You know there is something to be said for this . . . I have a sister who is not related to me at all that we know of, but she's has been in my corner, and has traveled thousands of miles to come and fight for me when I couldn't. One day, when things were really, really ugly she had me do something similar to re-writing the past;

She told me to imagine a day when I was 10 and she was 12, taking care to think of every bit of the day, every detail. Make sure I visuallized it down to the last detail so that it feels like I was there, like I'd lived every second of it.

Now, when things get really dark, I remember that day, and life is so much better for having remembered. Self defense takes many, many different forms, and re-writing memories can be a very powerful self defense tactic.