This blog will assess some of the most common habits that are developped in our everyday lives. It will cover the reasons why we do them and methods we can use to prevent, stop and/or cope with them.
What? Another blog?! But she said it was finished last week!
Well think again fellow bloggers!
As much I desperately wish these blogs were over, I must properly conclude and sum up all that was learned! Once I successfully do that, then I can end this thing for good! (THANK GOODNESS!)
I couldn’t just leave you all in the dark, could I! Together, we learned about many different bad habits. So, I figured I would explain all the processes I used while choosing and writing about them.
I decided that I would start out by introducing 4 minor bad habits. Ones that we can almost all relate to and basically get the ball rolling. Can anyone remember which ones they were? I’ll help you out!
WE HAD:
1.Nail biting
2.Knuckle cracking
3.Using fillers such as um or like
4.Foot Tapping
Throughout these four blogs I wanted to capture everyones attention to minor habits that we do without even thinking about them. From these simple little habits, we learned that they are caused by unsatisfied emotions that we don’t exactly know how to deal with. Ironically, these are the SAME causes for the 4 MAJOR bad habits that I explored (see what I did there *wink wink*). I decided to prove to everyone that the things that trigger little quirks in us can also trigger life threatening addictions and habits. Is that not crazy?
What I believe separated the large from the small are the individuals abilities to cope with certain emotions. Habits will always start out small and develop (trust me on this), and once they develop into worse habits, that is when it starts to become dangerous. Which is what led me to my next four habits which were:
1.Smoking
2.Bad Sleep habits
3.Emotional Eating (overeating)
4.Underage Drinking
These four habits are ones that can potentially affect our health and lead to other more serious problems in the future. Which is why I wanted to bring attention to them and make them known. After all, no one TRULY knows exactly which habits affect them until someone else talks about them, right? Heck! I didn't even realize how much some of these habits affected me until I wrote this blog.
I must say, I now find it rather annoying, ESPECIALLY when I use the "killer fillers" I wrote about. That one is HANDS DOWN my worst habit and by far the most annoying...
Anyways, let's carry on.
There was a reason behind every single habit I chose throughout this blog. The first factor I took into account was how easily people would be able to relate to them (and when I say people, I do include myself) . Once that was established, I tried to make sure all of these habits were emotion based. Why? Because we don’t know how to deal with certain emotions, so we train our minds to try and find other means of coping with stressful situations. We are basically training our subconscious to dismiss what it’s trying to tell us and to replace it with things that could potentially lead to negative results on our health.
I hope this was clear throughout my blogs, and I hope everyone enjoyed reading about the different habits I chose to talk about! Let's start ending our bad habits once and for all! It might take some time, but we'll get there, I'm sure of it.
It’s been one heck of a journey from blog #1 to #10 and I’d say it’s a relief to be done! (As much fun as it was....)
Thanks everyone for sticking around and reading about what I had to say. I must confess, at times I even bored myself!
Who knows, maybe I’ll choose to write my own blog in the future. One that isn’t forced on me against my will by an English class! (haha)
Unfortunately this will be the last bad habit I will be covering for my blog (sniff sniff). But don’t worry guys! I promise to end with a bang!
This specific habit will be one that teenagers AND adults will be able to relate to. With that said, as I am a teenager, I will only be covering the teenage side of it today (but that doesn’t mean adults can't benefit as well). It is a habit that can severely affect our health, but that doesn't stop people from abusing and overusing it every day. I realize I am writing a long and redundant introduction to this habit, but as I am currently reading Hamlet, I am feeling rather inspired by a certain character, Polonius (one would have had to have read Hamlet to get the joke).
As this is the last habit, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It is the cause of 5,000 deaths (approximately) of people under the age of 21 every year. These numbers are so high because these deaths are caused by car accidents, homicides, suicides as well as other injuries or health problems that are caused by alcohol abuse.¹ This habit goes all the way down to affecting 2 in every 5 eighth graders and it is one of the drugs most often used by 12-17 year olds.² Scary huh? I find it crazy that such young kids use alcohol. What is even scarier is that this is basically the norm for a lot of people.
I understand that teenagers go to parties and are subjected to alcohol. Heck, I’m a teenager and I’ve been put in these situations too. And I’d be a hypocrite if I said I haven’t tried a drink once or twice, but I hate the taste and I just don’t see the fun in it. I believe that there is a time and place to start drinking and it's just not acceptable for kids.
