Is a Bad Little Habit Holding You Back?

Compulsive gossiping, sinister snooping, TV-aholism... these nasty practices can screw with your sanity. Well, this is a raid by Cosmo's Vice Squad. We'll nix your niggling addictions once and for all.

* Admit it: You have a problem. Don't get defensive, we all have our weaknesses. Some people drop everything to answer the call of an E-mail, others obsessively check up on their boyfriend's where-abouts, and a large population of dawdlers arrive at events so late that the people they're meeting have already left.

Okay, so these aren't life-threatening misdeeds that might land you in the loony bin. Nonetheless, we're here to slap some sense into you and prove that nagging bad habits can ruin your life in a ton of tiny ways, by wasting your time, chipping away at your peace of mind, and putting you at risk of being strangled by someone who's sick of dealing with your annoying behavior. So read on, and if you think any of the following 10 hang-ups have your name on them, check out the cure, and clean up your act for good.

* Psycho Snooping

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE IT WHEN: You sneak peeks at your boyfriend's planner, searching for signs that he's booked with hot dates every evening he's not with you.

HOW TO GET OVER IT: First, find the root of your private-eye problem by taking our two-question quiz: Did a previous boyfriend cheat on you? Have your parents had fidelity problems? If you answer yes to either, realize that the problem lies in your past, not in any suspicious behavior on his part, and remember this the next time you're tempted to hunt for evidence of dishonesty, says Jennifer Bawden, author of Get a Life, Then Get a Man: A Single Woman's Guide (Plume, 2000). Another busybody buster: Imagine him walking in and catching you in the act. How exactly would you explain cracking his voice-mail code to play all of his private messages? If you're free of betrayal baggage, the problem may indeed lie with your guy, who might not be volunteering the info you need to feel secure that he's all yours. If that's the case, ask more questions to shed light on his schedule. Inquire innocently "So what did you do last night?" or "Who were you chatting with?" The more he fills you in, the less you'll be left wond ering.

* Chain Hors d'Oeuvre Eating