What comes to your minds when you ponder on things that can affect your mental wellbeing? Do you consider childhood traumas? Do you reckon on physical violence?
These experiences have severe impacts on your mental wellness. Numerous theories and studies are performed about these issues.
However, did you realize little things are just as damaging as those traumatic occasions? They could possibly be much trickier because you cannot identify them as something that would influence your mental wellness.
To prevent them, here are the six tiny yet destructive factors that ruin your mental wellness.
1. Multitasking
Multitasks are essential skills today. Companies hire people who can multi-task to increase productivity and revenues.
At home, doing multiple tasks simultaneously requires multitasks. Doing so helps us feel accomplished. However, multitasks may cause frustration.
When you do too much, the tension makes you easily irritated and angry. Thus, perhaps the things we accomplish cancel the true effect of multitasks.
2. Selfies
“But first I must take a picture,” is a popular saying in the 2010s pop music era. The photo has become a culture of itself that social media sites are created around it. Its enjoyable to do.
However, the negative effects of this somewhat benign activity are detrimental. A number of research papers have already shown the negative effect of selfies on one’s self-esteem and mental health.
In this paper, we expand upon these findings by showing that even if someone takes a picture and then edits or retouches it, they still experience an adverse impact on their self-concept.
3. Venting or Complaining
Venting or complaining has its benefits, but if done too much and too often it can have detrimental effects to one’s mental health.
Experts say that being open about your feelings can help you get things off your chest. It’s natural to feel angry because life can be tough. But when you do so too much and too often you risk damaging yourself mentally.
According to experts, expressing anger is an emotional reaction to a situation where we feel hurt or offended. When we let our feelings out, it helps us release stress and anxiety.
However, if we keep talking about how upset we are without stopping to think about what others may be feeling, then we could end up hurting ourselves emotionally.
We might forget to listen to people who care about us, and instead focus on our own problems. In addition, we might start thinking negatively about those around us, and we could develop unhealthy relationships.
So, before you go into full blown rant mode, take a moment to consider whether you’re really just trying to work through your issues, or if you’re simply letting them build up inside of you.
4. Self-deprecating Jokes
Humor is an essential part of life. When we laugh, we release endorphins into our bloodstream. These chemicals make us feel happy and relaxed.
They are also known as “feel good” hormones. However, if we are constantly laughing at ourselves then it could lead to problems such as depression or anxiety.
So what does research say about whether or not people who tell themselves funny stories actually suffer?
Well, they find out that those who tell themselves funny stories are happier than those who do not. In addition, telling yourself funny stories can help you cope better with stressful situations. (University of Granada)
5. Clutter
Marie Kondo said we should only keep items that bring us joy! This decluttering movement has grown over the past year and rightly so.
According to a recent psychology journal article (2017), cluttered environments increase procrastinating tendencies.
When you’re surrounded by piles of stuff, you tend to postpone cleaning, and the more stuff you accumulate, the harder it becomes to clear out.
This vicious circle causes anxiety and negative emotions, which affect your overall happiness. A second psychological journal article (2010) found that cluttered surroundings cause an increase in cortisol levels, which induce anxiety.
Marie Kondo’s organizing shows aren’t just fun, they can also help improve your mental health.
6. Bad Posture
I am not sure if this is really the last thought about mental health, however, it could be one of them.
A study conducted by the Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry found that people who had poor body postures displayed more negative mood and higher levels of anxiety in challenging circumstances.
People with good body postures exhibited positive mood, high confidence, and lower levels of fatigue during these challenges.
Good and upright body positions provide greater concentration and attention even in stressful circumstances (Broadbent et.al., 2014).
So, maybe, when you practice a better body position, you can improve your mood and ultimately your mental health.
Conclusion
These aren’t all bad. Some are fun, and can also be helpful too. But if we do them too often, then we ought to try to change them into something else.
Even though they might not seem big, they can have huge impacts on our mental health.
Notice those small changes, and make them bigger the next time so that you can get better mental health.
