If you’re doing any of these, watch out

Life can be a lot to handle sometimes. Especially the resulting emotions we don’t always wanna feel, like anxiety, fear, and pressure.

That’s why most of us end up with at least a couple of escapist behaviors we use to distract or numb ourselves.

And unfortunately, most of our go-tos are pretty destructive.

It might be drugs, alcohol, spending money, or pigging out on food.

It might be numbing yourself with Netflix or Hulu all day, or by playing video games.

Whatever it is, the reason we get in the habit of escapist behaviors like these is simple:

We want to feel better.

But going to great lengths to avoid feeling your emotions comes as a terrible price.

Sure, escapist stuff like a pint of ice cream or eight hours of Netflix might help you feel better for a while, but sooner or later, it wears off.

And when it does, the emotions you’re determined not to experience are sitting there waiting for you.

It’s a vicious cycle.

When you decide you wanna be done with it, here’s some tips to help:

1 – Stop trying to stuff your emotions down.

Instead, take a few minutes of alone time to sit down and let them have their way with you.

By allowing yourself to actually FEEL them for a few minutes, you’ll get them out AND can start releasing them.

2 – Find things you like to do that are not destructive and don’t turn you into a zombie.

It can be walking your dog, taking a bath, calling a friend, writing in your journal, beating up a punching bag, meditating, knitting – something you enjoy, but that isn’t gonna make you fat and sick, or erode your mental and emotional health.

3 – Focus on other things that make you happy.

Food, booze, and TV aren’t the only ways to feel good.

If you sat down and thought about it, I bet you could figure out 100 things that make you happy.

The smallest things, like a sunny day, petting your cat, even your favorite pen, count. It can be favorite memories, or reading thank you cards.

Write down 100 things that make you happy, and next time you feel the urge to “escape” by eating junk, do something from that list.

Don’t beat yourself up for caving to escapist behaviors. It won’t help anything, and will probably send you straight into your escapist behaviors.

You’ll feel a lot better – now and in the future – if you start implementing the three tips I’ve shared here.

Do the best you can and stick with it, so it can become your new normal.

It’s SO empowering to feel better in ways that you’re proud of instead of ashamed of!