Bad habits are a frequent companion of human life. All sorts of addictions interfere with self-realization, harm health and sometimes lead to the degradation of the individual.

We have selected for you the 13 most harmful and destructive human habits.

If you find yourself with one or two, immediately throw all your strength into the fight.

Bad habits - how they appear

For addiction to occur, there must be suitable, comfortable conditions (something like a nutrient broth for bacteria to multiply). Reasons for bad habits:

• laziness,
• loneliness,
• boredom,
• lack of will,
• weak character, inability to stop in time,
• frequent stress, nervous tension, worries,
• difficult life periods (divorce, funeral of loved ones, moving, new job).

Whatever the cause of a bad habit, it is not an excuse.

It is a matter of personal choice and inner energy.. Where one heals heart wounds with alcohol and shopping, the other beats a punching bag and sits with friends in a cafe.

TOP 13 bad habits

1. TV, computer, gaming and internet addiction

The brightest problem of modern society. Immersion in virtual reality is a waste of time for empty, useless dialogues, views, searches.

Online communication is gradually replacing everyday human relationships, lingering series “turn off” consciousness, and games alienate people from family and household chores.

Most of all, computer and game addictions are closed,. Escape from reality is saving for them, and the opportunity to become someone else is attractive.

The older generation got the impression that gambling is a problem of youth.

This is not true: full-grown men sweetly fight in "tanks", while forgetting to do homework with the children and kiss their wife at night.

2. Alcoholism

Drinking, which arose against the backdrop of stress, quickly develops into a habit. And now, without a familiar glass, the evening seems spoiled, and life is boring.

You don't have to drink vodka to enter the path of alcoholism. For some, it all starts with a glass of wine at lunch, for others - with a couple of liters of beer for dinner.

3. Tobacco smoking

Mark Twain was remembered not only by "Tom Sawyer", but also by dozens of vivid aphorisms about tobacco addiction.

His most eloquent phrase: “Quitting smoking is not so difficult. I myself threw hundreds of times!”

In terms of the complexity of the fight against this bad habit, only item number 4 in our rating can argue. Tobacco contains not only nicotine, but as many as four hundred substances that systematically poison the body of a smoker.

4. Addiction

According to the consequences, this is the most harmful habit of mankind. The average drug addict lives 30 years less than the average citizen.

Addiction to hard drugs leads to complete degradation of the personality, mental disorders, total health problems and death.

5. Shopping addiction

Wasted waste burdens the family budget.

Shopaholics sit in "joint purchases", catch stocks in online stores, queue up for sales and, as a result, acquire a ton of unnecessary rubbish.

The most neglected case is shopping at a TV store, where the order is made under the influence of loneliness and popcorn.

6. Coffeemania

Dependence on invigorating drinks containing caffeine (coffee, strong tea, cola, energy drinks) occurs during a period of hard work.

An emergency, a strict deadline, an irregular schedule, a long-term project ... And now you are already drinking your fifth cup of coffee in the morning, trying to please your boss.

The heart and nervous system suffer the most. But as soon as the dose is slightly reduced, the body steps on the path of recovery.

7. Chronic lack of sleep

The habit of falling asleep after two or three in the morning and jumping on the alarm clock occurs in those who maniacally value their time.

The night movie is so good, and the silence outside the window is so inspiring!

Over time, internal systems begin to suffer from lack of sleep, health fails.

8. Diets

Those who like to sit on various diets are also hostages of a bad habit.

The thing is that our body is rebuilt in a period of severe food restrictions. The metabolism slows down, the body enters an energy saving mode.

It is worth giving yourself a tiny indulgence and eating to your heart's content, as the fat immediately returns. Moreover, he does not come to where he has already sat a place, but to new locations.

Suffer internal organs, immunity, blood circulation, heart muscle.

9. Overeating

Gluttony is considered one of the seven sins for a reason.

But most of all, it harms not society, but the person himself. The emergence and exacerbation of chronic diseases is only the beginning.

10. Gambling Addiction

It's not just about roulette and a one-armed bandit. This category includes any disputes and bets, card games, sports betting.

"Easy money" beckons risky natures, and they can no longer stop. "I'll be lucky this time!" - the typical owner of this bad habit says confidently. And he hurries to catch luck by the tail, waving his last shirt.

