What human habits are called harmful? Understanding the terminology
According to the explanatory dictionary, bad habits are regularly performed actions that affect certain aspects of behavior and do not allow a person to live a full life, reduce his social significance and harm his health. It doesn’t matter whether you are aware of their presence or consider them a small weakness that can be abandoned literally with a snap of your fingers - if they exist, then it’s time to admit it to yourself.
However, modern psychologists consider this definition to be not entirely complete, and this makes a certain sense, because vices and their significance in life can be completely different. It is illogical to put addictions that lead to illness on the same level as “minor pranks” such as regularly biting nails or a pen cap. Therefore, all bad habits are conditionally classified into several types:
- physical addictions;
- psychophysiological habits;
- psycho-emotional addictions.
Physical addictions are a craving for certain actions, for example, chewing a pen or pencil, snapping your fingers and picking your nose. To eliminate such behavior, banal self-control is enough. The same applies to psycho-emotional addictions - lies, foul language, gossip, condemnation, etc.
The most dangerous habits are psychophysiological. These include most of the addictions that destroy people: drug addiction, smoking, alcoholism, etc.
Coping with such problems on your own is extremely difficult, and in some cases, unrealistic. In this case, you simply need to look for outside help: contact psychologists and doctors, ask for support from loved ones.
What is a habit?
A habit is the same repeated action that a person performs automatically without realizing it. In other words, a habit is something we do effortlessly and unconsciously.
Habits arise very easily. When a person does something new to him, for example, learning to ride a bicycle, at first he does it consciously and puts a lot of effort. His attention is fixed on balance, steering wheel, pedals, speed and path. At first, consciousness monitors all this, but then, over time, when a person gets used to riding a bicycle, he gradually begins to stop following all the subtleties of riding. Now he rides a bicycle without thinking about how he sits, how to keep his balance, the steering wheel, where to look, and so on. All this was put aside in his unconscious and now it is his subconscious that directs all operations.
Therefore, it is very difficult to break the habit. This requires conscious control. about how to get rid of the habit below. Now let's look at good and bad human habits .
TOP 10 most common bad habits that are harmful to health
No addiction goes unnoticed for a person. Even if it seems to you that you smoke very little and drink only a couple of glasses of beer a week, think about whether this has become a tradition that has grown into something more? Can you calmly give up your usual lifestyle and take a step towards healthier passions?
What are the most dangerous thrusts? Get acquainted with the list of major addictions that require urgent adjustment (and sometimes treatment):
- Addiction.
- Alcoholism.
- Smoking.
- Dependence on criminality.
- Promiscuous sex life.
- Poor nutrition.
- Passive lifestyle.
- Gambling addiction.
- Internet addiction.
- Uncontrolled self-medication.
Let's look at each of these problems and try to create a mini-plan to eradicate them.
Disorganization
If you are not in the habit of planning your day, do not be surprised that by lunchtime your energy is at zero. The fussiness with which you grab onto one thing, drop it and take on another brings chaos to your life. It makes you stagnate and prevents you from developing. Besides, you are wasting energy.
Take training, for example. Without adhering to a clear schedule of visiting the fitness club and doing certain exercises, you will never achieve results. You'll just wear yourself out.
Drug addiction is No. 1 on the list of addictions
The list of the most dangerous addictions is traditionally crowned by drug addiction - a habit that can completely deform the essence of a person, destroy him as a person and lead to death in just a couple of years. According to statistics, in 14% of cases, addiction develops after the first use of psychotropic substances, and the younger the person’s age, the higher the likelihood of pathological cravings.
The average life expectancy of a drug addict is only 7 years from the first use of psychotropic substances. Moreover, all these 7 years were filled with pain from withdrawal and a panicked search for a new dose. However, these are far from the only problems of active drug addicts, because addiction is in one way or another associated with many sad consequences:
- high risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis during injections;
- destruction of the cardiovascular and nervous systems;
- total degradation of personality with loss of any moral values;
- propensity to commit criminal offenses;
- loss of social connections with the usual social circle.
