If getting into bed for a marathon session of House of Cards sounds like the perfect way to spend a Saturday, think again. It may seem like harmless fun but research suggests otherwise. A new study links binge-watching TV with depression, loneliness and an inability to control one’s behavior. The binge watchers in the study were unable to tear themselves away from the show even though they had other things to do.

Although the study does not conclude that binge-watching television causes depression, it suggests a connection. Spending eight hours watching episode after episode can leave you feeling empty and depleted afterwards. Guilt is a key factor. As one patient said to me after a weekend of binge-watching Orange is the New Black:

I wasted so much time and even though I did nothing, I was exhausted and drained afterwards. All I could think about on Sunday night was all the things I didn’t do like going to the gym or running errands.

None of this is new. Americans have always felt guilty about watching too much television. In 1961, the Federal Communications Commission chairman famously criticized television for being a “vast wasteland.”

I remember my mother telling me television would make my eyes square if I didn’t stop watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. Teachers warned of television polluting my brains. No more Love Boat or Fantasy Island, they warned.

Watching television has always been tempting but what has changed today is the how easy it is to get sucked in:

Consider the autoplay function on Netflix. When an episode ends, there’s a 15-second pause and then the next episode in the season starts automatically. There’s no choice in this behavior, which means it’s up to the viewer to regulate themselves and turn off the TV.

My advice: Don’t leave your viewing be open-ended. Decide beforehand how many episodes you want to watch. I recommend no more than three. If the show is that good, you will have something to look forward to next weekend.

The benefits of optimism cannot be ignored. Optimism is associated with vitality, positive moods, increased well-being, better mental and physical health and less anxiety and depression.

Optimists are also be more likable and fun to be around.

The good news is that even Debbie Downers can learn how to be more optimistic.

Keeping a “Best Possible Selves Diary” is the top recommendation of Stanford psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky. It entails envisioning your best possible future and writing it down.

Volunteers who kept a “Best Possible Selves Diary” exhibited increases in optimism, better moods and fewer physical complaints.

Of course it does not guarantee a future full of fairy dust and unicorns, but it certainly helps keep things in perspective and reminds us to focus on what matters most. A positive vision of the future provides confidence, and confidence, in turn, spurs an investment of time and effort in meaningful activities and provides a sense of purpose.

Here’s your homework:

Take 20 minutes and envision yourself in the future. Imagine yourself as the best possible you. Now write it down.

For myself I am an optimist – it does not seem to be much use being anything else 

– Winston Churchill

“Is it all my head?” Patients ask me this question all the time. Perception is powerful. What you focus on shapes what you experience.

Here is an example. A recent study found that back and shoulder pain in middle school children was more closely associated with a perception of their backpacks’ weight than with the actual weight of the bag. In other words, if a child thinks her backpack is heavy, the more likely it is she will report pain. Even if it is heavy but she doesn’t think of it as heavy, the less likely she is to experience discomfort.

Examples like these abound. Your perceptions influence what happens. Perceptions can also influence behavior:

Time and again, research has demonstrated the power of an individual’s self-fulfilling prophecies – if you envision yourself tripping as you walk across a stage, you will be more likely to stumble and fall. New evidence suggests that previous studies have underestimated not only the effect of our own negative prophecies, but also the power of others’ false beliefs in promoting negative outcomes.

In one eye-opening experiment, researchers tested whether parents’ negative expectations could predict alcohol consumption in their teenagers over the course of the year. The teens also filled out questionnaires about their drinking habits before and after the experiment. Parents who expected their children to drink reported drinking more. According to one researcher:

Higher expectations for risk-taking and rebelliousness predict higher levels of problem behavior, even controlling for many other predictors of such behavior.

The predictions you make are powerful. I don’t recommend unbridled Pollyanna optimism but a dose of realistic optimism—combining a positive mindset with and understanding of the challenge—can make all the difference.

“Are you really a psychiatrist? Well then, can I ask you a question?” I often find myself in a situation like this in which someone I barely know—a friend of a friend, a stranger on an airplane, a salesperson in a store—shares their story and asks me questions about their lives. They feel trapped—in the wrong job, with the wrong partner, or in the wrong life. Feeling stuck is a recurring theme.

“I am who I am,” they tell me. “Not so fast,” I reply. There are a number of ways to get unstuck and they don’t require radical change. They simply require you to open your mind.

1. Say “yes” to the thing you initially want to say no to:

Instead of retreating into your comfort zone, seize the opportunity to do something new like meeting new friends or working on a new project at the office.

2. Banish the words “I can’t” from your vocabulary:

Micro-defeatist thoughts perpetuate self-imposed fallacies, avoidance reflexes, and the lies we tell ourselves.

3. Turn off the Avoidance Instinct:

It may be our evolutionary heritage to resist unfamiliar situations but it is outdated. Embrace uncertainty. It is a sign you are becoming unstuck.

4. Break your routine:

Routines often go hand in hand with feeling stuck. Do you always go to the same vacation spot? Do you always have brunch at the same place with the same people on Sunday? It’s time for a change.

5. Change your outfit:

Studies show our clothes shape how we feel. It’s one of the reasons people like getting dressed up on Halloween. They get to “be” someone else. Notice how differently you feel when you wear clothes that feel “un-you.” It may help you feel more open-minded, more attractive, and less stuck.

By embracing just one of these strategies, you give yourself the courage and the opportunity to get unstuck in other ways too.