Dealing with life's stress

The last couple of days have been full of challenges for me. Work has been way more stressful than normal. There is a lot of tension between me and some of the staff at one of my offices. I hate conflict more than anything. I wasn't sure how to defuse the situation without making it worse and then leading me into cutting again.  I have been hiding out in my office for over a week but needed to make some adjustments to my schedule which forced me to have to confront the situation. It ended up working out better than I had played out in my mind. I was so overwhelmed that I did pull some of my hair out; but I consider this only a minor setback. In therapy I was taught to replace your most destructive behavior with something that does less damage. This process continues until you no longer have the desire to inflict pain upon yourself. In a way I guess hair pulling is less of a threat and thus part of my healing process.
I have also been overwhelmed at my private practice just trying to make everything work. I am currently running the entire office myself. It helps cut cost but the stress is really starting to get to me.  Business has been a little slow which causes a little stress in figuring out how to get all of the bills paid. I know I eventually it will work out but getting through the now is proving to be quite stressful.
I took a big step in my recovery process today. I gave away the 2 knives that I use for cutting to one of my best friends. He is someone who entered my life when all of the chaos began. He has proved to be someone that I can trust and count on even when I am mean to him and try to push him away. For me those knives were like my security blanket so parting with them is somewhat bittersweet. In a way I am anxious because I won't have them when things get to be too much for me; but I know that it is a huge step in healing to let them go so that I won't turn to them in times of crisis. When I have completed my recovery journey I will get them back and will be able to get rid of them myself. Until then I will look for other ways..positive ways to realize the stress that life brings.