Food for Thought - Lent and Giving Stuff Up

It's that time of year where many of us celebrate Lent (part of the church year leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus) and many of us give something up for these 40 days (actually 47 but Sundays aren't counted).  I've never really followed through with giving something up, even if I said I was going to give up pop, candy, etc but the other day I was wondering...what if I gave up some of my old habits that I've always had?  If you know me, I have had a lot of different coping mechanisms/habits for getting through difficult times and recent events that I've gone through have made me wonder, and rethink, how I approach things.  And honestly, this is a great time to start fasting/giving up/working on some of those habits that are harmful to me.  

I'll admit that I am one who usually goes shopping or holds a lot of my emotions in when times get tough/am going through a hard time (among some other things).  I've always been like that, and I'm sure part of it is that I'm an only kid so I never had a sibling to talk to, and I'm sure that I've dealt with depression on some level and have used different things to cope (and honestly it's not that surprising either since I had some pretty big loses when I was younger and never found a way to deal with them properly).  

What really has started this whole change of thinking was a sermon by one of the pastors at my church where I could really relate to her story and I knew then that I wasn't the only one who did the same kind of things (pushing people away that cared and wanted to talk with me, keep emotions inside, etc) - the lightbulb finally came on.  I knew then that perspectives had changed inside me, I could not keep doing what I had been doing.  I knew then, and still do, that it's a struggle to open up those barriers you've always had in terms of letting people in (among others), along with letting go of the coping mechanisms that I've always had to deal with and turned to when times got rough.  

I started feeling the change then and have continued to feel some changes, but it wasn't until recently some of coping mechanisms got a bit out of hand and realized to the full extent how much harm I've put myself into with them.  I had a lot of stress from that, plus exhaustion from that and other things, realization of what I had done, plus dealing with plain old life that made me break down really bad this past weekend.  

It also made me realize that maybe this Lenten season is the best time to give up my harmful coping mechanisms and start working on the things I realized back in the fall that I need to start doing more - not holding back with emotions, find people to talk to when I am having a hard time (I am finally realizing how many people actually care and I am trusting a few more people, which is still not many but am working on it - definitely a big thing for me), and finding other ways to deal with things/cope with life events better whether it's journaling, talking with someone I trust, etc.  I have also realized that there many more enjoyable things to do that won't hurt me and I have to find out what those things are, and start working on having things in life, as well as coping mechanisms, that are positive and not negative.

Anybody else have some life events, or things in general, that have made you rethink things?  Are you participating in the season of Lent and fasting from/giving up something, or are maybe like me and working on trying to shed some unhealthy habits and working on trying to find more positive things to replace them?  I would love to hear your thoughts.