Important! There are no harmless drugs - they all affect the brain in one way or another, deplete the nervous system and completely change a person’s worldview, after which it is almost impossible to cope with addiction on your own. In this case, the main thing is to recognize the problem and seek help in a timely manner!
Alcoholism, obvious and not so obvious
Do you consider alcoholics only those who wait every morning with shaking hands for the store to open or run to the pharmacy for hawthorn tincture? In vain! This is the final stage of alcoholism, but the disease begins much earlier. At that moment, when a couple of glasses of beer on the weekend turned into something more intoxicating, and everyday dinner began to be regularly supplemented with a glass of alcohol.
The concept of alcohol addiction has long ceased to be just a bad habit. This is a disease from which more than 700 people die every year in Russia - the population of an average town. Some drink to drown their sorrows, others celebrate holidays or another day off, others relieve stress... There can be a million reasons, but only one result.
Under the influence of ethyl alcohol, the entire body is destroyed, but the first blow falls on the nervous system, brain and heart. Therefore, the next time you decide to raise a glass, immediately imagine how your brain gradually blocks one function after another, depriving you of will and common sense, how your intellect slowly fades away, your blood thickens, blocking blood vessels and causing impotence. Not so fun anymore, right?
Important! For the average man weighing about 70 kg, 300 grams of pure alcohol (about 750 ml of vodka, whiskey and other forty-proof drinks) consumed within 5 hours is a lethal dose. In this case, the brain can begin to suppress all vital functions, including heartbeat and breathing.
Trying to diet
If you work out at the gym and are on a low-calorie diet, don't be surprised if you don't have enough energy to workout. A lack of calories in itself is a test for the body, and multiplied by energy costs in the gym, it deprives a person of his last strength.
If at first you hold on due to your moral and volitional qualities, after a few weeks of the weight loss diet your nervous system will begin to be depressed. With this approach, it’s not far from depression and refusal to train. Therefore, remember, those who work out in the gym and want to have an athletic body do not need a strict diet, but a balanced diet.
Smoking and all its varieties
Cigarettes are one of the most common addictions of humanity, which many consider almost the norm. Even a child knows about the dangers of nicotine addiction, but is this a reason to give up smoking breaks? Moreover, there can be many excuses: stress, hard work, company... In fact, everything is banal: you simply cannot or do not want to quit.
In modern society, the attitude towards this bad habit is twofold: many simply replace traditional cigarettes with a vape or hookah, believing that in this way they will be able to give up pathological cravings. In fact, this is nothing more than a marketing ploy, because absolutely all types of smoking are harmful to health in one way or another.
Both chemical vapor from vaping and hookah smoke contain many toxic compounds that enter the body when inhaled. Moreover, the exposure time in this case is much longer: many vapers can “vape” for almost several hours in a row, and a hookah is usually smoked for at least 40 minutes.
Why are popular types of smoking bad for every person? Some statistics are in the table below:
What is used for smoking | What goes into the lungs | Description of key features |
Cigarettes | More than 200 toxic substances, including nicotine, carbon monoxide and dioxide, hydrocyanic acid, acetaldehyde, acetone and tobacco tar. | It is nicotine that causes such a noticeable craving for cigarettes, but it is not the only one that is harmful to health - the effect of tar on the body can be much more dangerous. They contain compounds that provoke cancer, adversely affect lung tissue and cause respiratory pathologies. |
Hookah | Nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, glycerin, flavorings. | There is less nicotine and tar in a hookah than in cigarettes, but due to the duration and frequency of smoking, the harm from it can be significant. But carbon monoxide, which appears when burning coal, can cause serious poisoning and disrupt the functioning of the brain and cardiovascular system. |
Vape | Propylene glycol, nicotine, glycerin, flavorings and preservatives. | Nicotine, “masked” by flavorings, is not felt as much when vaping, although vaping liquids contain no less of it than cigarettes. Taking into account the duration of vaping, the daily dose may be much higher than it seems. Another feature: overheated glycerin releases the carcinogen acrolein, which gradually corrodes lung tissue, leaving scars and burns. |
Important! To quit smoking, you only need one thing - willpower. You can read dozens of motivational books, buy tons of candy and chewing gum, stick bandages on your hands, but if you really don’t want to, none of this will help. Just crumple the pack and throw it in the trash. That's it, you don't smoke anymore!
