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According to scientists, more than 30% of the population suffers from anxiety disorders, as well as, various phobias and this is actually a big epidemic. Even things that people face daily can affect their psyche negatively. For example, parasites which are carried by house cats can cause panic attacks, while intense athletic activities can stimulate the production of stress hormones.
Bright Side compiled a list of the most unexpected things that can harm a human’s mental health. We hope we’ll be able to exclude them from our lives and live happy and carefree.
1. Sales
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Taking part in sales makes people go crazy. Every year, videos of Black Friday fights for consumer goods with decreased prices are posted on the internet. According to scientists, low prices associated with seasonal sales affect the areas of the brain responsible for pleasure. But the moment when someone else at the sale is trying to wrestle the desired item from your hands, a big dose of cortisol (the stress hormone) gets injected to the blood and makes buyers lose control. Advice: If your heart starts to beat faster when you hear the word “discount” or if you can’t imagine your life without shopping, pay attention to online sales.
2. Cats
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Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that is carried by our lovely cats. Dogs have toxoplasmosis too but they can’t infect humans. People who like cats and don’t like to wash their hands are at risk for catching this illness. According to some reports, almost 1/3 of the Earth’s residents are infected, but the parasite is almost innocuous for people with healthy immune systems. But those people whose health is not ideal can have bad consequences from contact with cats. According to recent research, toxoplasmosis is detrimental to the psyche — it increases the risk of depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Moreover, it increases the risk of getting into a car accident. Advice: In order to protect yourself from getting infected with this parasite, vaccinate your pets — it will protect both the cat and its owner.
3. Exercise
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Intense athletic activity can worsen the nervous system and again it’s all because of hormones. Exhausting training provokes the release of adrenaline and cortisol, which makes it difficult to fall asleep after working out. If these extra intense physical exercises are regular, then the nervous system can suffer. Advice: Physical activity should match the level of your physical preparation and shouldn’t be too difficult. At the same time, moderate athletic activity decreases the level of the stress hormone, normalizes sleeping, and improves your mood.
4. Music
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People who like to isolate themselves from the world with the help of music and headphones are 8 times more likely to have depression. However, it’s actually not that simple because psychologists couldn’t find out whether depression appears due to listening to music too much or, conversely, if it’s a depressed person who starts to listen to music trying to escape reality. In any case, it’s a very valuable observation that helps to identify people prone to depression.
5. Vegetarian diet
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Researchers from Germany came to the conclusion that a vegetarian diet increases the risk of the appearance of depression, bulimia, anxiety, and hypochondria. Maybe it’s connected with a lack of essential vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids which are contained in foods of animal origin. Advice: Try to stick to a diverse and balanced menu. For example, the consumption of fish decreases anxiety greatly.
6. Internet and e-mails
Constantly checking of the contents of your e-mail box and text messages can lead to feelings of anxiety, which can be a signal of the onset of depression. Huge flows of information make users feel depressed. According to the latest research, almost 30% of young people feel various symptoms of a depressed condition. Advice: Psychologists are sure that face-to-face communication can help to treat depression. Try taking days off from gadgets and you will be surprised at how much calmer you become.
7. Optimism
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Excessive optimism is harmful to your psychological health. This phenomenon even has a scientific name — toxic optimism. It’s when, instead of working on themselves and self-developing, a person keeps waiting for everything to be OK by itself. Exaggerated expectations often don’t come true, which leads to frustration and the appearance of a psychological discomfort. And this may all end up leading to the development of depression. Advice: Consider all possible outcomes of events, make efforts in order to reach your goal, and don’t simply sit by doing nothing.
8. Wealth
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Despite expectations, wealth doesn’t guarantee a peaceful life. Conversely, scientists have found out that children from wealthy families are prone to bigger risks of developing mental illnesses. This is due to high expectations and demands that successful parents have toward their children. It leads to a feeling of vulnerability and a lack of self-confidence. We would like to note that this situation often takes place in families where the annual income exceeds $130,000.
9. Dehydration
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Something as insignificant as mild dehydration can affect your mood and even your thinking abilities negatively. At the same time, thirst is not an indicator that the body suffers from dehydration — very often, people who don’t want to drink, are actually dehydrated. Test results have shown that even an insignificant loss of moisture (about 1.5%) leads to absent-mindedness, a feeling of anxiety, and inattentiveness. It also turns out that women are more sensitive to dehydration. Advice: In order to sustain good well-being, specialists recommend drinking no less than 1.5-2 liters of water daily.
10. Small salary
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Small wages, as well as a decrease in salary, can become a reason for depression, anxiety disorder, and even attempts to commit suicide. This conclusion was made by American scientists who observed several families for 3 years. Also, a drop in salary can decrease someone’s overall satisfaction with their life and can cause an urge to use psychoactive substances.
11. The way you walk
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A psychological condition can affect both the gait and the posture. However, the opposite is true too. The head bent down, slouched shoulders, and shuffling gait make people feel unhappy. Keeping shoulders wide-open and increasing the pace of walking can significantly increase the mood. Additionally, an improper gait “makes” us notice only the negative things around. Advice: Remember your posture and concentrate on having a proper gait — they can help fight a bad mood and anxiety.
12. Photos for social networks
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A pursuit for cool photos for social networks can affect your mental health negatively. The thing is that looking at the world through a smartphone screen, people miss the best moments of their life. And despite expectations, it’s not just that the memories of those moments don’t get saved, but they also become fake because the photographer didn’t have those real emotions. Advice: Turn off your phone and enjoy the moment. Take part in various events and you’ll have many interesting memories!
What things from this list are there in your life? Have you noticed them affect your emotional state negatively? Please tell us about it in the comments!