Our brain’s top priority is to keep us safe and comfortable. Take a look at your most destructive/detrimental habits. Bet they were created at a time when you were in pain and/or discomfort. Bet they soothe you in some way.

Example: keep feeling the compulsive urge to check your ex’s social media? Your brain’s way of lessening the withdrawal symptoms experienced after a break up. And/or you’re afraid of the unknown future and this is your brain’s way of soothing that fear by clinging to the past

Constantly self sabotaging when good things enter your life? Somewhere in life, you were taught that all good things will be taken away from you and that crash down is a horrible feeling. So your brain tries to avoid that painful crash, by pushing away the good things early

Can’t stop eating certain unhealthy food? Perhaps this food comforted you at a stressful time on your life. Now when you’re stressed, your brain triggers the craving as an attempt to soothe you (since it worked in the past).

Always procrastinating? At some point, you tried to accomplish something and failed (even if it was something very small). Now your brain fights to avoid that feeling (even though failure is inevitable). So your brain distracts you from the task at hand. Not trying = can’t fail

Constantly seeking drama during times of peace? Perhaps there is a void/ empty feeling that your brain is trying to help you avoid. So pushing you towards drama-filled situations, ensures that you never have to be fully present with that empty feeling inside

Solution: get comfortable with discomfort. None of the painful/uncomfortable feelings listed above will kill you. So make the conscious decision to feel them and choose a different response/behavior pattern while feeling them.

Also, find healthy ways of self soothing. Some of the examples listed above can cause pain to the point of not being able to function. So trying to face the pain without healthy/effective ways to self soothe would do more harm than good and you’d fall back into destructive habits

And remember that self soothing is sometimes a temporary fix. If you can get to the root of the issue and find a cure/solution, do it.
Example: addicts can go to rehab. But until the cause the addiction is addressed (usually trauma), they may not be able to maintain sobriety