Common Habits That Wreck Your Healing and How to Shift Them Naturally

We often say we’re ready to heal—yet the small, everyday choices we make don’t always align with that desire.

Healing isn’t a destination. It’s a process of realignment. A series of daily decisions. A sacred act of self-remembering.

And sometimes, what’s holding us back isn’t some deep mystery. It’s the subtle, normalized habits we’ve been told are harmless… even though they’re silently sabotaging our nervous systems, our hormones, and our connection to self.

The truth? It’s not easy to change your habits—especially the ones that feel like survival mechanisms.

If that hits home, I invite you to also read my post:

👉 Not Easy to Change Your Habits: A Playful Path to Transformation for compassionate, doable strategies to support real shifts.

In this post, I want to lovingly call out some common habits that may be wrecking your healing—not from a place of shame, but from a place of radical self-responsibility and sovereign health.

Let’s get into it.

1. “I Just Need a Drink to Unwind…”

Alcohol is a socially accepted stress-relief tool—but from a physiological standpoint, it’s doing the opposite of supporting your healing [1].

Most of us have all heard of the French paradox, the phenomenon of moderate consumption being beneficial due to the resveratrol content of grape skins, especially the dark colored ones used to make red wine. However, this has since been debunked due to all of the negative impacts of alcohol. It taxes the liver, depletes key nutrients (like B vitamins, magnesium, and zinc), disrupts blood sugar, impairs gut lining integrity, and affects sleep quality [2]. It’s also a known depressant and immune suppressor. Yikes.

Even occasional drinking can disrupt hormonal balance, especially in women and cyclical beings. Animal studies have shown that alcohol consumption disrupts female puberty, and drinking during this period also may affect growth and bone health. [3].

👉 What to do instead:

Reach for a nervine tea blend or calming herbal mocktail. Herbs like Melissa officinalis (lemon balm), Passiflora incarnata (passionflower), and Scutellaria lateriflora (skullcap) support relaxation and nervous system resilience—without the crash. Check out my blog on Skullcap and Bitter Herbs to Support Liver Detox.

And if you really want to reap the benefits of the “French” lifestyle, the key is in pleasant social interactions during gatherings, and likely not from the alcohol consumed at these events. Having a strong community of friends and family is one of the key predictors of health and longevity.

2. Vaping and Smoking—Yes, Even “Natural” Stuff

Inhaling anything other than clean air introduces particles and chemicals to your lungs. Period.

Whether it’s tobacco, vape juice, or even herbal smokes—these habits irritate the respiratory lining, disrupt oxygenation, and trigger inflammation. Vaping, in particular, can expose you to synthetic carriers and flavorings that cause more harm than traditional cigarettes in some cases [4].

👉 What to do instead:

Nourish the lungs with herbs like Verbascum thapsus (mullein), Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice root), and Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot)—as teas, tinctures, or steams. (And if you’re looking to transition from cigarettes or vapes, then rolling your own smokes with some of these herbs will be a step in the right direction as you try to taper off and eventually quit.)

Try my Soothing Throat Syrup recipe for gentle lung and throat support.

You can also nourish respiratory and immune function from within with antioxidant-rich, adaptogenic blends like my Goji-Maca Cacao recipe—a cozy, lung-loving tonic perfect for transition seasons.

3. Bedtime Procrastination 

Also known as “revenge sleep,” this is when we delay bedtime to reclaim personal time we missed during the day. Sound familiar?

But skimping on sleep disrupts circadian rhythms, hormonal repair cycles, and emotional regulation. Chronic sleep deprivation contributes to everything from brain fog to immune dysfunction [5].

👉 What to do instead:

Honor sleep as sacred. Use blue light filters at night, shut off screens an hour before bed, and introduce a calming routine.  

Explore my full blog on the Importance of Sleep: Disorders and Herbal Remedies for a deeper look into circadian wellness and holistic solutions.

