How Bad Habits Develop

Causal Analysis Do you have a bad habit? If so, it could be endangering your health or just plain irritating to someone else. There are all sorts of bad habits: smoking, chewing tobacco dipping snuff, chewing fingernails, or making some sort of irritating noise. A bad habit is usually picked up by someone who watches or admires another person who has a particular bad habit. One will not notice much difference in the beginning, but in time certain behaviors become routine. There are certain stages one will go through in forming these habits.

A smoking habit develops very easily. All it takes is a young person who thinks smoking is cool, or any person who is under a great deal of stress, and combined with the belief that smoking will calm one's nerves, one will become addicted to nicotine. If a young person starts smoking, it is often because he or she looks up to a person who smokes, and thinks it makes them look cool. So naturally, they want to be just like this person. Sooner or later they are addicted to the high amounts of nicotine and other harmful drugs in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Another big reason someone starts smoking is when they are placed in a really difficult time. Losing a close relative, someone struggling in school, or even having a rough time at work would be some good examples of difficult times. Some people look to tobacco products to help them calm their nerves and the majority of these people become addicted.

Another habit that is not good for your body is chewing or biting your fingernails.

This habit can be started the same way smoking is started. Young people will watch adults or someone they admire, and copy their actions. This is a very bad habit for a young person to develop, because it is very hard to quit anything that is started while someone is young. If they swallow their fingernails they could also develop a tape worm. Also, someone could pick up this habit when one gets really nervous about something. They tend to start nibbling on their fingers, and before they know it they will not have any fingernails left. When your fingernails are not taken care of, they become very weak and cracked. This can become very painful at times. The best thing to do is just keep your hands out of your mouth. Besides, just think of where they have been.

Both of these habits are bad for your health. Smoking can cause lung cancer and breathing problems. If people bite their fingernails it makes their hands look and feel horrible. Quitting is no problem for those who really want to quit. Giving up tobacco would probably be the hardest habit to break because of the addiction to nicotine.

Smokers just have to tell themselves that they are going to put cigarettes down and never turn back, no matter what. Stopping the nail-biting habit seems easier: nail-biters should simply take their minds off of their hands and find something to keep their hands busy so they will not put them in their mouth. Habits are easily started; however, once started, make sure the habit is something that can be easily stopped.