Skip to main content
TREAT YOURSELF—FREE SHIPPING ON ALL POOSH DOMESTIC ORDERS. SHOP NOW.
  • HEALTH + WELLNESS
  • LIFE + STYLE
  • HOME + ENTERTAINING
  • KOURTNEY
Poosh
By Kourtney Kardashian Barker
  • instagram pinterest facebook twitter youtube join newsletter
  • Shop
  • search
  • search
  • body
  • diy
  • fitness
  • Giving Back
  • health
  • mind
  • Relationships
  • Sexual Wellness
  • soul
Can Your Relationship Be Your Biggest Tool for Manifestation?
Can Your Relationship Be Your Biggest Tool for Manifestation?
Life Hacks to Feel More Positive
Life Hacks to Feel More Positive
The Exercise Plan That Actually Gets Your Mood Swings
The Exercise Plan That Actually Gets Your Mood Swings
5 Must-Do Stretches After a Long Day of Travel
5 Must-Do Stretches After a Long Day of Travel
How To Hack Your Vagus Nerve To Shut Down Inflammation Like a Pro
How To Hack Your Vagus Nerve To Shut Down Inflammation Like a Pro
What Your Nails Can Tell You About Your Health
What Your Nails Can Tell You About Your Health
  • Adulting
  • beauty
  • guides
  • Hacks
  • style
  • travel
4 Summer Morning Hacks We Swear By
4 Summer Morning Hacks We Swear By
What Even Is a Hobby in 2025? The Poosh Team Weighs In
What Even Is a Hobby in 2025? The Poosh Team Weighs In
Poosh Guides: Our Summer Essentials Checklist
Poosh Guides: Our Summer Essentials Checklist
The Classic Shoes We’re Wearing With Everything This Summer
The Classic Shoes We’re Wearing With Everything This Summer
The Poosh-Approved Instacart Snack Haul
The Poosh-Approved Instacart Snack Haul
Could Bare Minimum Mondays Help With Burnout?
Could Bare Minimum Mondays Help With Burnout?
  • decor
  • entertaining
  • kids
  • motherhood
  • Playlists
  • recipes
Coconut Matcha Cloud Drink
Coconut Matcha Cloud Drink
Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad: A Fresh Take for the Fourth
Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad: A Fresh Take for the Fourth
The Lettuce-Free Salad We’ll Be Making All Summer Long
The Lettuce-Free Salad We’ll Be Making All Summer Long
Strawberry Mango Probiotic Popsicles
Strawberry Mango Probiotic Popsicles
Your New Go-To Summer Roll
Your New Go-To Summer Roll
Pamela Anderson’s Herby French Potato Salad
Pamela Anderson’s Herby French Potato Salad
  • family
  • kourtney
5 (More) Life Lessons From Kourtney
5 (More) Life Lessons From Kourtney
Part One: Life Lessons from Kourtney
Part One: Life Lessons from Kourtney
What Kris Jenner Is Reading Right Now
What Kris Jenner Is Reading Right Now
Kourtney’s Birthday Sale Is Here!
Kourtney’s Birthday Sale Is Here!
What Khloé Kardashian Is Reading Right Now
What Khloé Kardashian Is Reading Right Now
Inspired by Kim Kardashian: 3 Total-Body Gym Moves
Inspired by Kim Kardashian: 3 Total-Body Gym Moves

Menu

  • Shop
  • HEALTH + WELLNESS
    • body
    • diy
    • fitness
    • Giving Back
    • health
    • mind
    • Relationships
    • Sexual Wellness
    • soul
  • HOME + ENTERTAINING
    • decor
    • entertaining
    • kids
    • motherhood
    • Playlists
    • recipes
  • KOURTNEY
    • family
    • kourtney
  • LIFE + STYLE
    • Adulting
    • beauty
    • guides
    • Hacks
    • style
    • travel
  • About
  • Newsletter
instagram pinterest facebook twitter youtube join newsletter
mind

7 Ways to Break a  BAD HABIT

By Katie Beecher
share on pinterest share on facebook share on twitter Share on Flipboard share by email
 Photo credit @camimendes
@camimendes

As humans, we all have bad habits we wish we could break. Even though I’m a Medical Intuitive and Licensed Counselor who has been helping people break negative habits—even addictions—for a very long time, I’m not perfect.

Despite the fact that I know exactly what to do to break my bad habits and I’m working on it, I haven’t conquered them all. Most of us know what we need to do but still have trouble stopping. I hope the tips in this article can serve as a reminder of what you already know and also give you a few new strategies to reinforce healthier, more productive habits.

An annoying and rather unattractive habit I have is picking at my cuticles. I’m a rather tactile person, which means that I like to keep my hands and fingers moving. I can be quite sensitive as far as textures are concerned—maybe that is why loose or dry skin around my nails bothers me so much. As anyone who shares my habit knows, however, picking just makes the problem worse, as it is painful and causes more dry and uneven skin to be exposed. Understanding why you engage in the habit is a great first step in trying to stop it.

