I have a privileged set of things I've been able to run away from in my life. I remember, as a kid, if I felt like a person was going to ultimately be toxic in my life, I’d wholly cut them out. On the surface, they would cease to exist to me (even if, in my head they still did). I wouldn’t mention them, wouldn’t talk to them, wouldn’t even look at them. And after a while, the act of avoiding that person would let me gradually stop thinking about them. It was like a magic trick I performed on myself - make your problems disappear!