11. drug addiction

For some, it is expressed in total love for the very process of treatment, when the pharmacy becomes a mecca. At the first sneeze, a full basket of antibiotics is bought, which eventually cease to act.

Others develop dependence on specific drugs - sedatives, painkillers or vasoconstrictors (a typical example is drops from the common cold).

It can be difficult to get off this needle: like drugs, drugs are addictive not only on a psychological, but also on a physiological level.

12. The habit of using swear words in everyday speech

It all starts in youth with a desire to imitate older comrades or become one of your own in a party. Gradually, addiction develops.

In advanced cases, a person uses a mat every 4-6 words. Speech clogged with profanity harms the internal culture, negatively affects the upbringing of children and, in general, lowers the social status.

13. Minor bad habits (repetitive gestures, movements)

Clicking knuckles, wiggling ears, pulling hair, picking your nose, constantly biting your nails or a ballpoint pen...

They are comparable to nervous tics and betray a weak, weak-willed nature that does not control its behavior.

A bitten nail will not bring big trouble, but the process looks extremely unaesthetic.

Each person at least once noticed some kind of addiction, but not all of them are safe for the person himself, his environment. A lot has been said and written about bad habits and their impact on health, their types and causes, the fight against them and prevention, but this topic has not exhausted itself. Are there any reasons for this? Yes! Despite the huge amount of social advertising, bad habits have a detrimental effect on people and their families.

What are bad habits

Addictions that harm health, relationships, self-development, financial situation, are called bad habits. Some of them are perceived adequately, for example, tobacco smoking, although nicotine contributes to cancer, while others, on the contrary, cause a lot of negative emotions in society. However, all of them do not carry anything good in themselves, they turn a person into a hostage, make him dependent on a certain factor. If the object of desire is taken away from him, then even common sense does not stop the obsession to get what he wants.

Addictions

It has long been proven that addictions and their harmful effects have a bad effect on the health and psyche of others. The simplest example is passive smoking, during which the nicotine contained in tobacco smoke harms the body of an outsider more than the smoker himself. Young people, including schoolchildren, smoke, drink alcohol, indulge in light drugs, so that in ten years they will begin to suffer from alcoholism, substance abuse, treatment for infertility, heart problems, lungs, etc. The health of teenagers deteriorates instantly.

Experts identify three addictions that have gained widespread popularity among men and women over the past few decades. They lead to chronic diseases, destroy the brain, heart, blood vessels. Pregnant women, drinking or smoking, have no idea how alcohol or nicotine affects the intrauterine development of children, what heredity they pass on to offspring. Most importantly, they destroy families. Bad habits include alcoholism, drugs, gambling. These are the three horsemen of the apocalypse of the modern world, which are harmful to health.

Alcohol

Heavy drinking is not just an addiction. This is a huge health hazard. The mechanism of poisoning is based on the influence of such a poisonous substance as ethanol or ethyl alcohol. He begins his insidious action a minute after entering the stomach. However, the digestive tract is far from the only system that suffers from drinking alcohol.

The brain is one of the most important human organs. Excessive attachment to a glass causes persistent mental disorders, memory loss is observed. Due to the toxic effects of alcohol on the body, you can get alcoholic encephalopathy, which is a complex psychosis, a "delirium tremens" syndrome, consisting of somatic and neurological disorders. Alcohol has a negative effect on the liver, which takes the brunt of it. Cirrhosis of the liver is a slow but inevitable death.

drugs

More terrible than alcoholism can only be the use of drugs, which often consist of chemical harmful components. The impact of bad habits on the human body is enormous. Drugs affect the nervous system, there is a complete change in a healthy body for the worse. A person who takes drugs eventually becomes dependent on the state in which he stays, forgetting about the dangers of harmful substances. With constant doses, chronic poisoning of the body develops, such diseases occur:

• damage to internal organs;
• disruption of the nervous system;
• brain atrophy;
• violation of the production of hormones;
• liver and heart failure.

