My partner and I are coming to the end of a five-week trip to London, the first significant amount of time I’ve spent in this beloved city since getting my bachelor’s degree from here a decade ago.
To my delight, London is much the same as it was—the eclectic mix of ethnicities, the beautiful buildings, the dingy but dependable public transport. It’s still the city I cherished living in.
But I did notice one change: there are a lot more overweight and obese people on the streets—young and old alike. This is not surprising—higher rates of obesity are the norm across the world—but still saddening.
Seeing this surge got me thinking: Why do we hurt ourselves?
Humans’ harmful habits
It takes no more than a quick visit to the supermarket to witness the many ways in which we’re hurting ourselves—an overweight person overloading their cart with sugary, highly-processed foods in the snacks aisle, a visibly hungover retiree stocking up on six-packs in the alcohol aisle, outside a smoker taking a long puff on their cigarette.
Humans have more harmful habits than we can count. All day we sit staring at our laptop screen, then at the end of our work day—instead of going outside for some fresh air and to move our body—we slump down on the couch, bleary-eyed, to binge on shows—on yet another screen—until the early hours of the morning.
We eat too much and move too little. We sit watching crap instead of sleep. We smoke and we drink—actively destroying our bodies.
And the result is what I’ve seen in London: a commuter barely managing to squeeze themselves onto two seats on the bus, a suspicious-looking stain on the toilet floor at the pub, a child jubilantly sucking on a candy that their overweight mother has just thrust into their already chubby hands to quiet them down.
Why? Why do we do it?
Why do we hurt ourselves?
Why do we eat food that we know is bad for us? Why do we drink alcohol when it makes us physically sick? Why do we smoke knowing full well it can give us cancer? Why do we not exercise even though we know we should?
I briefly discussed this question with my former (and excellent) personal trainer1 last week. Her take is that many people don’t know. Many people are not educated about the harmful effects of processed foods, of alcohol, of cigarettes, of not moving. And so they continue in their harmful habits not knowing they’re headed for an early grave.
But many of us do know. I bet you know that fresh fruits and vegetable are better for your body than snacks that come out of a packet. I bet you know that steamed is better than deep fried. I bet you know alcohol and smoking destroy your body.
I also bet you still do many—if not all—of these things.
In fact, it’s not only you. It’s me too. My first meal out after arriving in London was battered, deep-fried fish and chips (with a refreshing pale ale to wash it down). I’ve finished one packet of Tesco’s Finest cheesy bread sticks while watching television at home here in the evenings. I’ve had five beers in the past seven days. I’ve got a whole bag of untouched apples and oranges in the fridge.
I know full well my habits are harmful. I’m even preaching about them to you now. But I still do it. I still hurt myself. Every single day.
Why?
What do you think?
For once, I don’t have an answer to my own question. So I’m beseeching you for enlightenment:
Why do we hurt ourselves?
Why have harmful habits become the norm? Is it the delayed effects? Are we addicted? Do we all think we’re immortal? Please hit “reply” or leave a comment—I read every response and I’d love to hear from you. If you want, share this with someone who’s hurting themselves, just like the rest of us.
I’ll be traveling home for part of next week and expect to be extremely jet-lagged and far too incoherent to produce a good post, so Val Thinks will be taking a one-week break.
Until Friday 18th… Stay thoughtful,
Val
Photo by Bohdan Stocek on Unsplash
I trained with her for a year, and can fully credit her with my one healthy habit: exercising regularly. If you’re looking for health coaching (no matter where you are in the world), reply to this email and I can put you in touch. She’s amazing.