EP 35 - You don't want to heal, you want to cope

This episode is a little uncomfortable.Because sometimes we’re not actually avoiding healing, we’re avoiding the truth of what we’re still doing to keep the pain alive.In this episode, I open up about the ways we distract ourselves from our wounds instead of confronting them, the coping mechanisms, the habits, and the stories we hide behind because they feel safer than sitting with what’s underneath.We talk about✨Why avoidance can feel safer than healing✨The 'plaster strategy' using habits, work, alcohol, validation or chaos to numb pain✨How trauma can lead us to unconsciously repeat or recreate situations we haven’t processed✨The uncomfortable truth about responsibility in the healing journey✨Why healing isn’t linear, clean or pretty, it’s confronting and messyThis episode also shares part of my own experience with alcohol, avoidance, and the realisation that coping and healing are not the same thing.Healing doesn’t mean blaming yourself for what happened but at some point, you do have to decide whether you’re ready to face what’s underneath the coping.Healing Girl HomeworkAsk yourself honestly:'What am I using to avoid sitting with myself?'Then gently explore what might come up if you didn’t reach for that thing.Coping keeps you surviving but healing changes your life.