Drug addicts, unlike healthy people, are more likely to become depressed, ending their lives by suicide. Fatal overdose cases are not uncommon. This is the risk of contracting AIDS and other infections that are transmitted through the blood. Such people cannot get rid of drug addiction on their own, they need qualified help from doctors and psychologists. Recovery is very difficult, often with relapses.

gambling addiction

Bad habits and their impact on health are not limited to drugs and alcohol alone. Gambling is another scourge of modern society. A person, falling into such dependence, becomes lost to society. Gambling entails the following problems:

• Mental illness. An Internet player can sit in front of a monitor for hours. Perhaps he will not spend even a ruble, but he will forget about real life and the people around him. There is a degradation of the personality, the absence of any vital activity, in addition to the virtual world of games.
• Impact on health. Internet players forget about sleep, food. Cases have been recorded when such people go to the toilet for themselves. As a result, the Internet player becomes like a drug addict.
• Memory loss, decreased intelligence.

Consequences of bad habits

People who are addicted to addictions destroy their mental and physical health. Close people suffer from the consequences of such addictions. Drug addicts and alcoholics rarely admit that they are sick. This state of affairs aggravates the treatment, and such people need to be treated seriously, without delay. For these purposes, medical and psychological centers have been organized to work with young people and adult patients, where doctors and psychologists conduct complex therapy, explain how bad habits affect human health.

Effect on the body

Summing up, we can highlight the main bad habits and their consequences. Drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling, and the repeated impact of bad habits on human health cause the following problems.

Experts note that the three main bad habits that interfere with a healthy lifestyle of a person are addiction to cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. There are many other negative factors, but it is these three components that have become so widespread. There are social advertising campaigns in the country calling to give up bad habits, but so far, judging by the statistics, this has not had much effect. In addition, manufacturers of alcohol and cigarette products also do not stand still, promoting an attractive image of smoking and drinking heroes of our time.

Smoking: what's left when the smoke clears?

Today, Russia is the world's leader in tobacco consumption and ranks first in teenage smoking. According to the WHO, every year smoking kills 332,000 people in Russia. At the same time, in our country this bad habit is typical for 75% of men and 21% of women. Despite the fact that tobacco use in the country has decreased compared to the 1990s, Russia is still ahead of Europe and America in this indicator, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Development. The big danger is that many young people are addicted to smoking. According to the Center for Social Research of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, 51% of young Russians (from 11 to 24 years old) smoke. The number of young women who smoke has increased. Millions of people die every year from diseases caused by smoking.

What effect does such a bad habit as smoking have on the human body?

• A great blow is applied to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Lungs become clogged, colds become more frequent, and the risk of lung cancer increases.
• In the process of smoking, pressure rises, transporting oxygen to the heart muscle is difficult. Smoking increases the level of cholesterol in the blood, which exacerbates the risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, coronary and coronary heart disease.
• The appearance also leaves much to be desired: the complexion deteriorates, the teeth lose their whiteness.
• Significant harm is also done to the health of others: constant passive smoking is especially dangerous for asthmatics.
• It is important that smoking adversely affects reproductive health.

Alcohol: how does the body pay?

According to statistics, 9.3 liters per person are drunk every year in Russia, and according to some experts, the number of alcoholics is about 7 million people. According to the Center for Social Research of the Ministry of Education and Science, about 60% of young Russians aged 11 to 24 drink alcohol. The problem of alcoholism still remains one of the main ones for the health of the nation. The situation is complicated by the fact that this bad habit is especially difficult to overcome without the help of specialists. Alcohol is dangerous because it has a destructive effect on many organs, as well as on the human psyche.

• The cells of the digestive organs are destroyed, the cells that produce insulin die - such a bad habit can cause gastritis, pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus and other diseases.
• As for the cardiovascular system, alcohol destroys blood cells, which makes it difficult to transport oxygen to tissues and can cause arrhythmia, coronary disease and atherosclerosis.
• Excessive drinking disrupts blood sugar regulation, which can cause damage to the nervous system, brain, and more.
• Alcohol does nothing useful for the liver either: liver cells die, metabolism is disturbed, cirrhosis - all this is dangerous for the body.

No less serious is beer alcoholism, which causes an increase in heart volume, increased pressure, arrhythmia, and affects brain cells. According to some experts, the danger of beer alcoholism is underestimated, although in many cases it is difficult to treat. At the same time, a significant part of young people are rather frivolous about the consumption of beer, recklessly considering it a light drink.

