What is a habit, and what makes a habit so “bad”?

A habit is a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. Oversleeping, nail biting, restless legs, and pencil-biting are all examples of common habits that people try to break. In regards to friendship, however, bad habits can manifest in interpersonal ways such as showing up late, being passive aggressive, or forgetting to reply to text messages. What makes these habits so “bad” is that they are often part of a negative behavior pattern.

Common bad friendship habits

Mary and Sienna discuss some of their own bad friendship habits, such as not texting back and being passive aggressive and how those behaviors have impacted their previous friendships. Reflecting on her insecurities, Sienna opens up about being judgmental and overprotective in the past. In addition to their own bad friendship habits, Mary and Sienna go over a few more bad habits to avoid.

Break the cycle; become a better friend!

When a negative behavior has been learned it can be especially difficult to unlearn. Commitment is really the first step down the path of breaking a bad habit. As is the case when trying to break any bad habit, the most important thing to do is decide that change is imminent and absolutely possible, and from there the sky is the limit! Mary and Sienna share helpful tips for altering bad friendship behavior.

Resources

• 5 Steps to Breaking Bad Habits by Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D. via Psychology Today.
• 11 Habits You Don’t Realize Can Make You A Bad Friend To Other Women by Carolyn Steber for Bustle.
• Jealous Of Friends? How To Put Your Envy To Good Use by Christie Aschwanden via the Huffington Post.
• How to Stop Being Passive Aggressive via WikiHow.

Tune in next week for Episode 23: When To Let A Friendship Go

Do you have a story about friendship? Good, bad, or ugly — we wanna hear it! Click here to learn more about submitting your story and you might just hear it in a future episode or featured on the blog!

Hosted by Mary Akemon and Sienna Mooney
Produced by Alex Papworth
Music by Max Wallace
Episode illustration by Maddy Vian