Toxic habits are a series of behaviors that make you an unhappy person through your routines. It is common for some people to blame their bad fortune for certain unpleasant events, and although this may sometimes be the case, other times it is our habits that lead us down the path of bitterness.

In today’s article, we review ten toxic habits that may be hindering your well-being and emotional balance.

Energy-consuming behaviors

The fact is that there are a number of toxic habits that are only there by inertia, but that do not really do us any good. They are those habits that the more we practice them the harder it is to turn our backs on them and change . If things are going well it is easy to feel great; when they are going badly it is difficult to get out of that vicious circle. That is why we often think that misfortunes always come together. If everything goes wrong, isn’t it because you’re doing something wrong?

It is clear that being happy all the time is not possible , but it is possible to adopt habits that favour the well-being and happiness of each person. Fighting for one’s dreams, spending time with one’s family or taking care of one’s friends are behaviours that benefit us in the long run.

Toxic habits that make you extremely unhappy

But what are these toxic habits that steal our energy? What habits or behaviors make us unhappy? You will find the answers to these questions below:

1. Focus on what you don’t have

One of the great evils of human beings is constantly wanting things that one does not have . It often happens that we undervalue what we have and, on the other hand, we overvalue what we don’t have. This happens not only with material things, some people also suffer this even with their partner.

True happiness is found within oneself, because when we are right with ourselves and fight for our deepest desires, we don’t need anything else. That is the way to find inner peace, although, of course, we need to have certain needs met.

2. Denying reality

Denying reality is something that is often done by people who are afraid of uncertainty and who avoid facing problems . This fear is fed by insecurity, which makes the person unable to overcome the challenges he or she faces by predicting an inevitable failure.

High self-confidence will determine whether we perform an action bravely, and not everyone is confident of the chances they have of emerging victorious from situations life presents. People with guts and high self-confidence are happier, and these types of individuals do not deny reality.

It may be more to make excuses if you get fired from your job than to acknowledge that you may have done something wrong. So stop looking the other way systematically and assume that some of the responsibility for things that happen to you may lie with you.

3. Blaming others

Denying reality also includes blaming others, because it is a way of not having to recognize that it is we who must change .

For example, if you’ve been unsuccessful in a college subject and failed a test, it’s easier to blame the teacher and his or her teaching method than to acknowledge that you didn’t study hard enough or have the seriousness and persistence to spend 20 minutes a day reviewing some concepts. Blaming others keeps you from learning from mistakes and is therefore a toxic habit.

4. Do not leave the comfort zone

The comfort zone is a state of mind that makes you prefer to stay in a place that you think is safer, but this place does not allow you to grow and develop . It may seem like a nice place but in the long run it will make you unhappy; in exchange for not experiencing occasional moments of stress and frustration, you will land squarely in emotional stagnation.

The comfort zone is a zone where we get stuck, and staying in that place for fear of what the future holds is a toxic habit.

5. Spend a lot of time being afraid of “what they will say”

Unhappy people are dependent on others, because they always seek the approval of others . They spend too much time thinking about what others will think of them and whether what they do will be to the liking of others.

This goes against well-being, because to be happy one must pursue one’s goals and not those of others. For example, it is a bad choice to study a career just because your father wants you to study it, because it will never fill you up.

6. Living on autopilot

Nowadays, it is common to live on automatic pilot. This means that we go through life without stopping to think about what we are really doing, without paying attention to the present moment .

This type of behavior makes people tremendously unhappy, because it makes us live far from reality, immersed in our expectations and far from being able to enjoy the here and now. To empower oneself in the face of life, it is necessary to find the connection with oneself.

7. Clinging to negative emotions

If it is bad to live from expectations, that is, from the future, it is also bad to live from the past . Anger and resentment are emotions that are usually linked to living in moments that have already happened. Experiencing these emotions is negative for our well-being, and they do not steal a lot of energy. To be happy, we must accept past experiences and move on.

8. Not sleeping well

Poor sleep hygiene has very harmful effects on our health; not only in terms of the physical aspects, but also in relation to the psychological effects. Not sleeping well affects our performance at work, our state of mind, our mood and, obviously, our general health.

9. Victims are made

Being a victim is a toxic habit . People with this type of behaviour always complain and have a negative attitude towards problems. This toxic behaviour does not allow us to learn from past experiences and stagnates us. In order to face life, it is necessary to take responsibility for the situations that may arise and it is necessary to leave aside victimhood.

10. Eating badly

If not sleeping well has a negative effect on our daily performance and energy level, eating badly also affects our emotions and health . In fact, bad eating causes obesity and many serious physical problems, such as heart problems, which can also lead to self-esteem problems, insecurity, etc.