Personal projects
If you want to write a book
- Write 500 words every morning before you leave for work.
- Send your work to critics or post it for public discussion.
- Read something from your genre for at least 15 minutes before bed.
- Dedicate half of your work break to editing what you wrote in the morning.
If you want to unleash your creativity
- Spend 10 minutes a day watching/reading a piece of fiction that inspires you.
- Keep a diary. Write down thoughts about what inspires you, what colors, textures, shapes catch your eye.
- Use your camera to capture all the inspiring things you encounter every day.
- Spend some time before bed working on your creative project. This will also help you relax.
- Make time in your daily schedule for art.
- Play musical instruments or listen to music.
- Watch the topical video on YouTube.
Criminal addiction: pathology or lifestyle?
It’s difficult to call the urge to commit crimes a bad habit, and yet, in some cases, that’s exactly what it is. Especially often, such dependence occurs among former prisoners who simply do not know how to live differently, how to solve their problems, acting within the framework of the law.
Lack of normal life experience, inability to build work and personal relationships, social inadaptability - all this is not at all a reason to take the path of a criminal. Following rules is much more difficult than breaking them, especially if you can’t find your place in life. But if you enlist support, take positive examples as a basis and clearly follow your goal, then gradually everything will get better, and a crime-free life will become fulfilling, interesting, and most importantly, free.
Useful habits for every day
Many people strive to change their lives, to get away from everyday life and worries in order to enjoy every day they live.
We present to you eight habits that will help you find harmony with yourself.
Set yourself up for positivity
Our emotional state greatly affects the rhythm of life and productivity. Bad weather or being stuck at work can affect your mood and weaken your desire to do anything.
Any little thing can cause a negative perception of what is happening. Negative emotions will begin to accumulate like a snowball. How to avoid this? Try to program yourself to be positive from the very morning. Look for the positives in what is happening around you and in what life gives you.
To make it easier to focus on positive thinking, the following techniques will help you:
- Fix the positive.
Share a little joy on your Instagram profile. Or start a “gratitude diary” and write down all the good things that happened to you during the day. - Come up with positive mantras
or take into account the statements of famous people about happiness, life goals, and good mood. Repeat these affirmations every day. - More positive people around.
Communication, especially live communication, is a charge of emotions. Let these emotions be only good, a positive attitude is contagious. - No negative thoughts.
Try to drive away all bad, negative thoughts. Otherwise, there is every chance of turning into a neurotic. - Active lifestyle.
Any physical activity stimulates the synthesis of the hormone of happiness - endorphin.
The results of a study on sedentary lifestyle were published in the medical journal Journal of American Heart Association. Thanks to the study, scientists came to the conclusion that every hour spent sitting increases the likelihood of:
- premature death by 11%;
- cancer development by 9%;
- development of cardiovascular diseases by 18%.
Wake up early
One of the principles of successful people is getting up early. First of all, morning is the most productive time. You can get a lot done in the morning, and most importantly, recharge yourself with positive energy for the whole day.
Secondly, by waking up early, you will save yourself from haste, delays and unnecessary worries. You will no longer feel like your morning started off on the wrong foot.
Order in the house
A big mess starts when we avoid small household chores that tend to accumulate. One dirty plate after breakfast will quickly turn into a mountain of unwashed dishes. Scattered things generate a large amount of dust. A cluttered home will lead to a cluttered mind.
