Avoidance is a Crisis

Hi there!

Welcome back to the MoodiNews. Every Thursday, we discuss a variety of matters related to mental health and self-improvement.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Today, we will be continuing our current series on: THERAPEUTIC ONE-LINERS! YAY!

The phrase that we will be reviewing today is: Avoidance is a crisis.

Avoidance is a crisis is a one-liner that we teach to people in therapy who struggle with mood-dependent behavior.

Mood-dependent behavior is emotionally-driven behavior—i.e., doing what you feel like doing, only when you feel like doing it.

Mood-dependent behavior is problematic because, when left unchecked, it often leads to people neglecting their basic responsibilities or not taking care of themselves.

Essentially, too much mood-dependent behavior leads to a lifestyle of avoidance and quitting.

The phrase Avoidance is a crisis is intended to remind us why we must then challenge mood-dependent behavior on a frequent basis.

It is also there to remind us that not doing so can lead to very problematic results.

For reference, here are some common examples of how I witness ‘avoidance leading to crisis’ in my work as a therapist:

1) People miss the return window on things that they purchased but no longer want because returning things on time felt like too much of a hassle. They then end up with a bunch of junk that they don’t need or can’t even use, ultimately wasting thousands of dollars that could have otherwise been spent paying off debt or making their lives less stressful.

2) Grocery shopping sounds like too much work, so people put it off and then come home from an exhausting day to an empty kitchen. As a result, they go through the drive-through for dinner, feel lethargic and gross the following day, and then skip the gym because they don’t have any energy to workout. This cycle then repeats itself until New Year’s rolls around, at which point they begrudgingly remind themselves that it’s time to lose weight again.

3) A person doesn’t feel like taking their car in to get their squeaky brakes fixed, so they delay in dealing with it. Eventually, their brakes fail and they end up with massive damage done to their vehicle because they were not proactive in getting a (significantly less expensive) break job done when the opportunity had presented itself.

In short—avoidance LEADS to crisis, which makes Avoidance itself a crisis… just waiting to hatch.

That’s the concept behind the one-liner Avoidance is a crisis—to remind us of the importance of preventing self-inflicted catastrophe by addressing our problems head-on instead of running from them whenever possible.

Sometimes, in the moment, making small decisions that stunt our progress feels innocuous or insignificant.

However, making too many concessions in our conduct, over time, can add up to make our life much harder or more unpleasant than it needs to be.

Therefore, the next time that you catch yourself justifying why it’s okay to put off an important task, just remember that Avoidance is a crisis, and see if this lovely one-liner doesn’t just inspire you to do what needs to get done.

Ideally, you’ll go ahead and lend yourself a hand—and your future self will thank you for it!