Coping Mechanisms

Yesterday I took away one of my coping mechanisms. It was one that is self destructive, but it has served me well for over a decade. Then I had a crisis that I had to deal with. Crisis + no coping mechanism = lots of crying. I panicked and had to do something. I decided that I should deal with this situation the right way instead of the wrong way. The right way being the not-so-predictable-but-less-self-destructive way and the wrong way being the decade-old-tried-and-true method.

Outcome: The crisis passed. I did not commit self destructive behaviors. The actions I had to take were more difficult than if I had gone back to the old ways but the outcome was much, much more satisfactory.

Decade-old-tried-and-true-but-self-destructive coping mechanism - I banish thee.