Let's be honest, small household chores will take a lot of time, and order in the apartment will give you a sense of comfort and control.
Goals must be realistic
Dreaming is not harmful, but dreaming and doing nothing is irrational. And to feel the dynamics and success, set real small goals that will not be so difficult to achieve, and the result will please you. The feeling of satisfaction from victory will inspire you to set more difficult and long-term goals and eliminate the fear of serious tasks.
A little spontaneity wouldn't hurt
It’s convenient to live every day according to a schedule: have dinner at the same cafe every evening, return home along the usual path, spend the weekend according to the routine scenario. However, life can soon turn into a routine.
Allow yourself some spontaneous decisions, make an unplanned but pleasant purchase, explore a new route home, go to a new cafe. Get out of your comfort zone and go towards new sensations. Positive emotions make us happier, change our outlook on life, and prepare us for significant changes.
Don't complain
Even in the most troubled times, there is still room for good moments: warm memories and pleasant little things will brighten up the day if you pay due attention to them.
Instead of constantly complaining about a bad life, an unloved job, problems in relationships, missed opportunities, make it a rule not to dwell on the negative. The more time we spend on negative emotions, the greater the likelihood of becoming a victim of circumstances.
Remember, joy attracts good people, and with them a positive charge of emotions.
No comparisons
Comparing yourself with other, more successful people, envying is a tedious and unnecessary activity. If we are talking about acquaintances, try to rejoice at their success and understand that it is not just a matter of coincidence and fortune.
Understand what success means to you. And if comparing with others brings disappointment in life, stop comparing. Take care of yourself, assess your goals and capabilities, and most importantly remember: everyone has the right to become as happy as the amount of effort they put into it.
Down with procrastination
By putting things off until later, we risk accumulating a whole heap of unsolved tasks and small tasks and spending twice as much time on their implementation. Planning your day, distributing tasks evenly, is important. This will save you from turmoil and unnecessary worries.
Sexual promiscuity
Do you consider yourself a real macho, so you change girls like gloves? A series of blondes, brunettes and red-haired young ladies pass through your bed, and you are not even able to remember their names... Or maybe you just don’t care who you sleep with?
Promiscuous sex life is a fairly common problem of our time. It would seem that there is nothing wrong with this, because sex is good for health! So what is the problem with such illegibility? In fact, there may be much more problems than pleasures:
- high risk of sexually transmitted diseases;
- inability to arrange a normal personal life;
- lack of attachment as such;
- devaluation of sex as part of a relationship.
Think about it, maybe this is how you’re trying to overcome your complexes, because it’s much more difficult to hook up with the same woman every evening than different ones? Try to break away from your own pattern - and you will understand what the real thrill of a stable and long-term relationship is.
Relevant products in the Online store:
Korres
Sun Protection Emulsion with Yogurt SPF20
799 rub.
Clinique
Superdefense Corrective gel SPF40 against signs of fatigue on the face and the first signs of skin aging in travel format
RUB 2,124 RUB 3,540
Clinique
Corrective cream against signs of fatigue on the face and the first signs of skin aging SPF25 - for dry and combination skin
RUB 3,252 RUB 5,420
Clinique
Corrective cream against signs of fatigue on the face and the first signs of skin aging SPF25 - for oily and combination skin
RUB 3,252 RUB 5,420
All goods
Live to eat, or a few words about overeating
Poor nutrition is one of the main bad habits, in addition to smoking and alcohol, which can cause dangerous diseases and directly worsen the quality of life. The cult of food has flourished as long as man has existed. Remember: all holidays, the most interesting events and significant moments are in one way or another connected with rich feasts. Maybe it's time to change this pattern, give up the mountain of fast food and uncontrolled eating? So your health will be stronger and your figure will be slimmer!
What does giving up sports lead to?
