Self-Destructive Choices

Being a housewife, I have more time to read medical journals than people actually working in health care. Today I read "My Father's Daughter" written by Lara Devgan, a medical student whose father is an ENT surgeon with Type II diabetes. Her father doesn't use the running shoes she's given him and most of her memories are about his enjoyment of sweet treats. Here are 2 quotes from the article that I'll be thinking about today:
Her father tried to explain his behavior by saying "It's hard to be the person you want to be". So if I've disappointed you, well he's absolutely right. I had an ideal self but it was just too hard for me to be that person.
His wife tried to explain his choices this way:
"Sometimes doing what you like - even if it's self-destructive - makes you feel like you're young again. It helps you hang on to a past that's not there anymore."
If you want to read the entire article, I found it on http://www.medscape.com I get lots of emails from medscape as each medical speciality produces a weekly email. I'm especially fond of reading the blogs of young medical students because once I was young and remember when many of my friends were young medical students or young nursing students.