..I wonder..

I wonder if we can channel our vices. When I get overwhelmed or stressed I tend to pull out my eyebrows..which isn't good advertising since I shape other people's brows for a living. It used to be having a ciggie..or maybe not eating. I see the triggers coming a mile away..I'm just musing about how much control we actually have over where that nervous energy shows up. If I let myself enjoy the feeling of hunger, will my eyebrows grow in beautifully? Can I choose to crack my knuckles instead of smoking it up? I'm starting to think it may actually work this way. I used to think these "bad habits" were special areas of weakness for me, but just maybe it doesn't have as much to do with the vice as much as it does the anxiety I'm trying to release. It makes perfect sense since my anxiety just shows up in a new area I'm not expecting after I gain mastery over the old fix. So what's the answer? To find the least harmful coping mechanism? (Or maybe the one I enjoy the most?) When something is bigger than you or harder than what you're prepared to deal with, what do you do?? ...This is one of those moments when I realized the answer as I was typing out the question... O yeah, I know Jesus. I have a Comforter.."a very present help in trouble"..not to give me strength over a symptom, but to navigate me through situations and feelings too big for me to handle on my own. O yeah..