Denial Is Not Just A River In Africa
We are all on a quest for a happy, healthy life. We try out all sorts in our efforts. Many of us take up yoga or attempt to meditate. Some of us even become vegan in an attempt to cleanse our souls and bodies.
But, many of our efforts at happiness fail. And, while there can be a variety of reasons for this, there is one common cause; denial. Often, we live in a cloud of denial. This smokescreen stops us from seeing what we need to do to improve our wellbeing. Mainly because it prevents us from recognizing our bad behaviors. But, knowing the smokescreen is there is half of the battle. After that, all you need to do is discover which form your denial takes. And, to help you do so, we’re going to look at the most common offenders.
Unhealthy eating
Many of us believe we eat much healthier than we do. Sure, you don’t have burgers covered in cheese for every meal, but there’s a lot more to healthy eating than staying away from the stuff which is overtly harmful.
In fact, those salads you’ve been forcing yourself to eat may only be strengthening your denial. Perhaps you were still peckish after and had a packet of crisps to tide you over, and a chocolate bar an hour later. Before you know it, you may as well have had a burger. But, it’s okay, right? Because you did eat that salad.
To break through the smoke, jot down every snack you eat in a day and count the calories if you can. The chances are, you’re not half as healthy as you thought you were. And, once you know that, you can work towards improving the issue.
Addiction
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that addiction is often based in denial. They do say, after all, that the first step to recovery is acceptance. It may be that you’re addicted to things that are bad for you without even noticing. And, this doesn’t have to be anything as monumental as drugs, or alcohol. It could be chocolate or fizzy drinks. Addictions are harmful because they create reliant behaviors which lead to unhappiness. If you do think alcohol, or something more extreme is your problem, it might be worth checking into a center like the one you’ll find if you go here. If you’re dealing with something less harmful, it’s still worth speaking to a therapist to help yourself through.
Negative behaviors
We also often deny our negative behaviors, despite the fact that they stand directly in the way of our happiness. Again, these can range in significant ways. Checking your ex’s Facebook, for example, or thinking negative thoughts about yourself. These are harmful behaviors, which you probably don’t even notice. Spend some time measuring your emotions throughout the day. Is there anything you do which made you feel particularly bad? If yes, this is one of the negative behaviors you might need to remove.
