In my mind, I call this Self-Constructive Behaviour. Most people respond to the injustices of this world with Self-Destructive Behaviour.
"Oh my, something traumatic has just occurred! This is the end of the world! I must go down the bookies/pub/fast-food outlet and gamble/drink/eat myself into oblivion."Very few people ever say to themselves:
"Oh my, something traumatic has just occurred! I am going to diaphragmatically breathe through my nose; relax for about fifteen minutes and then do some algebra. I really enjoy the buzz that I get when I solve a problem: a real dopamine(1) rush, and, unlike the dopamine rush obtained from gambling, this is totally free. Also, I am increasing my employability, as there is a worldwide shortage of mathematicians."What needs to occur is a simple brain rewiring. Every habit is a wiring of the brain. The brain - much like a computer - builds itself a set of circuits, but instead of these circuits comprising copper wire, they comprise biological tissue i.e. neurons/brain cells.
Trauma is a stimulus, and - in and of itself - cannot do any harm.
As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet:
Nothing is either good or bad but thinking makes it so.Mentally ill people - my self included - have hardwired our brains into a negative response to what we perceive as a negative stimulus. But this need not be so.
I see Self-Constructive Behaviour as a type of do-not-get-mad-get-even strategy. If you perceive there to be an injustice, how can you rectify it if you practise behaviour that destroys your health every single time that that injustice presents itself? What did Bruce Wayne (2) do when injustice robbed him of his parents? Did he become a drug addict; a gambling addict; an alcoholic? No, he chose to perfect both his mind and body so that he could fight back against injustice.
All habits require effort for them to be broken. Indeed, I can talk a good game, but, very often, when a traumatic experience occurs I huff and puff and over-eat. However, I am now aware of this, and I am at least trying to correct this.
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(1) 'Dopamine' is a neurotransmitter that allows brain-cells to communicate with each other. Dopamine causes feelings of achievement and well-being.
(2) Batman.
