I kept myself from melting by pure refusal to not melt. I'm kind of an emotional mess until someone kicks me hard enough that I realize I'm making it worse for them.
Dani was pretty emotionally stupid as far as I can tell and she at least had dad teaching her coping mechanisms. Horrible, horrible coping mechanisms, but still...
So I'm pretty sure the only reason I get better is because I get a reason to be stubborn to not...think about it anymore.