Are you making New Year's Resolutions? There's tons of pressure in the media to change your lifestyle - but #psychology research shows that these messages can backfire badly - harming your health - so here's a short thread summarising the most interesting findings #NewYearsDay
(|1) Lots of diets/fitness regimes play on a sense of guilt - about what you're eating/how much exercise you do/screen time/stress levels. But there's tonnes of evidence that feelings of guilt can actually make you MORE likely to fail in your goals etc. bbc.com/future/story/2… 
(2) Guilt increases cravings, and depletes feelings of self-control - a bad combination! It also triggers the "what-the-hell" response, so a small lapse means that all your good intentions have been in vain, but one piece of cake can't ruin all that good work! #resolutions2019
(3) It gets worse! Guilty feelings can harm your health in the long-term too, undoing all the good work. In one study, people who took a negative view of their health were 71% more likely to die during the study period - irrespective of their ACTUAL fitness.
(4) "Beach body" ads, lifestyle articles and social media posts all spread those kinds of messages that trigger health guilt and anxiety - but this research shows those feelings could only undo any of the good work you put in. More on this here (£): newscientist.com/article/mg2393…
(5) That's not to mention all the more nebulous stuff about happiness and emotional wellbeing to "live your best life". Research shows that lots of these regimes can backfire too. People who strive to be happy actually end up more miserable! See here: bbc.com/future/story/2…
(5) The problem is that "happiness" is a moving target - and the more you actively strive towards it, the further away it seems. It leads to disappointment, loneliness - and it even warps your sense of time, so you become more conscious of your life slipping away.
(6) What should we make of all this? No one would claim that you shouldn't take any positive steps if you do have genuine health issues - but we should be careful about the kind of noxious mindset that often comes with those regimes & be sceptical of the relentless gult-tripping.
(7) As @matthaig1/@jameelajamil have been telling us, you don't need to constantly upgrade your life! 👏👏👏 The scientific research shows that giving up that relentless striving for perfection will make you happier AND healthier (END OF THREAD)
See also this excellent thread by @Botanygeek about the origins of "detoxing". 👏Health 👏 is 👏 not 👏 linked 👏 to 👏 morality 👏 and 👏pleasure 👏is 👏not 👏 a 👏sin 👏
