 Hey Psych2Goers, have you ever felt like you were losing control in your life? Are you letting unhealthy habits or thoughts negatively affect you without realizing it? To help you get your life together, here are six things that may be controlling your life. Number one, always being on social media. Would you say you use social media a healthy amount of time? Or are you on the verge of extremely unhealthy? Too much of anyone thing can have negative effects, and way too much social media, such as Facebook, can possibly make you feel worse. A 2013 study from the University of Michigan, published in the journal PLOS1, found a correlation between Facebook use and dissatisfaction. For two weeks, researchers text message subjects to see how individuals felt each moment and how satisfied they were with their lives. As the research published states, results indicate that Facebook use predicts negative shifts on both of these variables over time. The more people used Facebook at a one-time point, the worse they felt the next time we text message them. The more they used Facebook over two weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time. So, when you feel inclined to check your social media notifications every half hour, it's time to reassess whether it's really worth it. At the very least, please lock your phone away before you go to bed. This means you'll likely have to purchase a real alarm clock to make it to school or work on time. 2. Procrastinating Are you guilty of procrastination? Frequently procrastinating sometimes can make us feel as if we have no control when it gets too late to complete the original required task. All you want to do is sit down and finish that art project due tomorrow. But you just got a new notification on your favorite app, and it just can't wait. One step you can take to stop procrastinating is to put away any distractions and work on the task at hand in a quiet place. Then, think in baby steps as you complete your work. Divide the tasks into small achievable goals. The next task? To ward off procrastination and attempt to focus on the next one. 3. Judging Yourself Too Harshly and Negative Thoughts How critical are you of yourself? Are you over-critical? Is your mind raced with negative thoughts and harsh self-judgment? Research continues to show that your thoughts about yourself strongly affect how you feel. The best way to change any negative feelings you may have is to counteract them with a positive one. According to psychologist Patricia Hartnack, when we perceive ourselves and our life negatively, we can end up viewing experiences in a way that confirms the notion. Instead, practice using words that promote feelings of self-worth and personal power. So instead of saying, I was horrible at my math test, use positive words and self-compassion like, I'll study harder next time, then I'll do better on the next test. 4. Going to bed late when you have time to sleep earlier Uh oh, how many of you go to bed late when you have enough time to go to bed on time? The long hours spent hunched over your computer into the night may catch up to you. You may feel pretty exhausted the next day if you don't get around 8 hours of sleep. You need a good night's rest to recharge, with enough energy for the next day. Not getting your 8 hours of sleep every night has been shown to negatively affect your mental health. What makes things worse is 60-90% of patients with depression also have insomnia, according to the Sleep Health Foundation. So people whose emotional well-being may already be suffering are possibly causing further health problems by not being able to get their full rest. Not only do you get grumpy and groggy from not getting enough sleep, but it's not the best for your emotional well-being in the long run. With a few more hours of sleep, you may find yourself more in control of your life. 5. Ignoring your physical and mental health If you continue to stay up late on your phone when you know you should be sleeping, you're already ignoring a great part of your physical health, as well as mental. Your life can be filled with busy days and constant interruptions, but it's best not to ignore your mental and physical health. Most of our health problems will arise later, rather than sooner, if we don't take care of our health now. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends that you get your cholesterol measured about once every five years, starting from the age of 20. That's one way you can check on your physical health. Mental health? Well, know that it's okay to take breaks when overworked, or even on those normal work days, a short break can be healthy. And if you feel overwhelmed or emotional, express yourself by journaling or talking to someone. It's always best to seek out help when you feel burnt out, feel out of control, or simply need someone to talk to you. 6. Thinking you can't change for the good If you feel as if you're not in control of your life, you might have felt as if you can't change. Are you worried these things will control you, that you can't change? Well, don't worry, change is possible. Accepting who we are can be healthy, unless you're ignoring the negative habits that you can change. We aren't always set in stone. We are always changing. Our opinions, beliefs, habits, and actions can change for the better. Researchers suggest that seemingly permanent parts of your personality can be changed, in their 2017 review article published in the journal Psychological Bulletin. They reviewed 207 studies that had tracked changes in measures of personality traits during interventions, including true experiments and pre-post change designs. They found therapy could cause a change in an individual's personality in as quick as four to eight weeks, as the review states, Emotional stability was the primary trait domain showing changes as a result of therapy, followed by extraversion. So when you think all hope is lost, or if you've been discouraged with some of your behaviors, know that positive change can't happen. It is possible to change for the good. If you feel any of these things control your life, don't lose hope that you can defeat them and replace these things with positive ones. Another step towards regaining control of your life. You got this. So do you feel any of these things have a bit of control over your life? Which ones? Feel free to let us know in the comments down below. We hope you enjoyed this video. And if you did, don't forget to click the like button and share it with a friend or someone who may need it. Subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more content like this. As always, thanks for watching. And I'll see you in the next video.