Pat Is Evidencing at Least Three Categories of Self-Destructive Behavior:
She is confusing her various responsibilities, devoting herself to schoolwork at home when she should be caring for her family. Consequently, her family is suffering from lack of Pat's attention and the consequences of this will simply cause Pat to lose more and more grounds in her schoolwork and aggravate her situation.
The case mentions that Pat is a procrastinator. This quality will also give her trouble.
Pat seems to have difficulty in phasing her tasks and her goals, delegating her schoolwork to the evening time when she is likely (although not necessarily) least able to concentrate. Pat may be one of those rare individuals who are best able to work in the evening, but her family and school requires her involvement and participation in the day hours and by being awake at night, Pat may not have the necessary concentration for her family and study.
To believe that solutions exist and to write out the situation
Pat may be overwhelmed by her situation and may believe that she is a 'bad' mother, that her children and husband are suffering, and that she will fail in her schoolwork.
Pat's first task, therefore, is to tell herself that she can find a way out. Her next is to detail here situation as clearly and as thoroughly as possible (without needlessly elaborating) so that she gains a clear picture of her circumstances.
2. Find the root cause
To help Pat select the best situation, she is recommended to reflect and attempt to identify the root cause of the problem. It may be that Pat's habit of procrastinating may have led her into the morass of confounding job with family and being inadequate operator in both.
3. Identify all solutions
Solutions exist, but…
