Anesthesia creates an insensitivity to pain. When it wears off, if the source of the pain is still active, you hurt.
Anesthesia behaviors are designed to do something very similar: to alleviate your suffering. Unfortunately, some anesthesia behaviors create suffering and consequences of their own. They are not necessarily things you want to abstain from, so you are left to dance with the devil; think food, money, sex, watching TV, and engaging with social media. These are not problematic in and of themselves. They only become problematic when they are outsized in frequency, volume, intensity, and importance.
As much as you want to give up a sticky, destructive behavior pattern, its familiarity can feel like an old friend that you want to hold on to, even though they are an insensitive bore. You might not be able to imagine your life without them. You might also have heard you must stop the behavior to understand it. This can feel overwhelming and keep you stuck in a sysphusian boulder roll.
The modern world puts the win before the practice. Start at the beginning, not at the end. Learn how to spot your anesthesia behaviors, determine their impact, follow the breadcrumbs to the underlying cause of your suffering, and heal it at the source.
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