While drinking, individuals are only aware of the high they are getting and I don’t believe they are fully aware of the damage they are doing to their bodies and their brains. Just as with all other dangerous habits, it is something people do to feel better. It is the perfect anti-depressant because it totally numbs the brain and the emotions. Of course people are going to abuse it, because it is one of the most sure fire ways to end that 'sucky' feeling fast. But what teenagers DON’T realize is the harm UNDERAGE drinking does. That’s right, I said underage, not legal drinking. There is a clear distinction between the two. Ever wonder WHY they put an age limit on consumption of alcohol? Let’s explore this shall we.
It is said that the human brain continues to develop well into our early twenties and that early exposure to alcohol can lead to permanent intellectual damage in the future.³ When exposing the brain to alcoholic substances before this age, ( in the U.S. the age limit is 21), it can “interrupt key processes of brain development”³ which can lead to brain damage. It can also cause learning disabilities.³ (See more about how it affects the brain and why)
Isn't this enough to convince you not to abuse alcohol in your early teenage years? I should hope so.
This makes me wonder: is it really worth the risk? I’d say, we should all think about it like this: if there is something going on in a persons life that is impossible to deal with, then yes alcohol will give that person temporary relief from the pain. If you honestly believe that you cannot have fun without drinking, fine. But what happens in the future? As a young adult you could potentially be looking at learning disabilities and even brain damage (as I previously concluded). This damage was caused by alcohol and more alcohol will not make it go away. It’s permanent. Do you really want to risk your future for a few wild nights as a teenager? Can't this wait until you're an adult and you don't risk nearly as much? I think this is something that needs to be considered, because I am almost positive teenagers don’t think these choices through, especially when they just want to have fun.
Now let’s be clear on something before I continue. I certainly can't judge anyone if they want to drink at parties, and if this is your life style that's your choice. I just want people to understand what could happen if this habit persists into something more addictive and dangerous to your health (if TOO much alcohol is consumed in short periods of time in the early teenage years). It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Up until now, all I have really clarified is that teens either drink to have a fun time or because they don’t want to feel certain emotions. Now, let's briefly look at the facts.
79% of adolescences in today’s society say the following: they either drink to get drunk or to “feel good”². Another 67% say that they do it because it makes them “forget their problems”. Finally, 66% will say it is actually caused by peer pressure and 47% do it because they are bored and don’t know what else to do.²(Click here to read about more reasons why teenagers consume alcohol) I find these numbers depressing. I also find it hard to believe that teenagers have “nothing better to do”². There is plenty to do, they just want to do it under the influence of something that gives them more of a high. I've been to parties where I hear teenagers complain when there is no alcohol and that without it they can’t have any fun. Is this REALLY what our world has come to? That teenagers can’t have fun at a party without getting drunk? I just find it a little difficult to take in.
As well as the risks that come with drinking alcohol, underage drinking can also have other effects on a teenagers life. It can lead to “early sexual intercourse, date and acquaintance rapes, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, fights and community property damage”², as well as possible death from alcohol poisoning.² It can also lead to other more dangerous drug abuse addictions such as cocaine and marijuana.¹
What I’m seeing is not only the long term effects of underage drinking, but also the constant need for the substance when the person is an adult. How could an individual possibly deal with any situation when they feel like they need to constantly have alcohol to feel better. It will most likely become a very serious addiction that will lead to many health issues and risks. I feel like it will also cause the individual to withdraw from their family and friends and become very antisocial and alone. This will cause a snowball effect that can only lead to a very dark future.
If you are a teen that has overused and abused alcohol and you want to stop but don’t know how, there are many ways to get help. Don’t be afraid to do so. As with many habits, therapy is always a good way to start, because then you will not have to do it alone. But if you are not that kind of person, there are many other ways that you can get help.
Unfortunately, I could talk about this habit for a long time, because it is a very big problem among teenagers today. But I am going to have to end it here. I have provided links on this habit throughout the post that I strongly recommend you all read. There is so much about this habit that is still unknown. It is a major bad habit that I think needs to be recognized and no longer ignored. It brings me back to my earlier question of: ever wonder why there’s an age limit to drinking? I’d like all my readers to think about this question. Not only for alcohol consumption but for anything that has a law enforced upon it. These laws are imposed for a reason. It is for our safety and we don’t always realize that. Laws are not made to be broken as a lot of people would say.