Drugs: complete destruction of the body

According to the Federal Drug Control Service, Russia ranks third after Iran and Afghanistan in terms of the number of drug addicts. According to the data of the Ministry of Health, there are about 550,000 drug addicts in our country, but some experts say the figure is 2-2.5 million people. At the same time, over the past 10 years, the number of people suffering from such a bad habit as drug addiction has increased by 59%. It is characteristic that the majority of drug addicts seek treatment at the stage of the developed addiction syndrome, when it is difficult to provide effective assistance to the patient.

Narcotic substances negatively affect all organs of a person, as well as his psyche.

• The work of the cardiovascular system is disrupted, pressure rises, the digestive system ceases to function normally, weight loss begins, skin color deteriorates, respiratory organs are affected, and pulmonary diseases occur.
• Great harm is done to the reproductive system (up to impotence), mental disorders begin, and a serious weakening of the immune system occurs. Many drug addicts have an increased risk of contracting HIV infections.

Scientists also warn about the dangers of other bad habits that are typical for a modern person: overeating, Internet addiction, addiction to computer games, gambling, etc. Experts note that one of the most effective ways to fight bad habits is an active life and sports: if you want to succeed in this, then you just have to give up dangerous addictions. Today there are many opportunities to maintain an active lifestyle, incl. sign up for a sports club. To understand which sport suits you, you can use sports psychodiagnostics complexes, for example, "Sportometer". The complex will help you determine what exactly you are interested in and choose the best sports for you - by the way, "Sportometer" is already used by many sports schools, whose students have achieved impressive results.

It is not for nothing that bad habits are called such - they worsen both the life of the person himself and relations with others. What habits are considered to be harmful, how to get rid of them forever?

When it comes to bad habits, we usually remember the most serious "sins" - alcoholism, drug addiction, smoking. But other things have a negative impact. Let's consider what common habits can be called harmful, exactly how their negative impact is manifested.

overeating habit

The tendency to overeat, or gluttony, is prone to many people- full, thin. It is difficult for gluttons to stop eating - they continue to put delicacies, sweets on themselves, even when the feeling of hunger is already satisfied.

The most common, noticeable consequence of overeating is problems with being overweight. But not only - even if the figure remains slim for reasons of good heredity, the internal organs do not become healthier at all. There are diseases of the stomach, intestines, metabolism is disturbed, toxins accumulate. This leads to increased pressure, cardiac failure, shortness of breath. Gluttons are more prone to heart attacks and strokes than other population groups.

Smoking

Many smokers laugh at anti-tobacco propaganda, claiming that nicotinic acid is not nearly as bad for health as is commonly believed. However, irreparable harm to the body is caused by additional combustion products of cigarettes - carcinogenic resins. First of all, smoking "hits" the respiratory, cardiovascular system - smokers acquire incurable chronic bronchitis, shortness of breath, and experience problems with high blood pressure.

In addition, smoking negatively affects the skin, hair, and teeth. None of the heavy smokers can boast of a healthy complexion, shiny hair, white teeth. Smokers are relentlessly pursued by an unpleasant smell that even they themselves notice - bad breath, tasteless aroma from smoky clothes. And if you have to give up smoking breaks for a long time, the smoker simply loses the ability to concentrate - all his thoughts are concentrated only on how to seize a minute for a smoke break.

coffeemania

Coffee is a fragrant, invigorating tasty drink that has become a real cult in a short time. At first glance, it seems that its use does not carry anything bad - but this is a big mistake. Regular consumption of coffee quickly forms an addiction - it becomes difficult for a coffee lover to do without their favorite drink. Problems with morning awakening become the first alarm signal - before the first cup of hot coffee, the head simply refuses to think, the coffee lover experiences depression, drowsiness.

Many coffee lovers notice that over time, one morning cup becomes not enough for them - coffee gradually displaces all other drinks. And huge daily portions of caffeine sooner or later lead to hypertension, tachycardia, heart attacks, strokes.

lack of sleep

The habit of limiting the amount of sleep at night also seems harmless - but in fact it is fraught with great danger. Each of us periodically faces a situation when we want to watch a good movie, finish an important conversation, and later go home from friends. In rare lack of sleep, there is nothing to worry about. Worse, when it becomes a trend - every day a person goes to bed late at night in order to get up on an alarm clock in a few hours.

