Healthy Habits and Mental Health
Q&A with a Registered Social Worker
Recognizing the need for lifestyle changes and then acting upon that is no easy task. Today we’re talking with Registered Social Worker, Kate Brockbank, about how good and bad habits can affect your mental health, what to expect in the process, how to be compassionate towards yourself, and how therapists can help you throughout your journey.
Q: What are habits, and how can they negatively or positively affect your mental health?
A: In general, habits are behaviours that we engage in on a routine basis.
These behaviours can either be intentional, for example, having a self-care activity, or they can be less obvious, such as the way you engage with the world. Habits have the potential to be productive or sometimes they can even be problematic, especially when they can affect any aspect of your health – physical or mental.
Q: What is the difference between healthy vs unhealthy habits?
A: When engaging in healthy habits, like self-care or exercise for example, you can begin to feel a difference in your life.
Oftentimes it can lead to more energy, time, and productiveness, as well as a difference in emotions. In contrast, unhealthy habits can take time away from important tasks in your life – leaving you unable to accomplish priority items. Another type of unhealthy habit is called a ‘numbing habit,’ which is a behaviour that we engage in when we are avoiding an emotion or trying to numb our feelings. Common examples of such habits are: scrolling through social media for hours, indulging in junk food often, or sometimes even turning to substance use.
Q: How can you recognize when you need to make a change in your habits?
A: In order to realize you need to make a change, you have to recognize your pattern of behaviours, why they exist, how they can often lead you to the same outcome, and what can be done to alleviate that effect.
For example, procrastination is an unhealthy habit that many people have. When evaluating, ask yourself “what happened the last time I procrastinated” and “why do I keep procrastinating?” Many times, procrastination stems from a fear of failure and the need for perfectionism. By understanding that, you can begin to work towards preventing yourself from procrastinating.
Another way to recognize the need for change is when you want to start prioritizing yourself. With that motivation, you can begin to look at which of your current habits are serving you and which aren’t. By adjusting, you can slowly get rid of habits that have no productive purpose in your life.
Q: What are some common healthy habits that can be implemented to help improve your mental health?
A: Although this may look different for everyone, some common habits that can be implemented are below:
Find something you enjoy that is not related to technology. This means NO phones, computers, or TVs. (e.g., going for daily walks, reading, or biking).
Creating habits for right after you wake up and just before you go to bed. By doing so, you can create a balanced schedule and you start and end your day on the right foot.
Work or school can be pretty distressful for many of us. Create a plan on how you’re going to disengage and switch gears after work or school. Perhaps a fun playlist or podcast to help you wind down.
Q: What are some of the common barriers/difficulties people experience when trying to develop healthier habits?
A: Developing a specific habit can sometimes be difficult, depending on your past relationship with the task.
For example, a former competitive athlete may have trouble sticking to a workout plan, when exercise has always been linked to high stress or high anxiety emotions for them. This may cause them to give up on their goals, or not start in the first place. In this case, it may be beneficial to work through those emotions before attempting to change a habit.
Another important thing to consider is the circumstance that caused you to develop that habit in the first place. More often than not, children are forming their habits based on the tasks and values that are modelled and emphasized by their parents or caregivers. If parents or caregivers engage in unhealthy habits, then the children are more likely to develop those same habits as well.
Teenagers and young adults, on the other hand, are often influenced by social media, peer pressure and society as a whole. Regardless of whether or not the habit serves them a beneficial purpose, teenagers may still develop the habit out of pure pressure to conform. No matter the origin, these habits can easily carry over to adulthood, even if they no longer serve you.
Q: What are some tips/strategies to overcome these difficulties?
A: Again, there is no perfect answer to this; however, we can all use some basic strategies to start!
A good starting point is to determine how the unhealthy habit formed in the first place – was it through social pressure, parental modelling, or a situation-dependent response? Learning the cause can help you determine what aspects you have active control over and as a result, can help you create an appropriate plan of action.
When you want to change a habit, try to start as quickly as you can. It is much better to build on your skills gradually over time, as opposed to taking on the full force of the task in one go.
Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to create too many changes at one time. Try to limit yourself to developing 1-2 habits at a time.
Q: As a general overview, what does the process of healthy habit-making look like?
A: Let’s look at this process with an example – decompressing after work.
Determine what your need is (physical, emotional, mental, etc.). In this case, you might need a mental break after work to help you relax and switch gears towards something else.
Create a plan. Try to be as specific as you can with the details. For example, you can plan to go for a walk with your dog after you get home.
Communicate with the people around you about what you need and how they can best support you. Tell your family you will be taking the dog for a walk after work to make sure they know you will be busy at that time.
Remember that making mistakes is normal! There will be days when you might not be able to complete the task for whatever reason. Take the time to re-evaluate your plan and make sure you’re not overwhelming yourself. There is a lot of learning involved with habit development, and without mistakes, you can’t learn about what is working for you and what isn’t.
Q: Self-criticism vs. self-compassion – what works?
A: There’s a strong notion that self-criticism can be very motivating, but that’s not true.
There’s a strong notion that self-criticism can be very motivating, but that’s not true. When you come from a place of compassion, you give yourself the room to grow freely, honour your needs, and look forward to future opportunities as opposed to being afraid of failure. Change can be a multi-step, complex process and without self-compassion, it won’t be motivating or fun for you at all.
Q: When is the best time for someone to seek support or assistance?
A: It is always beneficial to have someone whom you can trust and talk to.
Whether this is a friend, family member or professional, talking to someone can help you recognize your unhealthy habits more clearly, develop your plan of action, and reduce any shame or guilt associated with unhealthy habits. A professional can help you go the extra step when it comes to maintaining accountability, prioritizing tasks, time management, and offering support throughout the whole process.
Q: What can therapy do for you?
A: Therapy can provide you with a safe space to talk about habits and any shame or guilt associated with them, especially if you’ve never had such a space before.
Additionally, not only can a therapist help you unearth why you have developed such habits in the first place, but they can help you understand how those habits are no longer serving you and are instead preventing you from reaching your goals. Overall, the process of healthy habit-making via therapy can bring you one step closer to attaining a peaceful and balanced life. Here are some resources for creating healthy habits!
Books:
Atomic Habits: A Healthy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits by James Clear
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg
The 5-Second Rule by Mel Robbins
Podcasts:
Healthy Habits 4 Life with Dr. Carol Perlman (Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify)
Healthy Screen Habits Podcast (Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify)
Make Small Changes: Helping You Build Healthy Habits (Available on Spotify)
Habit-tracking apps (free):
Way of Life (iOS)
Rewire Habit Tracker (Android)
Coach.me (iOS and Android)
HabitBull (Android)
Streaks (iOS)
Whatever it is, we’re here for you.
Life is uncertain. Jobs are stressful. Parenting is hard. Relationships take work. Families can be dysfunctional. And, sometimes love hurts. When you’re confronted by feelings, events, or issues that are making your life challenging, it’s okay to ask for some help.