I am very excited to cover this weeks blog, because I know I am going learn a lot, as I hope all of you will too! It is another habit that negatively affects our health and one that I think we can almost ALL relate to. It is, as you may have guessed, overeating.
Scary word right there huh? Food, for some people, can be one of the scariest things out there, especially if they do not know how to eat properly. That is why I decided to cover this topic.
As an athlete, I learned from my coaches about the importance of a healthy diet. It is important to have a variety of healthy foods, but that doesn’t help keep this habit away. The trick is to try and maintain a good portion size at every meal. This is where I believe a lot of us go wrong (and when I say us, I do include myself).
I get it, sometimes something is just so good that you can’t help but want more. Let’s be realistic, doing that every once and a while is not going to make you gain weight. What I feel like covering this week are the food cravings that we don’t know how to control and that CAN make us gain weight. This mindless food habit is a silent killer. Ah yes, it is emotional eating.
Just broke up with your boyfriend? I guess it’s time to go to the store and buy 5 chocolate bars, some Ben&Jerry’s ice cream and a box of kleenex. Because we all know, when things happen in our lives, we turn to food to make us feel better. We simply do not know how to deal with our emotions in a more constructive way.
I would love to know why we do this, because I believe it is important that it stops. It might be one of the worst habits out there because it is completely out of control. Some may call me crazy, but I think that this ADDICTION can be just as bad as with nicotine or other drugs. More than a third of people in the U.S have problems with obesity.²
Is this not a problem that needs fixing? I think so. People constantly over look obesity, but truth be told it is actually a disease! When an addiction of a substance can affect the health of the individual, I think it is safe to say the person suffers from some form of disease. But hey, that’s just my opinion. What do I know right? Well let’s read on.
Before we get into this habit, let’s put it out there right now that this habit can in fact be broken!¹ WOOOOOOOO!
Anyways...
We eat for different reasons. To nourish our bodies and keep us healthy, but also to relieve the stress of negative emotions.¹ I once read somewhere (most likely Pinterest) that: “overeating is the most commonly abused anti-anxiety drug and that exercise is the most under utilized anti-depressant”. Interesting isn’t it? Not only because it is true, but because no one really looks at this addiction quite like this.
Unfortunately, once a person develops this habit and turns to food every time they are feeling down, food will become a “necessary component”¹ to simply being able to feel normal.¹ Sound familiar? It reminds me of the habit of smoking. Weird how many similarities there are for two completely different addictions.
This habit becomes an addiction when a person feels they cannot control what is happening without turning to food to feel better. We all like to feel better don’t we?
What I find interesting is that this addiction is a learned habit. It can be learned when you are young or after an exceptionally stressful event.¹
What we don’t know is that every single time we turn to food in upsetting circumstances, we train ourselves to believe that food is a highly affective “coping mechanism”.¹ This will cause us to believe that we have no other way of feeling better than turning to food. This might explain why diets constantly fail, because this habit makes dealing with our weight almost impossible.¹
People will usually overeat when they are “emotionally hungry”.¹ What this means is: there are other needs that the individual has that are are not being met. The thing that will turn this “emotional hunger”¹ to “physical hunger”¹ is when we believe that this hunger can be satisfied.¹ Isn't it weird that we can actually convince ourselves that we are hungry even though we’re not? This can eventually cause the individual to feel powerless¹, because they now feel like they are not in control of anything in their lives.
Click here for 5 examples of powerless experiences that lead to emotional eating.
As an emotional eater myself, I know that when I do it, I don’t feel like it will make me gain weight because it just makes me feel better. Which leads me to my inability to understand the numbers on the scale. However, I’m not an out of control emotional eater, I choose my moments (as odd as that sounds). My go to is Häagen Dazs ice cream and some girly songs. Why? Well according to this blog it helps cope with certain emotions. Everyone has their own thing. But what we can almost all conclude is that bad eating habits can actually make us feel powerless and extremely out of control.
