process.

That’s why, you sometimes notice that when you wake up, you feel sore because your body was working all night repairing.

And the repairing is only possible when you deeply, sleep AT NIGHT!

The quality of sleep is essential for our overall well-being, which also includes our mental health!

7. Not having hobbies

I did not realize until this year how essential, hobbies are in our life

In fact, it is a must for each person to have one hobby!

Hobbies are the happy factor in our lives that help us step away from work-life relationships, and chores, and spend 1 hour solely having fun and doing something we enjoy.

It’s what adds fun in life which you do not need to depend on others to do with

It’s your sacred time, your happy place, which will be there forever

You have to find an activity that is not a part of your work, income, or anything other than having fun by yourself

It could be painting, dancing, golf, or anything else, but you must add hobbies to your life

here are two posts I have written sharing amazing hobbies for you

8. Victim/complaining mindset

This is a tough one but something, that contributes to a major of our mental health suffering.

We, humans, tend to complain and be victims a lot. Don’t get offended by this because it’s our human tendency.

It happens with EVERYONE, One thing in our life goes wrong, and we think everything is falling apart.

We complain so much about life daily that it causes most of the unhappiness in life.

But, why do we complain and try to be a victim all the time? From what I have experienced

it is because we feel easier to feel victim than take action for our life

having the courage to rebel seems more challenging.

When I was going through rough times myself, I used to complain a lot, and I realized that it was only me, who was making the suffering grow larger.

Letting go of this complaining habit and victim mindset is going to take a lot of time, but it is truly essential.

Instead of complaining about what going wrong, accept the reality and take action. Work on things you can control and let go of rest.

9. Following the same routine all year

So many of us feel low without any, serious reason because our days are mostly the same. We are doing the same routine all year.

We don’t add excitement or change of routine in our life.

That’s why things like going on a vacation occasionally, going out on a long drive, and joining a hobby club are promoted.

It helps you break the cycle and try something different.

Notice for yourself, are you following the same daily routine every day? How long have you been doing this?

Try stepping away and make some tweaks in your life and see how it changes your mood!

10. Lack of me-time

“Lack of me-time” is a phrase that refers to not having enough personal time for oneself.

It signifies a feeling of being overwhelmed or too busy with various responsibilities, such as work, family, or other obligations,

which leaves little or no time for self-care, relaxation, or pursuing one’s interests and hobbies.

Having enough “me-time” is essential for maintaining mental and emotional well-being.

It allows individuals to recharge, reduce stress, and focus on their own needs and desires.

In case you are looking for ways to spend me-time: 23 Mindful Me Time Activities you will absolutely love

11. Unhealthy eating habits

The food we eat can have a significant impact on our mental health. The connection between nutrition and mental well-being is a complex and multifaceted one,

influenced by various factors such as the types of foods consumed, dietary patterns, individual physiology, and overall lifestyle.

The nutrients in the food we eat are essential for the proper functioning of our brains. deficiencies in these nutrients can contribute to mood disorders, cognitive decline, and other mental health issue

12. Not making time for personal development

When you are not making time for personal growth and working on yourself.

You can feel stuck, lost, or even low in some areas of your life

With time, we need to grow and keep working on becoming a better version of ourselves.

Otherwise, we will be stuck in one place, which can affect our mental health vastly.

If, you have been feeling like this, try to work on personal growth and ways you can better yourself.

I have many posts that share ways to do that – check below-

13. Avoiding Mental Health Support:

A common reason for being stuck in poor mental health is avoiding your mental health struggles in the first place.

Not taking mental health seriously….many people avoid seeking help when they are struggling with mental health issues due to stigma or a belief that they should be able to handle things on their own.

This can lead to delayed treatment and worsened symptoms or keep you stuck, in the same cycle.

Prioritize your mental health and work on it.

14. Constantly comparing yourself to others.

Comparing ourselves, and our lives with others has a lot of negative effects on our lives because the moment we see someone in a better place than us.

We feel sad and envious,

With the boom in social media usage, it has become quite natural for all of us to subconsciously compare our lives to others on the feed.

We compare their amazing highlights to our worst days and feel sad.

If we shift our focus to comparing ourselves with only ourselves and trying to be better than we were yesterday

It would actually, help us in moving forward in our life than affecting our mental health!

15. Not Socializing with others

Going out, and meeting people is really important. Our social is also as important as any other.

Meeting new people in person and socializing with them engaging in meaningful conversations sometimes, having fun, or just learning at times

All of it, has a positive impact on our mood, making us feel whole!

Instead of spending so much time on the internet, try connecting in the real world more.

It may feel uncomfortable, in the beginning, but with time, it will be much better!

16. Overthinking

Another on the list of unhealthy habits for your mental health is overthinking, we all know, right?

Overthinking is 90 of the reasons for poor mental health!

We worry so much about the past, and future. Things that have not happened or may never, worry about, are already in advance creating stories in our heads.

This is a common problem for all of us. Hence, it’s a must that we stop overthinking and start focusing on the present

I know it’s easier to say that, but we have to try and make an effort each day. As we will keep working on it every day, the habit of overthinking will start diminishing slowly.

17. Trying to control everything

No matter how much bitter it sounds, not everything in life is in our control.

There is a very thin line between, knowing when to accept your situation because you cannot control it and knowing what things are in your control and working on it!

I hope you got my point

In short, there are things we can control, and there are things we cannot.

For things we have control over, we should make efforts to change our situation, while for things, we cannot control, instead of worrying and trying to control, let them go.

Because no matter how much you worry or try to control it, it won’t happen. Shift your energy to better things instead, trust me, there is always a way.

18. Living in a messy closed space

Our environment has a profound effect on our life, and our mental health as well.

If we live in a closed messy space, the negative energy gets reflected in our life.

For example: you notice, that whenever you visit a hotel room or resort, you feel instantly so calm,

the aesthetic, the environment, and the fragrance there all light you up and calm you

doesn’t it?

The same goes for your home, the place you spend most of your life. If it’s clean and calming. You will feel the same.

But if it’s the opposite, it will affect your mental health as well!

19. Not expressing yourself

Lastly, Not expressing yourself when you are suffering can worsen your mental health.

This is something I learned from my friend experience who went through depression and all year she kept everything to herself

this kept adding more baggage to her mind as she did not share what she was going through

It was only after she expressed this to her family, that things got better

not she felt lighter, but her family supported her.

It is very important to express yourself, especially when you are going through a tough time.

That is why therapists spend hours listening to you so you can let out all your baggage!

Conclusion

So these were the 19 unhealthy habits for your mental health according to me, If you notice yourself following any of these habits and have been struggling from poor mental health

Try to remove that habit from your life and see the difference it makes!

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19 Unhealthy Habits for Your Mental Health