Two simple remedies I have found to be helpful are getting regular manicures and finding something else to occupy my hands. I really like the way my nails look after they have been painted, and manicures can be expensive, so this motivates me to refrain from mutilating my cuticles. I also figured out that I am most likely to pick when I am on a call with a client. To counteract this, I purchased a large gummy eraser, and I pull it apart into pieces and mold the fragments into balls, flowers, or even little animals. Over time, I have taught myself to automatically just go for my eraser when I sit down at my desk.

7 ways to break a bad habit:

1. Make a list of what problems the habit causes for you and the people around you.

Looking at the ways your actions might be negatively impacting you, your livelihood, and the people you care about on paper makes them harder to ignore or deny.

2. Make a list of how quitting the habit would benefit you and your loved ones.

3. Figure out what purpose the habit serves and why you do it.

Are you bored and does it help you pass time, such as spending too much time on social media or binging on Netflix? Does engaging on social media make you feel less lonely and help you avoid your fear of addressing social anxiety? Discovering the underlying problem and addressing it makes the need for the habit disappear.

4. Find something else to take the habit’s place.

Instead of grabbing an unhealthy snack when you are bored or tired, take a 10-minute walk or make a cup of tea.

5. Set goals and reward yourself for your accomplishments.

Start with something doable, like changing your pattern for one day, and do something nice for yourself. Make the next goal three days, then a week. Each time you achieve your goal, you will feel a sense of pride and know that you can live without your habit. If you have a fear of stopping, each time you do, you challenge that fear.

6. Get help.

There is nothing wrong with asking for help from a therapist or a friend, or even trying something like hypnotherapy. We don’t always have to do everything ourselves, and it takes more strength to admit we need help than to pretend we don’t.

7. Decide how much you actually want or even need to quit.

It is easy to be hard on ourselves or feel guilty because we aren’t living up to false expectations of perfection. We often think that we “should” be a certain way when we actually just need to be ourselves. Focusing on our “imperfections” makes us feel bad and like we don’t deserve self-love or self-care. The more we are nurturing ourselves, the less time we have for behaviors that are potentially damaging or time wasting.

No matter what destructive habits you are trying to change, it is important to be patient with yourself. For instance, if you are 35 years old and you have been picking at your skin since you were in high school, it will take some time to counteract over 17 years of doing a certain behavior. If you used to pick every single morning and night, and after a few months, you are only picking at night, celebrate that improvement. You may feel frustrated or disappointed that you cannot stop overnight. However, these kinds of thoughts will not serve you in the long run. If you stay consistent and continue reminding yourself why you want to change, I am confident that you will find success.

Katie Beecher, MS, LPC, is a medical and spiritual intuitive and Licensed Professional Counselor. Her “eerily accurate” intuitive readings include a four-page report and symbolic painting. Her book, Heal from Within: A Guidebook to Intuitive Wellness, is available for pre-sale and will be out in February 2022. The book features her work as a medical intuitive and how people can achieve healing and wellness. Her website is www.katiebeecher.com. She is also on Facebook and Instagram.

The content provided in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice and consultation, including professional medical advice and consultation; it is provided with the understanding that Poosh, LLC (“Poosh”) is not engaged in the provision or rendering of medical advice or services. The opinions and content included in the article are the views of the author only, and Poosh does not endorse or recommend any such content or information, or any product or service mentioned in the article. You understand and agree that Poosh shall not be liable for any claim, loss, or damage arising out of the use of, or reliance upon any content or information in the article.

Shop our mental health collection:

Up next, be the first to know our weekly content and sign up for our Poosh newsletter.

Related Articles

Goes to article Life Hacks to Feel More Positive
mind

Life Hacks to Feel More Positive

Goes to article 10 Affirmations That Will Shift Your Energy
mind

10 Affirmations That Will Shift Your Energy

Goes to article 2 Simple Things You Can Do Right Now for Better Brain Health
mind

2 Simple Things You Can Do Right Now for Better Brain Health

Goes to article How To Use Music for Creativity, Focus, and Motivation
mind

How To Use Music for Creativity, Focus, and Motivation

Goes to article How to Cut Back Alcohol in a Realistic Way
health

How to Cut Back Alcohol in a Realistic Way

Goes to article Mindfulness Exercises if Meditating Isn’t Your Thing 
mind

Mindfulness Exercises if Meditating Isn’t Your Thing 

Goes to article Biohack Your Mood With a Little Movement
mind

Biohack Your Mood With a Little Movement

Goes to article How to Manifest the Relationship You Want
Relationships

How to Manifest the Relationship You Want

  • About
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • California Privacy Rights
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Accessibility

Keep in Touch

instagram pinterest facebook twitter youtube join newsletter
Reviewed by Allyant for Accessibility
  • © poosh, llc
    All Rights Reserved