Ways to stop overeating is to tell yourself that you are not actually powerless in tough situations. This is not always easy to do. We need to be able to prove to ourselves that food is not the answer to our emotional issues. It is important to be able to do this, because emotional eating can lead to obesity and other health affecting illnesses. And as we know, obesity is a major problem in the world today.¹
However, overeating does not only come in the form of emotional eating. It can also be by occasional binges. This is characterized by eating very little or nothing at all, then eating a great deal all at once. It can also be done by excessive snacking, having portions that are too large or eating too much for desert.¹ But like I said earlier, doing this every once and a while WILL NOT MAKE YOU FAT. So don’t worry or get discouraged.
There are many ways to seek help for any form of overeating. One way is go to therapy to deal with your emotions the right way and not indulge in unhealthy habits. In extreme cases, such habits could even turn into eating disorders. Please seek help before it comes to this. There are many different ways. Click on the links for ways to help with overeating and emotional eating.
I hope this blog has helped you understand a bit more about emotional eating and hopefully we can all cut down on the junk food when we are feeling a little down.
Who am I kidding! This isn’t going to stop me from doing it every once and a while, but at least now I am more aware of why I do it and that it can be stopped.
That’s all for now! If you’d like to learn more about this habit, comment on my blog and we can do some research together!
Can’t sleep at night? Always tossing and turning without reason? I feel your pain. The constant rolling around in bed trying to find the perfect position (even though you never will) is incredibly irritating. The worst is when you constantly look at the clock, hour after hour, just waiting for that annoying alarm to go off! Ughh..... The wonders of sleep.
This week I will cover some of the bad habits that are associated with poor sleep. Stick around and you will learn about the specific issues that are affecting your sleep patterns. Don’t you want to know why you can’t sleep? Actually, wouldn’t you ALL want to learn about ways to have a better nights sleep? Well if the answer is yes, then you better keep scrolling down. There is nothing worse than desperately wanting to sleep after long hard days and not being able to. Here we go:
1. Freaky sleep patterns
Some of you may not know what I mean when I say “freaky sleep patterns", so let me shine a bit of light on the topic. When you go to bed at a reasonable hour every night and you wake up at the same time every morning, that is a good sleep pattern. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to keep this pattern up, especially on weekends. The same person that has just spent the whole week establishing a good sleep pattern will suddenly screw this up on the weekend by staying up all night, then sleeping all day! What are you? Bats? This is not healthy. Do you know why? Because it effects your “circadian rhythm”¹. This rhythm represents the 24 hour cycle that will link activity in the brain to other activities that the body performs, such as hormone production or even cell regeneration. ¹ It is crucial to keep good and consistent sleeping patterns in order to “optimize” ¹ your sleep. My advice? Start by deciding on a time when you should go to bed and when you should wake up. This, of course, is more difficult for some than for others. A lot of people like to stay out late on weekends, or have jobs with odd hours, which makes it hard to be consistent. The trick is to get at least the same hours of sleep in. What I’m saying is, don’t go to bed at 11:00 P.M. everyday during a school week and wakeup at 7:00 A.M., then go to bed at 4:00 A.M. and wakeup at 4:00 P.M. on the weekend, if you can help it. Hear what I’m saying? Good. I have been trying to maintain consistent sleep patterns, which makes people think I’m crazy for waking up at 8 or 9 on weekends. I can’t help it, when I have consistent sleep patters, I don’t need to sleep until lunch.
2. Being a social butterfly at bedtime
Here is a VERY common habit that I can almost guarantee we all do. Most teens, and maybe even some adults, will sleep with the phone next to the bed. I understand that most people use the phone as an alarm clock and that's fine. What you should not be using it for is social networking. Constantly texting while laying in bed before you decide to sleep, or checking emails, is another habit that will affect your sleep. “Your bed should be used for sleep and sex-- that's it,”¹, a funny quote by William Kohler, medical director of the Florida Sleep Institution in Spring Hill, Fla.¹. He also states that “the brain likes routine,”¹ . Basically what this means is that when we see our bed, our brains should immediately associate it with sleep and not other activities that will keep our brains on all night long. According to the Doctor, if we are unable to fall asleep in the first 15 to 20 minutes, we should get out of bed.¹ This may sound counterproductive, but read on. He says this because when we stay awake in bed, we are training our brains to be active while we are in bed (which is a place for sleep). The Doctor believes we should instead get up and write our thoughts down, or do some other activity until we are actually ready to go to bed and sleep.¹ No need to keep our brain wired all night by texting every time we can’t sleep.
