According to the American Psychology Association, cognitive dissonance is, "induced when a person holds two contradictory beliefs, or when a belief is incongruent with an action that the person had chosen freely to perform." Basically, you know what you are doing or experiencing is not good, but you choose to either ignore the situation or reframe your thinking in order to avoid the truth. For example, people know that smoking causes lung cancer; however, they continue to smoke. Students know they should not procrastinate, but they put off their essay until the last minute. But, how does this affect your mental health?

By having inconsistencies between our thoughts and actions causes us to experience confusion, uneasiness, and stress. Bad habits are a comfort zone. We know our habits are not promoting our best lifestyle, but it is far easier to deny that and remain in our safe spaces. Some people may even experience cognitive dissonance about their mental health. They recognize symptoms of depression, OCD, anxiety, etc. yet choose to ignore them and not seek help. Some stay in the shadows of stigma and others simply do not know where to begin the difficult journey that is gaining control over mental illnesses. Then, the stress of knowing these sufferers are not moving forward with improving their mental health even furthers the effects of cognitive dissonance.