I find the “last resort” techniques helpful sometimes, too. And I don’t know if we should even treat them as ‘the last resort”. My recent takeaway from observing myself in the difficult emotional moments is this: sometimes I feel capable of sitting with my raw emotions and processing them, and sometimes I don’t. If I don’t feel ready to process them in the moment, and I still try to force myself to do it, it usually ends up as you described it — with a self-destructive behaviour. I am sure that a hot bath or a cup of coffee that feels like a treat is a better alternative to that. :)