Get rid of bad habits once and for all!
Some of our habits are harmful to us. We know that we are hurting them by eternal repetition, but we cannot stop them because they have the advantage of releasing stress and being able to get us at ease temporarily.
Because the practice of bad habits brings only short-term defense against internal tension, and also brings guilt and embarrassment that we can’t get rid of them, they become just another source of stress that forces us to repeat our bad habits, so we’re still in a vicious circle of stress and unresolved resolutions.
Bad habits are caused by repressed emotions
The source of bad habits is mismanagement of stress and mental imbalance (which you may not even realize). Stress evokes negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, jealousy, etc. The most important thing to do if you want to get rid of your bad habits is to understand your (suppressed) emotions that stress you and motivate bad habits. The more you suppress your negative emotions, the harder you will be to get rid of the bad habits you release those emotions.
The problem disappears when you learn to vent your emotions differently.
Emotional causes of some bad habits
Deep psychology sometimes gives a special explanation of our bad habits. Try to get rid of the repressed emotions that cause them and you will be pleasantly surprised. Getting rid of bad habits will be easier.
Burping: The cause of this predominantly male habit may be the suppressed aggression and anger that you have not spent and so you unknowingly “expel” it (eg, when you are too overwhelmed with work).
Smoking: Fear, escape from the cruel reality of everyday life, unwillingness to see reality as it is.
Snoring: Resistance to change, staying dead. It is surprising that, according to deep psychologists, snoring is also a bad habit. Snoring does not have to be caused only by overweight and smoking. When you open to change, your snoring may gradually fade, even if you are overweight.
Chewing: Anger, you can’t digest. By chewing, you are in vain, trying to swallow your undigested feelings.
Nail biting and nibbling around the nail: Suppressed rage that you turn against yourself because you are afraid to show it to others.
Teeth grinding: Chronic anxiety, helplessness, inability to cope with a matter literally disarms you.
Chatty: Internal insecurity, dissatisfaction, need for attention.
Accumulation of things: Adhering to the past, feeling that you are not in control of your life.
Self-harm: Deep pain, self-hatred, trauma (abuse, parents divorce, etc.).
Particularly disgusting habits: Nibbling, scratching your ass: Lack of recognition, feeling underrated by others. Pulling on shorts and crotch: The viewers of Married Commitment will surely recall the legendary touch of El Bundy at the opening jingle. And what is the cause of this bad habit? Some men thus remind their surroundings of their authority that they are the “bosses” here and have the last word.
How to eliminate stress? How to deal with stress?
The key is to learn to fight stress properly. There is less room for bad habits. There are plenty of ways to deal with stress. Here are some of the most important:
Transferring some responsibility to others: Sometimes, it is better (for example, at work) to entrust a solution to a problem to someone else, not to be overwhelmed just because you don’t trust others to do it as perfectly as you do. You don’t have to control everything, it’s a relief to let something go.
Taking breaks: Most of the stress we experience at work, it is extremely important to fill the break meaningfully, not bad habits (smoking, fast food devouring, etc.). Excellent is a health walk, breathing exercises or ordinary long view from the window.
Prioritizing: Do not leave unpleasant tasks for later, not delaying will bring you a sense of satisfaction. And if you do the most uncomfortable things every morning, you can only fill the rest of the day with the most pleasant things.
Sport: Great physical condition and psyche go hand in hand. But it must not be a rivalry, but a simple movement for relaxation.
Immediate: Do unexpected unscheduled things from time to time. Go home another way, jump with a parachute, start climbing and so on.
Myth of Equality: Do not challenge the myth that we are all equal because we are not. Life is unfair, giving and taking away at will – someone clings to women in one piece, someone doesn’t even notice, someone has fragile immunity and easily gets sick, someone lives over a hundred years with a miserable lifestyle. Accept it. The equality myth only leads to feelings of harm, envy and guilt that you are not better. Be happy with what you have.
Ways to put an end to bad habits
From the list of methods below, select the one that seems most effective. There is something different about each person.
Substitute: If you know what triggers your bad habit, you can replace it with some surrogate action that relieves your tension. E.g. Instead of smoking the jelly lollipops.
Badness escalation: This method is not recommended for use by drug addicts, diabetics, self-harming people, sex offenders, etc. However, it may work for “innocent” bad habits such as overeating chocolate or regularly returning home and checking if you locked when you leave.
This method is based on the fact that the forbidden fruit tastes the most. So do not forbid your bad habits, but deliberately exaggerate them. It has to become an unpleasant necessity, to which you start to resist and eventually stop it. So if you tend to go home twenty times to check if it’s locked, make sure you come back fifty times every time you leave home. It will soon stop being entertained.
Interruption of activity: We usually do bad habits unconsciously. When we learn to perceive them and interrupt them in the middle, it leads to greater alertness to these moments and especially to the feelings that precede it. Realizing what you are doing and what triggers your bad habits will make it easier to replace them with less harmful actions.
Affirmative phrases and goal settings: If you manage to avoid bad habit, praise for it and write it down in your diary as a success. You can think of a sentence that you will repeat in these cases and that will motivate you to continue the fight against bad habits. E.g. “I’m relieving my stress and I’m fine.”
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