4. Plastic, Plastic Everywhere

Water bottles, food containers, polyester leggings, synthetic underwear, Tupperware, shrink wrap—our lives are steeped in plastic. However, plastic leaches endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as BPA, phthalates, and microplastics, into our food, water, and bloodstream [6].

These chemicals mimic hormones and interfere with the body’s natural signaling, particularly estrogen and thyroid function.

👉 What to do instead:

Switch to glass, stainless steel, and silicone for food and drink storage. Choose natural fibers like cotton, linen, wool, and hemp for clothes. Store leftovers in glass jars. Keep your tea bags plastic-free too!

5. Perfume, Nail Polish & “Pretty” Poisons

That “signature scent” might be messing with your hormones. Conventional perfumes contain dozens (if not hundreds) of unlisted chemicals—including known hormone disruptors.

Nail polish and remover products often contain toluene, formaldehyde, and phthalates—all linked to reproductive toxicity and systemic absorption through nail beds [7].

And yes… that includes kids’ “play” nail polish. Their tiny bodies are more vulnerable to these exposures.

👉 What to do instead:

Use essential oil blends, hydrosols, or natural botanical perfumes. Skip the polish, or use non-toxic brands and apply them mindfully—not habitually.

6. Processed Foods 

Highly processed foods—those with added sugars, hydrogenated oils, food dyes, preservatives—are inflammatory, addictive, and disruptive to gut health.

They can throw off your microbiome, spike cortisol and insulin levels, and deplete minerals needed for repair and resilience.

👉 What to do instead:

Think “ancestral plate.” Whole foods. Traditional prep methods. Slow-cooked broths, fermented foods, foraged herbs, homegrown veggies.

7. “Just One More Episode…”

Binge-watching may feel relaxing—but screens stimulate the nervous system and suppress melatonin production. If this is your only coping tool, it’s time to explore deeper self-soothing rituals.

👉 What to do instead:

Connect to your senses. Herbal foot soaks, painting, reading poetry, or simply lying on the floor listening to music can shift your nervous system into parasympathetic rest.

Check out my habit change coaching tools using Positive Intelligence.

Healing Isn’t Just About What You Add—It’s About What You Remove

You can’t layer supplements, superfoods, and breathwork over toxic habits and expect deep, embodied healing.

Healing is a reclamation. A shedding. A remembering of what your body already knows—that it craves rhythm, rest, nourishment, and nature.

You are the medicine.

You are the steward of your temple.

You are the wisdom of your ancestors.

💬 What habits are you letting go of—or struggling to shift?

Comment below and share. Let’s hold each other in this journey toward true healing.

Works Cited

1. Sayette, Michael A. 1999. “Does Drinking Reduce Stress?” 1999. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6760384/.
2. “Alcohol’s Effects on the Body | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).” n.d. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohols-effects-body.
3. Emanuele, Mary Ann, Frederick Wezeman, and Nicholas V Emanuele. 2002. “Alcohol’s Effects on Female Reproductive Function.” 2002. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6676690/.
4. Hamann, Stephen L. 2023. “Electronic Cigarette Harms: Aggregate Evidence Shows Damage to Biological Systems.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20 (19): 6808. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20196808.
5. Younas, 2025. “The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Brain Fog, Cognitive Decline, and Cardiovascular Risk in Young Adults.” Cureus, May. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.83757.
6. Ullah, Sana and Kunyuan Wanghe. 2023. “A Review of the Endocrine Disrupting Effects of Micro and Nano Plastic and Their Associated Chemicals in Mammals.” Frontiers in Endocrinology 13 (January). https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.1084236.
7. De Paula, Aislana Cole, Fabrício Uliana, and Priscilla Paiva Luz. 2025. “Nail Polishes: A Review on Composition, Presence of Toxic Components, and Inadequate Labeling.” Dermatology Research and Practice 2025 (1). https://doi.org/10.1155/drp/6330337.