 Are you tired of trying to break your bad habits with little success? Do you find yourself repeating the same mantras over and over only to give into temptation once again? It's time to stop judging yourself and start taking action. In this video, we'll explore some of the self-destructive habits that you need to break right now. Say goodbye to your bad habits and hello to a healthier, happier you. Food is your life. Mmm, those cookies with their crunchy brown edges in the chocolatey Go-E center. If people ever look under your bed, they will not only find such cookies but also a stash of snacks, crackers, and every type of junk food imaginable. And if people could search your brain, they'd soon figure out that you think about food all the time. If you can relate to this, there's a high chance that you have a binge eating disorder. Psychiatrist Joel Young explains that this disorder not only makes you hide food and eat them in secret but also makes you unable to control yourself when you're eating. Even though you aren't hungry, you continue to eat even beyond the point of comfortable fullness followed by feelings of shame, guilt, or depression. If you're going through something similar, know that it's okay to seek professional support. You don't have to face this alone. Craving artificial dopamine. That rush of dopamine as you chug your fourth bottle of alcohol leaves you with a kind of explosion in your brain, the type that makes you feel upbeat and euphoric. Researcher Nora Volko and colleagues explained in a study that excessively consuming alcohol and drugs can mess up your brain's reward pathway, flooding it with high levels of artificial dopamine. When it comes to things that trigger your reward system, your brain doesn't know the difference between quality and quantity. Normal, healthy activities that might activate your reward system like hugging or sleeping are pushed to the bottom of your priority list. While chronic drug or alcohol intake rises to the top, while overcoming chronic substance addiction can be a challenging journey. Seeking therapy can provide a path to successfully breaking the habit and living a fulfilling life free from addiction. Overspending. Psychology researcher Anja Otziker notes that excessive spending can be self-destructive because you're amassing credit card debt and loans that are hard to pay back. This can result in severe financial pressures and stress, which can poorly influence your emotional state and general well-being. Moreover, according to research by Sonya Britt Letter and colleagues, your relationship could be in jeopardy when you overspend as your partner may start thinking that they can't trust you with money. As you regularly overspend, they're expected to bear the excessive expenditures, which cause them to become resentful and could result in an unfavorable dynamic in your relationship. Up late for no reason. It's the wee hours of the night and instead of sleeping, you're watching video after video on TikTok. The clock is ticking and despite knowing you should go to bed so you're not grumpy in the morning, you're still over-indulging in this unconstrained leisure. Social psychologist Teresa di Donato terms this behavior as revenge bedtime procrastination in which a person trades sleep for leisure time as a result of a busy routine during the daytime. In a study in the journal Healthcare, researcher Vijay Chattu and colleagues explained that this behavior is self-destructive, as it can degrade your decision-making, memory, and thinking. You'll feel sleepy during the day, which will reduce your productivity and raise your risk of micro-sleeping while driving. According to theSleepFoundation.org, the most effective treatment for sleep procrastination is good sleep hygiene, which incorporates healthy sleep habits and establishes a sleep-friendly atmosphere. All work and no play. Another self-destructive habit is workaholism, which involves an excessive and compulsive need to work. Researchers Akihiro Shimizu and Wilmar Shokfeli discovered its self-destructiveness stems from the fact that it can cause higher levels of burnout, job stress, and lower job satisfaction. Workaholics may spend long hours at work, take on enormous tasks, and disregard their physical health, personal relationships, and leisure activities. According to organizational psychologist Melissa Clark, workaholics experience chronic stress that can have harmful consequences on the body, including elevated cortisol levels, which can impair immunological function, and raise the risk of health problems such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Can you relate to any of these habits? Share with us in the comments. Self-destructive behavior serves as an unconscious, protective mechanism against shame. According to licensed psychologist Dr. Lynn Margolis, to escape the empowering impacts of shame, these defenses offer different states of mind, rectify shame, or limit exposure to it. For example, substance-based addictions cause an altered psychological state that is strong enough to successfully overpower the effects of shame. To break these shame-based self-destructive patterns, little safe risks of being seen and activities that build pride should be taken. Shame should not be gotten rid of, but instead acknowledged as a separate experience. When you recognize shame for what it is, some of its power is diminished. If you've enjoyed this video, remember to like and subscribe. And remember, you matter.