 Hey Psych2Goers, welcome back to our channel. Please remember, this video is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Have you recently been feeling like coping with stress and difficult life situations is becoming harder and harder? Of course, the pandemic has had a huge impact on many people's overall mental health because of the changes and losses that it's caused. However, it's important that you focus on the things in your control, such as daily habits and behaviors that may be hurting your mental health. In this video, we'll discuss six signs that you're hurting your mental health to provide some insight. Number one, you fish for compliments with negative self-talk. Do you like it when people compliment you? It's okay if you enjoy compliments. However, if you resort to negative self-talk, just get compliments from people this may actually be hurting you. According to Patricia Solan, a mental health professional, constantly making negative comments about yourself promotes brain pathways for negativity. You will only be hurting your own self-esteem and mental health, which can very easily spill over into other parts of your life, such as your relationships and work. To avoid this, you can try to express positive thoughts about yourself and give yourself confidence a boost. Number two, you're constantly trying to be productive. Are you someone who tries to fill out your daily schedule to a point where you're always doing something productive? Although productivity is a good thing. People tend to forget that their bodies and minds need breaks. According to Dr. Anna Yam, a clinical psychologist, people tend to focus so much on being productive that they don't allow their brains time to process all the information that's been gathered throughout the day. This will heavily compromise your mental health and ultimately make you feel anxious and irritable. So a good way to address this is to remember that sometimes relaxing is the most productive thing you can do. Number three, you worry too much about being nice. Do you constantly worry about being nice to everyone? While being nice is a trait that people find pleasing and attractive, constantly worrying about it is a clear sign that you're hurting your mental health. Worrying too much about being nice can have negative effects, such as repressing emotions, building resentment and periodic burnout. You may find yourself sacrificing time and energy on things that you don't even wanna do. It's important to remember that if you don't like someone, you don't owe them anything more than basic human respect. Number four, you bottle up your feelings. Have you ever felt anger or sadness, but just try to ignore it? Suppressing your emotions is never a good idea and it's one of the biggest signs that you're hurting your mental health. According to a study conducted at the University of Texas, trying to suppress your emotions actually makes them stronger. You're placing additional physical stress on your body and risking an emotional outburst by suppressing your emotions. You could even be increasing the chances of suffering problems with memory, aggression, anxiety and depression. So no matter which emotion you're feeling, make sure that you identify and address it to avoid bottling it up. Number five, you start and end your day on your phone. How often do you use your phone when you're in bed? Yes, technology has developed so much that some people have started to consider it a necessity. However, starting and ending your day on your phone may actually be hurting your mental health. According to psychotherapist Kelly Bose, starting and ending your day on your phone is bad for your mental health because of the barrage of things that you try to address and keep up with as well as the temptation of distracting yourself. Over-stimulating your mind as soon as you wake up or when you're getting ready to sleep will have negative effects on your mental health. To remedy this, you can try leaving phones and technology out of your bedroom entirely. And number six, you're always hoping something better will come along. Do you consider yourself an ambitious person? Helping for better things can be a great motivating force that will help you achieve even your wildest dreams and goals. However, if this idea of always wanting something better is obstructing you from appreciating what you currently have, then it might be a sign that you're hurting your mental health. You might be caught up in the thought of what could have been. Practicing gratitude will allow you to appreciate the things that you have and take your mind off the next thing. This will allow you to take a step back and to see everything you've worked for and achieved up until now, giving you a much needed and deserved confidence boost. Did you relate to any of these signs? Please remember that this content is meant to be informational. It's not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. But hopefully this article can provide you with some more information that will allow you to understand why you might be doing some of the things that you're doing and give you some general guidance as to how to address them. Don't forget to leave a like and comment if you enjoyed this video. Subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more. And if someone you know could benefit from this video, make sure to share it with them. All sources used are in the description below. As always, thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.