9 Habits You Believe Are Relaxing That Are Hurting You More In The Long Run

I'm not sure when society made the transition, but sometime between then and now, we have gone from people searching for rest, for peace, for the simple life, to people doing whatever they possibly can to avoid it.

It's as if we are afraid to slow down and take a breather, afraid of what we may see were we to actually unwind and get back in touch with reality.

We all have those habits that we use as a way to get away from the reality that we live in -- habits that we believe allow us to disconnect and unwind. Unfortunately, the truth is different from our perception of it. These so-called helpful, relaxing habits are actually making us miserable. A good thing is only a good thing in small doses.

Once they become habits, they make our lives more difficult and unpleasant than it already is. Why not take a break from our regular routine and experience life the way it is meant to be lived, simply? These are 9 trivial habits that are slowly, but surely making you hate your life:

Social Media.

Yes, tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming and whatever other array of social media apps you may be indulging in may be a fun way to waste time, but they nevertheless are only ways of wasting time.

Sure, using social media platforms does come with benefits. You can stay up to date on the things going on around the world.

You can stay in touch with friends. You can stay trendy and informed. But you can also waste thousands of hours of your life doing nothing more than staring at your iPhone. While you have your head glued to the screen, the world around you continues to live.

Gaming Apps.

Another great way to make yourself miserable over time. Both social media and gaming apps are incredibly dangerous when indulged in too often.

Think about when you most often spend time playing games on your phone or tablet. It's most likely when you are either procrastinating from doing work or in those brief moments between work when our brains should be unwinding.

Our minds are not meant to process heavy loads of information throughout the entire day without rest. They can, but it isn't efficient.

Our minds tire out and make doing the things that we need to be doing more difficult and more unpleasant. Instead of gaming at work or on the train, why not just close your eyes and take a breather?

Eating.

When we do get tired of forcing our minds to process information, we take a break by consuming things other than information, such as food.

What do you do when you're bored? Eat. The majority of people, in countries such as the US, don't eat out of hunger, but rather out of boredom.

We don't have anything to do and for whatever confused reason, we believe that we must always have something to do, so we eat. We're not hungry, but it gives us the feeling that we are using our time wisely instead of letting it go to waste.

Drinking.

The very same can be said about drinking. Weekends, for most, are for drinking. Why? Because that's when we have the most time that we feel needs to be filled with pointless activities.

We have nothing better to do -- or so we think -- so we get drunk. YOLO! "Oh, but it's such a release." Is it really?

Do you feel relaxed and grounded when you're stumbling and mumbling, trying to get into the pants of some girl or guy you would never give a second sober look? Do you feel relaxed when you're tipsy and getting a poor night's sleep? Or waking up the next day with a hangover? Or maybe you're a light drinker... Still doesn't mean that you have a good reason to drink.

Drinking is an indulgence, not a necessity. However, most of Generation-Y has this backwards.

Partying.

Our generation has built an entire culture around parties and festivals. Why? Because they can be fun. In truth, you should really only do these once in a blue moon when you feel that you need to really let loose. In case you are confused, no person in the history of ever has needed to party every single week.

No one needs to get drunk, get high and dance to blaring music until they nearly go deaf, on the regular.

Again, this is only an indulgence -- if one can call it that. Nevertheless, plenty people live a life filled with parties and events. It's fine until you realize that that sort of life comes with little fulfillment.

Hanging out.

Our friends are another great outlet for time wasting. You're bored so you figured it's best to be bored together rather than to be bored alone.

Better to ask yourself why it is that you believe yourself to be bored in the first place. Sure, human beings do need social interaction in order to live healthy, happy,and fulfilling lives, but to prosper, you need to be capable of entertaining yourself.

Friends won't always be there for you. Your friends aren't always good for you either. They very often hold you back from your full potential -- but only if you allow them to.

Working.

If you love your job, then ignore this line. Sadly, most of you reading this don't love your job and are more likely than not, not very happy with the lives that you are living. The work that we do for a living is more often than not the largest issue in our lives -- the roadblock keeping us away from happiness.

It's a tricky business, seeing as how we need money to survive, yet at the same time surviving doesn't mean living happily. You need to make money to eat, but making that money can make your life very unpleasant.

The trick? Never do a job you don't want to do for longer than necessary. If you hate what you do and can get out, then get out. One of our worst habits is following the money instead of following our happiness.

Dating.

Have nothing to do tonight? Why not go out on a date with a person you don't care about so that you can waste your time and money? Brilliant! Sure, you might get laid, but you might catch an STD. Sex is full of surprises. Dating should only be done with a purpose.

If you are dating only to get laid, then maybe figure out a better and faster way of getting laid. Sometimes we do want company, but many date because they feel it's what they're supposed to do. Dating is horrible unless it's amazing. Which of the two do you think your next date will be?

Television.

Movies and TV shows are America's favorite time-wasting pastime. There is no more seamless way of killing time than finding yourself glued to the TV screen.

You can literally spend hours and hours staring at a plastic box, feeling as if you are living a life without having to actually do any living. It's a beautiful scam, really. You feel that you are learning something because you are being fed information. In small doses, it's arguable that watching TV and movies can be beneficial.

Unfortunately, it's an epidemic in the US. People watch TV nowadays not to get more out of life, but to substitute their lives. You're not happy? You live a boring life? Don't bother to fix that, substitute it for someone else's reality!

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