The Power of Wellness Strategies to Break Free from Self-Sabotage

Even the most mentally resilient of us have our off days. This is a perfectly normal human experience that can occur at various stages throughout life. And, while it’s never usually a thing to be overly concerned about for the average person, for some, it can be long-lasting and lead to severe problems that involve substance abuse, relationship issues, and a general downward spiral toward extra self-sabotage. They may not even know they’re doing so until they hit rock bottom and look around at the chaos they’ve strewn. Fortunately, if you do feel as though you’re on the downward path to disruption, there are things you can do that can remove you from the disruptive patterns and hopefully bring you back to a place where you are able to deal with your issues and develop the mechanisms required to lead a more normal and functioning life.

Identifying Triggers Of Self-Sabotage

Walking down the path of self-destruction doesn’t come about in a vacuum, and in almost all situations, there will have been some kind of trigger that set off the journey of self-sabotage. These might be issues you faced as a child that you have never come to terms with, underlying mental conditions, or an addictive personality that has led you toward some of life’s most destructive habits. According to this leading wellness center in Massachusetts, everyone has their unique story, needs, and goals in mind, regardless of their issues. Nevertheless, the first step, as always, is identifying that you have a problem and getting to know the triggers that set off the events that wreak chaos for yourself and those around you. Once you have a better handle on what these triggers are, you can begin to develop a plan to remove yourself from the temptation and move towards a happier life. If you are unable to figure out what’s causing you to fly off the rails, then you might find it beneficial to book a consultation with a trained therapist who can help you come to terms with what has happened in your life and assist in making a strategy to get better.

Establishing Clear Wellness Goals

If you ask anyone what they want in life, most will say that they simply want to be happy, healthy, and wealthy or some variation thereof. While this is fine, you need to dissect what these actually mean if you’re really to get to the kind of life you truly want to live. When you establish clear goals, you can far more easily generate a strategy that works for your circumstances and gives you clear milestones to aim for. The key point here is having something to strive for that isn’t so far out of reach that you abandon it before you’ve even made a dent in your progress. For instance, if you have an overreliance on alcohol and reach for the bottle every time you feel stressed out, your overall aim might be to cut it out altogether. However, you can only really achieve this goal by setting smaller waypoints along the way, like changing from hard liquor to less intense types of alcohol, with an aim to wean yourself off it entirely by a specific point in time. The same will be more or less accurate for whatever your issue is, but by setting achievable goals with a view to an endpoint, you are better able to monitor, track, and ultimately succeed in your mission.

Building A Supportive Community

This one is a tricky one, but one that needs to be discussed. One of the usual points made by those looking to help people with self-destructive tendencies is to simply tell them to leave their usual circle of friends who lead them astray and pick a better set of people to hang around with. This is an excellent point in theory, but in reality, it can be far trickier to simply up and leave your existing friendship circle as these are often people with whom you have developed friendships over the years if not decades. However, while you don’t need to eliminate them entirely, the point remains valid: minimizing contact will ultimately be a good thing if they are the people leading you down a path of no return. Nonetheless, you will need to find favorable companions to replace them, as isolation can be as equally destructive as the wrong group of people. If you have a family to fall back on, this is a good start. Otherwise, you can visit various forums with like-minded people and start developing new positive relationships that will lead you to more extraordinary things.

Developing Healthy Coping Mechanisms

Stress is something that has evolved in humans to help us deal with the canorous dangers that lurk around every corner. This was great thousands of years ago when we had to choose between flight or fight for our food, but nowadays, too much of the stuff can cause issues with our health in more ways than one. Not only does an overabundance of cortisol damage the body over time, but it can also lead us to reach for the sorts of things that make us feel better on a surface level, which can cause severe damage the longer they are used. A chase-in point is reaching for alcohol or drugs when things get a little overwhelming to help calm the nerves. Do this too much, and you will soon find yourself falling down a hole that might be difficult to return from. Instead of choosing your usual coping techniques, try to find other outlets that achieve similar or better results but put less strain on your health. This might be trying fitness, religion, community service, or simply finding a good old-fashioned hobby that you can get stuck into when the going gets tough.

Embracing A Balanced Lifestyle

For those who have thus far lived life on the edge, the word balance can seem incredibly off-putting. After all, where’s the fun in not embracing the more extreme parts of life? However, creating balance in your life can lead to even more exciting outcomes, such as a healthy work-life balance that provides for your needs and gives you the resources you need to discover even better things that nourish your body and soul rather than reaching for the things that do so artificially.

Self-destruction might seem to be something hardwired into certain people, but with the right attitude and a willingness to change, great things are possible.

By embracing the good things in life and learning how to deal with the negative when it comes, you will be better positioned to enjoy all the amazing things that life has to offer.