The Most Destructive Behaviors That Lead To Shortening Your Lifespan
Destructive behaviors may initially appear as bad habits, but sometimes they can be more serious. It encompasses a range of actions and habits that often entail negative effects on one’s quality of life, from physical to mental, emotional, social, or economic.
There are plenty of reasons people adopt destructive behavior. Some people resort to self-destruction or dysregulated behavior in an attempt to cope with things they are going through. Others may aim to experience relief or gain a sense of pleasure. But destructive behavior can directly affect one’s health, especially substance abuse or self-harm.
Mere habits can turn into self-destructive behavior if not controlled. Here are some of the most destructive behaviors that can shorten your lifespan.
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Underestimating Yourself
There are good days when you feel most amazing, but there are also those days when you just feel like you do not like yourself a lot. It is usual for any human being. However, consistently downplaying yourself and invalidating your skills and struggles can be harmful. This is among the self-destructive behaviors you should avoid or stop, especially if you aim to succeed.
Not acknowledging what you can do can hold you back from fulfilling your goals and dreams. Looking at yourself negatively can give you anxiety as everyone is looking at you that way, which can be crippling. There are also others that may say negative things to you that will lead you to belittle yourself.
It is important to know that others’ judgment of you is not always true. But this can eventually become your perception of yourself whenever you choose to invalidate yourself, your feelings, your skills, and everything unique about you.
Underestimating yourself will lead you to miss out on chances and opportunities. Filling your mind with self-doubt hinders you from discovering what you can do or learn. Ultimately, it stops you from feeling happiness and contentment, from enjoying your life and living it to the fullest.
Surrounding Yourself With Negativity
You absorb mostly what surrounds you. What you see or hear often affects what you feel, hence exposing yourself to too much negativity can become destructive behavior. It can trigger negative emotions and can impact your way of thinking. If exposed regularly or for a prolonged length of time, you have a higher risk of unconsciously adopting those negativities and carrying them with you.
Know how much negativity you can handle and deal with. Regulate your intake of negative or bad news as needed. It is okay to set boundaries and tell people that you are currently not in the right headspace to hear or process negative ideas or sad and heavy thoughts.
Substance Abuse
Most people develop destructive behavior because they aim to escape their current reality. They often do not know how to navigate and process their emotions, so they find ways to suppress them or forget them.
This often stimulates the brain through chemicals, which causes substance abuse or addiction. It can negatively affect a person’s life, including their physical and mental health and the social and economic aspects of their lives.
Addiction is not a habit one can change overnight but a condition where the mind has been reliant on chemicals in order to feel artificial pleasure or happiness. Most substance abuse sufferers will find it very difficult to stop.
It is important to seek professional help in order to treat or prevent the condition from advancing. There are supportive treatment and rehab facilities that you can reach out to for professional help. If you live around Florida, there are drug and alcohol rehab centers in West Palm Beach that can help you address substance abuse disorder and addiction.
Isolating Yourself
Around 20,000 adults in the U.S. feel like they are always alone, and there are more around the world. Wanting to be alone and shut people out often has underlying causes relative to negative emotions, like loneliness. It can be caused by emotional challenges and is often associated with loneliness, depression, and anxiety.
Adults can experience loneliness and self-isolation, and the feeling can grow extreme as they age older. It has various negative effects and health risks. Social isolation puts someone at a higher risk of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. It can even affect one’s immunity and can lead to premature death.
Everyone needs the presence and support of other people. Making valuable connections, socializing, sharing stories and struggles, relating, and just living life is necessary. Whenever you feel like withdrawing yourself or think you’re better off alone, telling someone and letting them be there for you is best.
Letting people know how you feel and allowing them to care for you and witness your life can be healthier than isolating yourself.
Make friends, surround yourself with like-minded people, and build a robust support system. It is also a good thing to be a support to others, like your friends and family, when you can. Socialize and foster meaningful relationships further and live a fuller, longer life with people who love and value you.
Destroy Destructive Behaviors
Destructive behaviors come from a hostile place or experience. They can be signs that you are going through something that needs to be addressed. On the first few signs of destructive behaviors, look deeper, tell a friend and seek professional help as early as possible to keep it from affecting your relationships and your life. The same goes when you notice a friend or family member exhibiting signs of destructive behavior.
