Everyone has their own habits –– good or bad. You might wake up and meditate for 20 minutes before starting your day. You could have a habit of eating something salty and needing something sweet. Maybe you’re known in the office for always being late. Habits are habits that are meant to be repeated or broken.
The Natural Library of Medicine defines ‘habits’ as actions that are triggered automatically in response to contextual cues. So, when you wash your hands after using the bathroom (that’s a good habit), it’s an automatic response to an action you repeat often. While we’re throwing on the medicinal hat, something to consider is, what does it take to set healthy habits?
Just like anything else, it takes repetition. If you’ve been telling yourself that you’re going to start going to the gym, but you haven’t exercised in months, it might take a while to switch your routine. Studies revealed that behavior is likely to become habitual when it is frequently and consistently performed in the same context. This can directly apply to mental health.
We say all the time, “self-care”, “take care of you”, but if you haven’t made it a practice, it’s going to take some time to get there and stay there. There are healthy habits, including, eating better, disconnecting from social media and getting rest, that you can start now. The catch is you can’t let it be temporary. Be intentional. Invest in yourself. You can work on this little by little every day until it becomes second nature. Remember – you can break a habit, just be consistent and you’ll get there before you know it.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/ 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00560/full
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