"Seeking Discomfort" as a healthy, growing behaviour, as opposed to "avoiding discomfort"

[Ecdysis]

I'm sure I've heard of this concept before vaguely, but never so clearly as today, on the Headspace meditation app.

It's about "seeking discomfort".

I think childhood trauma set me on a path of almost automatically "avoiding discomfort" in a lot of settings.

I don't always do it... But I do it a LOT.

So training your mind to seek the discomfort outside of your comfort zone... is an interesting turnaround.

It's presented on Headspace by a group called "Yes Theory" About – Yes Theory

 

[Ecdysis]

Having an incredibly stressful day today... very overwhelmed.
I'm forced to confront discomfort today but hating every second of it.
Definitely not doing well in terms of "seeking out discomfort" today.
Maybe I can try to shift my perspective a bit so the discomfort becomes more bearable?

 

[Movingforward10]

Hmmm. I was reading your first post and thinking. And then seeing your second post. I was wondering. My initial view was thinking stress doesn't lead to change. But then....

When I think about growth that I have been through. It Def, mostly, has come out of pain. Usually when I experience something that rocks me, it leads to healing. But I wonder if the key, like all things, is the level of stress/discomfort/pain. Because when it's overwhelming , it's too much to heal?

Idk.
I suppose this has confused me.

 

[Ecdysis]

I think the point is to seek it out voluntarily and prepared... Sort of like when we go to trauma therapy and intentionally work through difficult stuff.
Ideally, you choose stuff/ amounts that are still kinda within your window of tolerance.

When life is being shit (like in my case today) the discomfort comes, whether you're ready or not, whether you're willing or not.

I think the theory is that doing the former (voluntary) builds muscle, so the latter (involuntary) becomes easier to deal with.

 

[Ecdysis]

Reading this is a good reminder tho...

My PTSD-brain panics when discomfort rises above a certain limit and thinks discomfort = pain and discomfort = death.

Which is an overreaction.

I can "do" discomfort, without spiralling into panic.

 

[Movingforward10]

Ah, that all makes sense @Ecdysis . And yep, I think PTSD brains are wired for trauma so it's so easy to go from 0 to 100 in a nanosecond.

I can "do" discomfort, without spiralling into panic.

This is a good belief to reinforce. Maybe the more you tell yourself this, even whilst feeling the discomfort or feeling at the edge or beyond that window of tolerance, it will help to come back to a grounded place.

 

[arfie]

adding my hmmmmm to @Movingforward10 's. great chew food, skin shedder. breakfast is the most important meal of the day. thank you for this tasty bit of high fiber chew food to start my day. i can't listen to broadcasts easily, thank you for translating this tidbit into a media i can access. i read better than i hear.

i often call myself, "a recovering chaos junkie" and view self-sabotage, attraction to dysfunctional relationships, etc., as seeking discomfort. however, channeling is one of my most used therapy tools with vigorous workouts and playing musical instruments as my top two emotional channels. when channeling, i often (routinely?) push my limits, both physical and psychic. i am wondering if pushing those limits would qualify as deliberately seeking discomfort.

chew, chew. . .

 

[Friday]

My PTSD-brain panics when discomfort rises above a certain limit and thinks discomfort = pain and discomfort = death.

Damn good core belief / cognitive distortion find.

And exactly why this topic fits in CritC Avoidance… discomfort (stressor, not trigger) triggers/sparks lessons learned in trauma, and distorted thinking; turning normal life into life-or-death extremes, and all the badness from back when. So, to avoid your past rushing into your present, you back away from those situations. Stress lowered, stressors avoided, equilibrium maintained. BUT? By increasing the “window of tolerance” / “stress inoculation” etc.? The wider your world becomes, with less stress, fewer stressors, etc.

C. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning after the traumatic event(s) occurred, as evidence by one or both of the following:

1. Avoidance of or efforts to avoid distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings about or closely associated with the traumatic event(s).
2. Avoidance of or efforts to avoid external reminders (people, places, conversations, activities, objects, situations) that arouse distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings about or closely associated with the traumatic event(s).

Definitely not doing well in terms of "seeking out discomfort" today.

You don’t have to look for what you’ve already found.