Lack of sleep disrupts the production of important hormones. From artificial light, the production of melatonin decreases, the level of leptin and ghrelin, which are responsible for good appetite, decreases, and the intestines begin to function worse. But the level of insulin in the blood rises - which can lead to diabetes. The content of stress hormones is also growing - a sleepy person is irritable. Of course, lack of sleep affects performance. According to doctors, normal daily sleep should take at least 7 to 9 hours.

Addiction

Drug addiction is a bad habit, with the negative consequences of which no one will argue. The division of narcotic substances into "light" and "heavy" is extremely conditional - the emerging dependence one way or another leads to social degradation, physical destruction of a person. It just happens quickly in some cases, slower in others.

Drugs have a fatal effect on the entire human body - from digestion to the heart. But of course, the brain, mental activity suffers faster, most of all - the addict quickly loses all past interests, stops developing, learning new things, is only interested in the next dose. Mortality among drug addicts is greatly increased, life expectancy is extremely short - most drug addicts die before the age of 50.

Alcoholism

Alcoholism can be safely attributed to a variety of drug addiction. But alcohol, unlike drugs, is completely legal - that's why it is especially dangerous. Frequent use of alcoholic beverages leads to the fact that a person ceases to enjoy a sober life, feels relaxed, cheerful only in a state of intoxication.

Alcohol has a devastating effect on the entire body system. But it has a particularly negative effect on the liver, heart, blood vessels, brain - among alcoholics, cases of death from cirrhosis of the liver, heart attacks, and strokes are not uncommon.

Gambling, addiction to social networks

With the development of high technologies, the list of bad habits has been replenished with gambling and Internet addiction. A particular danger lies in the fact that many patients are not even aware of their problem - after all, each of us spends a lot of time at the computer.

The main negative consequence of gambling addiction, dependence on social networks is considered to be a violation of human socialization. But these vices also affect physical health. First of all, the musculoskeletal system suffers, scoliosis, curvature of the spine, and osteochondrosis appear. Vision deteriorates - the constant radiation of the monitor has a bad effect on the eyes. Inveterate gamers almost never go out - which leads to muscle weakness, intestinal disorders, increased fatigue, and a lack of important vitamins.

The habit of getting angry, arguing, offended

The source of many unpleasant diseases is ordinary stress. It appears not only because of situations that we cannot control. We often provoke nervous overload ourselves - when we are offended by any spoken word, we begin to argue with everyone who has a different point of view, we get angry at our interlocutors.

Anger, resentment lead to a sharp increase in pressure - many people will confirm that stress is accompanied by a headache for them, other vegetative manifestations. Thus, an insufficiently calm attitude to life worsens the functioning of blood vessels, the heart, leads to gastrointestinal disorders, and affects the quality of sleep.

foul language

A rather unexpected item on the list of bad habits can be foul language. However, recent scientific studies have concluded that the habit of constantly using swear words in speech directly affects human health.

Swearing always carries a negative emotional charge - stress is experienced not only by others, but also by foul language. The habit of swearing worsens the state of the cardiovascular, digestive system, negatively affects mental development - and therefore, the quality of the brain.

Rejection of bad habits, their prevention

Breaking bad habits is hard work. However, it is quite real if taking care of your own health is sufficient motivation. What rules in life should be followed in order to forget about bad habits - and prevent them from returning?

• Balanced diet, daily routine. A healthy diet, a sufficient amount of vitamins, a clear schedule for waking up, going to bed are the “cornerstones” of good health.
• Sport. It doesn't matter if it's a gym membership, jogging in the morning or simple gymnastics. The main thing is to exercise regularly. They show particular effectiveness in the fight against caffeine addiction, lack of sleep, the habit of being nervous, and overeating.
• Walking in the fresh air - it improves the functioning of the heart, brain, helps to relax, activates the intestines, removes toxins from the body. There is a positive effect of walks on intellectual activity, emotional state.

Finally, try to diversify your daily life as much as possible, constantly get new impressions. Any bad habits grow out of a depressed psychological state. A person simply does not know what to do with his time, so he resorts to alcohol, drugs, computer games, gets nervous over trifles, or “drowns out” depression with high-calorie food. A variety of busy pastimes eliminates the very need for bad habits - as many more interesting activities will appear.

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