This explains a lot about why I can’t sleep. I constantly check my phone in bed. It is just more relaxing to lay there and scroll through my phone instead of sitting at my computer. We almost all do it. Who would have thought that THIS is why we can’t sleep!? I’m definitely going to have to stop this. Now that I do think about it, a screen that close to my face is probably not good either. Thank goodness for William Kohler and his tips on good sleep.
3. Eating before or in bed
This is the last bad sleep habit I will be covering, although there are a lot more. Do any of you get sudden cravings right before you go to bed? I know I do. Sometimes I just want to snack on something before I have to brush my teeth. I, unfortunately, should know better, but I am still somewhat a victim of it. If any of my readers are a victim of this habit, let’s see if we can figure it out. It is quite brief. We all know that eating before bed (or in bed) can cause cavities or weight gain. But it also creates crumbs in your bed that can keep you scratching all night.² This will no doubt keep you up. But it can also be an invitation for little house guests that want to spend a night in your bed.² You know who I’m talking about. BUGS! Ew... I’m pretty sure that fact alone should stop us from eating in bed... Everything else aside, it is important for our health that we eat no less than four hours before we go to sleep, because we need to help regulate our digestive system so it too can go to sleep.² If you suddenly have these cravings, I suggest drinking a glass of water or just staying out of the kitchen all together. Unfortunately this advice is much easier to give than to follow, because a glass of water has never stopped my cravings. The other drawback to drinking water before bed is the need to go to the bathroom several times a night. But that's less of an issue than gaining weight from eating late night snacks. That’s just my opinion!
Unfortunately this post has gotten a bit on the long side so I will end it here. If you want to learn more about this bad habit click here. Furthermore, if you want to learn even more about the effects of bad sleep habits you can click on the word effects. Last but definitely not least, you can click this final link (coping methods) to read a pretty extensive list on ways to cope with bad sleeping habits! I found the list pretty helpful.
Sleep is probably one of the most important things for me and when something disrupts it I will find the cause and find ways to fix it. Hence the reason why I covered this topic for my blog. How ironic that my blog topic fits right in with the reasons I cannot sleep! If you guys are anything like me, read about these different habits and try to use a coping method that works for you. The bad habits we perform are different for everyone, so I tried to cover the ones I find most common. If you click on the links I’ve provided you will find many more ways to stop your bad sleeping. Hope you all have a great sleep tonight! I know I will.
Here I am, getting ready to write another blog for you guys and what am I NOT doing? Well for starters I’m not bitting my nails, cracking my fingers, saying um or tapping my feet! But most importantly, I am not doing the habit that I will discussing this week. I am not smoking.
Unfortunately this habit has continued unabated over the years and has become a problem for people of all ages. Not only does it affect the one that is smoking, but it also affects those around them. We are taught at a young age about the severity of secondhand smoke. How can one prevent it? Smokers are creating a problem that the rest of us cannot avoid. Think about it. If the majority of our world began smoking, the rest of us would not be able to escape from the cloud of smoke that is created. We would constantly be breathing in this smoke with nowhere to hide. How is this fair? It is different when people perform minor habits that affect only themselves. However, when it begins to affect their health and the health of others around them, then it becomes a serious problem. There are two kinds of bad habits. There are minor bad habits, such as our usual bitting of nails, and there are major bad habits, which is where smoking fits in. It is these habits that create addictions and health problems. These habits require a constant use of the substances in question, hence the addiction, which will eventually force the individual to need higher doses in order to get the same “high”. Addictions such as smoking can also create periods of “withdrawal” when one tries to quit. ²It is the nicotine in the cigarettes that makes it addictive. Like any other drug that is used, nicotine will affect the mind and body. After a certain amount of time, an individual will feel like they have to "have it just to feel normal". ¹This is the reason why people become discouraged when trying to quit and simply continue the habit. ²
What people may not realize is that we turn to these major bad habits because it makes us feel good and in control of situations where we would otherwise feel out of control or worthless. It is the same for minor bad habits, we turn to them in order to quell certain emotions we are feeling. Smoking is taking this to the extreme.
