Our Stress The Trigger To Negative Habits

By John A. Mays, MSEd

We all are byproducts of our daily habits and routines. Habits can range from running consistently, lifting weights daily and eating nutritious meals daily to eating candy when stressed, missing workouts and lack of sleep due to juggling stressful situations. Simply stated, we all have both good and bad health habits. Our habits have a tendency to mold us into who we are and who we will become for years to come.

Each habit in its own instance isn't bad or good, but when they pile up, you quickly can ask yourself do they collectively help you reach your goals. The problem with bad health habits is that they're easy to include into your lifestyle, but hard to move away from when you realize how much they're costing your health and wellness.

Take the time to keep a journal of your daily actions and habits. Then you can take an objective look at the things you eat, think and do and how they affect your daily outcomes.

Stress is probably the top culprit leading to our negative habits. In our constant, always-on-the-go society, many people suffer from the negative effects of stress without even realizing it. Lack of sleep, a constant feeling of uneasiness, physical ailments, overeating, and late night snacking are common stress indicators.

To help manage the daily stressors in your life, I suggest regular physical activity as a healthy outlet, as well as taking time out for yourself away from technology, and removing the elements in your life that may be triggering your stress. Because, when you're stressed, your health and fitness levels can definitely be compromised.

If you're having trouble losing weight or meeting your fitness goals, figure out your stressors and what habits are factoring into your problem. All of these habits and stress related behaviors tend to never stand alone. They feed upon one another, creating a vicious cycle of bad habits and guilty pleasures.

If you don't make the time and effort now to make healthy lifestyle choices, it's going to cost you in the long run in the form of poor self-perception, poor health, medical bills, and not living as long as you'd like. If you spend the time, effort, and money now to eat healthy, exercise, and adopt good habits, then you're setting yourself up to live a richer and longer life. It's either do it now, or pay the price later.