Are You Depressed? Don’t Let These 5 Habits Destroy Your Life
#4: Have an endless to-do list
Bad habits are like an addicting drug. They make you feel good in the moment, but they are likely to do you harm in the long run. The best way to deal with them is by replacing them with something useful that makes you feel genuinely good about yourself.
Hence, if you want to save your life from catastrophe, you need to stop listening to what your body asks you to do, and focus on what is helpful to do.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Will Durant
1. Think, Think, And Think
The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes rumination as, “obsessive thinking about an idea, situation, or choice especially when it interferes with normal mental functioning”. It’s easy to fall into this endless loop because you feel like you are accomplishing something. But, if rumination doesn’t lead to action, it was probably a waste of time and energy since the beginning.
Many fall into this trap (consciously or unconsciously) believing that they can change the reality of their problems by thinking endlessly about them. That’s a toxic way of thinking that is very likely to leave you disappointed in the end.
The only thing that can change reality are your actions, not your thoughts.
How to fix it: Shift your attention to actions you can immediately take. You can listen to pleasant music, go for a walk, make plans with friends, dance, run, finish an old project, talk to your old pal’ from high school, learn a new skill, talk to your loved ones, or plan a trip to the mountains.
2. Spending All Day In Bed
If you like to spend all your day in bed, you are likely to miss out on things that are productive, essential, and fun. If you heed your body’s commands, it’s like you are nurturing a monster that feeds off directly from your opportunities to be happy.
If you want to change this bad habit you need to have a plan to counterattack. One thing that can help you break free from this, is to think of the great benefits that waking up early brings.
- Enhances productivity
- Improves concentration
- Improves sleep
- Your confidence will soar
- It can decrease stress
- Benefits your long-term career
How to fix it: Get used to sleeping less. Make a list of your daily priorities so you can look at it. Create a routine that is beneficial to your mental health and working life. Stick to it even on weekends. Don’t make weekends as a means to ‘sleep in’.
3. Saying Goodbye to Your Social Life
It’s good to spend time alone (occasionally), but isolating yourself all the time is likely to make you feel like you are alone. And if you already suffer from depression, you are more likely to believe that you are better off alone, because depression makes you behave irrationally.
Research shows that,
“Social isolation (i.e. loneliness) is a risk factor for, and may contribute to, poorer overall cognitive performance, faster cognitive decline, poorer executive functioning, increased negativity, and depressive cognition.”
How to fix it: Do the opposite of what your mind tells you to do. If you feel like not hanging out with anyone, then you likely need to make plans with someone. Try going to social gatherings more often because that’s where you’ll meet new people. Studies also show that meeting new people is healthy for the brain.
4. Have an Endless To-Do List
Postponing tasks is likely to add a lot of unnecessary stress to your life. You’ll have a mountain of piled of work, unfinished projects, and endless to-do lists that will make you feel like you don’t even have the energy to begin working.
You likely learned this habit because you spend all your teenage years without being organized and everything was fine. Now, in your adult life, you might feel you have no idea where to begin.
Research shows that taking care of your daily chores can improve your mental health. But if you avoid your responsibilities, you are likely to suffer from poor mental health.
Some benefits of being organized:
- Improve sleep.
- Reduced anxiety, depression, and stress.
- Your relationships can improve.
- You’ll have more time for other things in your life.
- Make you into a more productive person
How to fix it: Work with small chunks of time. Set a time limit of 30 minutes and then work your way up. If you start with small blocks you’ll get more things done without feeling as stressed or tired. Avoid setting unrealistic goals and don’t let anything interrupt when you are working.
5. Let Laziness Creep On You
A study conducted recently showed a link between lack of physical activity and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Brazilian individuals. The conclusion of the study was this:
People who [were] not involved with PE during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher anxiety, depression, and stress scores.
Exercise is likely to relax your tense muscles, and it can help you release feel-good chemicals into your bloodstream. If you are feeling good, working out can make you feel great, and if you are feeling down, it can make you feel better.
How to fix it: Try getting a gym membership if you have the money, or look up YouTube videos with free workout routines. Avoid activities where you and your friends are not interacting. Instead, plan activities like throwing a frisbee, jogging in the mountains, or swimming at the beach.
What You Need To Know
Habits can be like your best friends if you treat them right. The best way to get rid of bad habits is to replace them with something that is going to make you feel great.
These are the most destructive habits that you need to break free from if you want to live a better life:
- Think, think, and think
- Spending all day in bed
- Saying goodbye to your social life
- Have an endless to-do list
- Let laziness creep on you