No one is telling you to run marathons and do hundreds of push-ups every day, but if you can't walk up a couple of flights of stairs without getting short of breath, that's bad. Moreover, the problem here is not only sagging muscles, excess weight and a beer belly - a passive lifestyle also affects your health. Therefore, if you don’t want to turn into a decrepit old man, try to bring at least a little sports into your life: walk, run, do your abs - do what you like, and then you will have one less bad habit in your life.
Habits for physical and mental health, tone, energy
1. Don't eat before bed. The habit of not eating before bed will become one of the guardians of your health. It is best to completely limit food consumption after 19-00.
2. Go to bed early and get up early. Sleep at least 7 hours. I recently read an interesting and informative book, “The Daily Routines of Great Men.” The conclusion I made is that almost 90% of great people got up at 4-6 am. It is following the natural rhythm of the universe.
3. Drink more water throughout the day. Minimum 1.5 liters. Teas, juices and other drinks are not a substitute.
4. Play sports. Or go to the gym. If you can't, you can just start running. At least 2-3 times a week, at least for half an hour.
5. Try not to get angry or slander. Watch your thoughts and words. Develop the habit of counting to 10 in your head if you want to “break.” The law of attraction works in the world. And the more negativity comes from you, the more it will come into your life.
6. Do a comprehensive morning routine. Immediately after getting up. It consists of four actions: brushing your teeth, cleaning your tongue, drinking a glass of warm, clean, unboiled water with a little lemon juice and a contrast shower.
The contrast shower method is very simple: you start with warm water, then hot, then cold, then hot again, and so alternate hot and cold several times. Finish with cold water and then rub with a terry towel. The degree of contrast must be gradually increased.
7. Do at least a small set of exercises in the morning . I have “8 magic exercises” from yoga as a mandatory minimum (2 for relaxation, four for the spine, “candle” and standing on one leg with eyes closed). There will be a separate article about this soon.
8. Practice relaxation or meditation. This should be done after all morning exercises and after a contrast shower. This is a very important habit. In fact, in the modern urban rhythm, we have completely forgotten how to relax and are almost always tense. And tensions and pressures systematically destroy us. Even 10 minutes of daily relaxation will have the most miraculous effect on your nervous system, tone, and health.
Turn on some quiet music. Sit cross-legged in a Turkish style (if you can and it’s comfortable for you, it’s better in the lotus or half-lotus position) and be sure to lean your back on a hard surface, such as a wall (otherwise you won’t be able to relax properly). You can simply lie on your back, on a flat and fairly hard surface (a non-thick carpet will do well). Breathe freely. Gradually you will relax more and more. After the session, massage the corners of the eyes and rotate the eyeballs 8 times clockwise and back. There will also be a separate detailed article on relaxation and meditation techniques soon.
9. Drink rosehip infusion or herbal teas with honey. These teas are very tasty both hot and cold. Try to replace regular tea bags, coffee, various types of soda and other drinks with these drinks. Read more about herbs here.
10. Try to walk more. Avoid using a car if the distances are not very long. Avoid elevators. Walk more in the fresh air, especially in parks, near ponds, etc.
The following group of 10 habits will make you a better person. They develop thinking, memory, increase your stock of knowledge, help expand your horizons and acquire new skills and competencies.
For this group of useful habits, I often use a smartphone. In my opinion, this is generally an ideal tool for self-development, if you use it for good and not for entertainment.
Gambling addiction: masterful flushing of money down the toilet
Gambling is your middle name, and do regulars of underground casinos already recognize you by sight? Maybe stop spending what you earn, hoping to win back? Not a single gambling establishment has ever operated at a loss, so profits are highly doubtful.
Advice! So that you are not tempted to spend all your money on the game again, make a rule: as soon as your salary is credited to the card, pay for utilities, buy groceries and leave yourself a living wage, and put the rest in a bank account - you can’t gut such a stash so easily. And don’t forget to warn your friends so that they don’t give you a loan under any circumstances.