There are many reasons why people start smoking. Some think it is cool and do it because their friends do. Others will do it because members of the family do it. ¹ However, I think a common cause for this habit is a persons emotions. Just as all other habits, to feel better an individual must feel in control of a situation. Smoking is what these individuals can control. It is a circumstance where the individual will feel one hundred percent in control of the situation even if they are one hundred percent out of control. It is a tricky concept to grasp and can only be fully understood if one has fallen into a major bad habit. This could include anything from alcohol abuse, to gambling, toeating disorders and more. ² However, smoking is not gambling. Smoking affects the health of an individual and can lead to heart disease, cancer (lung, stomach, throat or bladder) and other life threatening illnesses. ¹
All of these diseases can have terrible affects on a persons life. ¹All because of a habit!
It is the cause of 1 in 5 deaths in the United States alone. ¹Could you imagine what it is in the rest of the world?
In my opinion, if this habit can be so dangerous to your health and can even become fatal, it needs to stop.
Actually no.
It shouldn’t even be started in the first place! People do not think of others they are harming in these situations. Such as secondhand smoke when they have children or other family members around. Or even the toll it puts on one’s family if the individual does end up with one of these deadly diseases.
Fortunately, there are many ways to quit this addiction. The most affective is of course staying smoke free. It is important to try and avoid situations where you will have the urge to smoke. ¹
An individual can also go to therapy in order to deal with their feelings and get help from a professional. Heck! There is even the smoking patch that we see on almost every commercial out there.
Help is everywhere. A person just needs to want to find it. Click here for more ways to quit smoking.
Hopefully those that suffer from this habit can find it in them to quit. There are many other ways to deal with situations that does not involve self harm.
I hope this post was helpful for those of you that do want to quit smoking. As for my teacher and fellow classmates that are reading this.... you guys better not be smoking.
Thanks again for reading! I promise it won’t be this long and boring next week!
Hey everyone! I realize my blogs have been slightly on the long side these past couple of weeks, so this week I decided to cover a less common habit that is also much less of a problem. It is a habit that is often found with musicians. Can you guess what it is? Ah, yes, it is foot tapping. As I said, it is most commonly done by musicians and they use it as a learning and counting tool. Obviously this can become an annoying habit, however for them it is acceptable. Especially during a lesson or performance.
It is for us everyday foot tappers that it can become a nuisance for others around us.
I don’t exactly tap my feet, I simply do the motion without actually taking my foot off the ground. Not really annoying but still a mindless habit. Does this sound familiar to anyone? No. Well, why would it? I find that this habit is one of the most unnoticed, especially if the tapper is silent like me. It is crazy how many times I catch people doing it. The funniest part is, I bet they have no idea they are doing it themselves. This habit is most often caused by boredom, irritability, and in some cases anxiety ¹. Personally I found these are the most common, yet it is different for everyone. Next time you are feeling any of these emotions, check to see how your body reacts. Perhaps you are also a tapper and you just don’t realize it! Be careful with this habit, because it can give off a negative vibe to those around you. Some may realize you do it out of boredom and will feel offended if you do it during one of their presentations. If you catch yourself doing it during a speech or presentation, try and realize your doing it and stop. Remember, it will be over quickly. There’s no need to show your annoyance, be respectful of your peers ¹. Click here to learn more about your body language. It is especially important to try and stop this habit if you are a loud foot tapper, because you don’t want to bother those around you. Luckily there are quick fixes to this habit. You could try putting pressure on your leg whenever you feel the urge to tap. This will help “redirect” your brain so that it fights the urge. ¹ If it is stress that causes this habit, it is important to be aware of your feelings and try to find ways to deal with the stress and not just ignore it by performing other bad habits ¹. One could try going to therapy or simply talk to a friend in order to deal with these stresses, without being obnoxious to those around you. Trust me, no one ever wants to deal with their stress, but it is something that must be dealt with because although it begins with subtle habits like this, is can progress and develop into worse habits. As I said earlier, it is not the most problematic habit unless it is 100% caused by extreme stress. If you are like me and you just do it out of boredom, then there really is no need to stop. However if you are a noisy tapper, please for the love of God stop! It is extremely annoying.
Thanks for reading! Next week I plan to cover a more in depth, life changing habit! It is very common in today’s society and I feel it needs to be stopped once and for all! We’ll see if you can guess what it is.
