Compulsive Coping
Your nervous system isn't broken. It's been doing its job.
Those habits you've been trying to shake — the overworking, the people-pleasing, the checking out, the endless busy-ness — they didn't show up to ruin your life. They showed up to protect it.
When your nervous system doesn't feel safe, it gets creative. It builds patterns that keep you functioning. And the longer stress sticks around, the more automatic those patterns become.
Compulsive Coping gets into why those behaviours formed, why willpower alone won't touch them, and what actually starts to shift when you understand what your system's been trying to do all along.
The survival logic behind the habits you can't seem to quit. Why coping patterns go automatic — and why "just stop doing it" misses the point entirely. How your nervous system shapes behaviour, and why awareness is the thing that actually begins to loosen it.
What this book covers
This book is for you if you're stuck in
People-pleasing. Burnout cycles. Avoidance. Shutting down. Living in a state of low-grade dread.
Not because something is wrong with you — because something happened, and you adapted. This book helps you see that.
What my readers are saying...
"This book put words to patterns I’ve lived with for years but never understood. Instead of feeling judged, I finally felt understood."
"Compulsive Coping helped me recognize behaviours I always thought were personal flaws. Seeing them through the lens of the nervous system changed everything."
"I’ve worked with trauma and neurodivergent clients for years, and this book explains patterns of coping in a way that is both compassionate and practical."
"For the first time, I understood why certain habits show up when life feels overwhelming. The shame lifted almost immediately."
© 2026 Coaching with Rhonda. All rights reserved.
Rhonda Tournay is a trauma-informed coach and educator specializing in nervous system regulation, neurodivergence, and emotional health — helping individuals, families, and professionals find safety and resilience through the Safe Inside™ Protocol.