Lack of oxygen
You may not notice it, but if you experience a lack of oxygen day after day, vital energy will flow away like water through your fingers.
When do we feel a lack of oxygen? First of all, when we sleep in an unventilated room, we absorb air and fill the room with carbon dioxide. And if we don’t sleep alone, the problem only gets worse. And also, the lack of oxygen haunts us in an unventilated office, especially if a whole team works in one office.
Therefore, try to ventilate the bedroom before going to bed. In the office, it also doesn’t hurt to open the window periodically. And if this is not possible, get up periodically and take short walks in the fresh air.
How the virtual world is displacing the real one
In the era of computerization, it is difficult to understand what is considered an Internet addiction. Many people work online, quite successfully, and it’s difficult to find a more convenient option for communication. But when very little of reality remains, and most of life is transferred to the Internet, it’s time to sound the alarm. Think about it, when was the last time you met with friends not in a chat, but in a cafe? When did you prefer an hour of playing with the notorious tanks to a walk? Maybe it’s time to plunge into reality, otherwise life will just pass in front of the monitor.
Sedentary lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle has become a serious problem for humans. He spends the day in the office, spends his evenings watching TV shows and chatting on the Internet, and all his physical activity is limited to going to work and wandering around the shops. Some people exercise periodically, but with low daily activity this does not help the situation.
Such low physical activity leads to physical inactivity - a condition in which all body functions are disrupted. Metabolism slows down, blood circulation is impaired, a person gains excess weight, and hormonal changes occur. Obviously, such a state does not add vigor; it is not without reason that it is called “lazy death.”
To get rid of physical inactivity, make it a rule to take at least 10,000 steps every day. And if you also want to lose weight, you need to walk even more – 12,000-15,000 steps.
When treatment stops being helpful
Rare people do not go to doctors, and this is normal. But if you have settled in a local clinic without adequate reasons, and at the first symptoms of a cold you buy the entire assortment of the pharmacy, please stop. It is believed that women are more likely to suffer from uncontrolled medication use, but men also sometimes experience hypochondria and, as a result, an uncontrollable craving for treatment. If the doctors say everything is fine, then it is. Make time for an active lifestyle, find a hobby or fill your time with something more useful, and you won’t even notice how you will feel healthier.
Social goals
If you want to make new friends
- Make a conscious effort to smile.
- Make eye contact with someone new.
- Introduce yourself to a new person.
- Ask the new person a few questions about their preferences.
- Talk about common earthly problems.
- Find a way to laugh together. Tell a joke or do something funny together.
If you want to go on a date with someone
- Spend an extra 20 minutes on your own hygiene. Don't leave the house without showering and getting ready.
- Smile more often.
- Avoid talking about negative topics or complaining about anything.
- Relax. Straighten your shoulders, sit up straight and straighten your arms, placing them palms up. An open posture will emphasize your self-confidence and approachability.
- Maintain eye contact.
If you want to appear sexier (to women)
- Open the skin a little. Pick your favorite body part (shoulders, legs, arms, cleavage) and wear clothes that leave it exposed.
- Give preference to red. Choose red lipstick or red nail polish, buy a red blouse or red shoes. Men will find you more attractive in red.
- Lean closer to him.
- Touch it.
- Wear heels.
If you want to appear sexier (to men)
- Keep your posture.
- Pull your shoulders back.
- Initiate gentle touch without hesitation. For example, touch her with your hand during a conversation or touch her back when you open the door for her and let her go forward.
- Wear fashionable clothes that are required for each specific situation.
If you want to become a better lover
- Extend foreplay five minutes longer than expected.
- Pay attention to your partner's reaction.
- Don't eat heavy food two hours before physical intimacy. If you must eat something during this time, choose foods that are easy to digest.
- Practice prolonged eye contact.
- Create the right atmosphere. Light the candles.
- Relax, laugh - have a fun time.