maladaptive

Unfortunately, this might be a maladaptive coping mechanism and can compound the problem.

Reynolds: Redemption was a big theme, and we all have these maladaptive coping mechanisms for our shame and our baggage and our s— we carry around.

The new findings, to be published June 5 in Nature, show how using addictive drugs can drive maladaptive myelination of the brain's reward circuitry, which in turn reinforces drug-seeking behavior.

With chronic loneliness, that stress response gets stuck and becomes disadvantageous — similar to the way in which anxiety can shift a helpful fear response to a maladaptive mental illness.

Indeed, stepdads went on to have as many chicks as did the killers over the birds’ lifetimes—upending the established idea that adoption is maladaptive and hinders a stepparent’s reproductive success.