DEALING WITH DISCOMFOR[2]

BRIEF: Discomfort is and always has been an integral part of human existence. Most of us accept this as a fact of life and build into our lives relevant coping mechanisms to deal with it. . However, some of us really struggle to deal with this harsh reality and do everything in our power to avoid it>Managing discomfort is especially relevant for modern society. Why is that so?

Why is this skill important?

Discomfort is and always has been an integral part of human existence. Most of us accept this as a fact of life and build into our lives relevant coping mechanisms to deal with it. . However, some of us really struggle to deal with this harsh reality and do everything in our power to avoid it>Managing discomfort is especially relevant for modern society. Why is that so?

It is because not knowing how to manage discomfort leads to intense frustration. This , in turn, underlies many mental health problems, especially anxiety conditions such as panic attacks, and phobias, and depression.. These conditions create significant discomfort , something we dislike, but , for example, as we explored before on flooding accepting the discomfort of physical symptoms of acute anxiety is essential. There are also, strong links between frustration and most addictions.

The behavioural response to a demand that one should not suffer discomfort is, in the case of the addict, to seek out substances and addictive behaviours to ensure that this is not experienced.

Article 2

It is also relevant in toxic stress. While some of us will become anxious and release adrenaline when stressed , other will become frustrated . This is important , as frustration can lead to the body pouring out noadrenaline, our aggression hormone, rather than adrenaline , our more benign fear hormone, when we are anxious.

There can be significant physical health consequences if this outpouring of noadrenaline is persistent or prolonged . If you are interested in this topic, you can read more about it in Toxic Stress.

Alongside mental health conditions, one must also be deeply concerned at the high levels of frustration within modern society . The media constantly informs us that we live in an age of anxiety. Rarely is it mentioned that we also live in an age of frustration. Consider road rage on the motorways, queues at the airport, boorishness in restaurants… Experiencing and managing discomfort is a skill older generations were forced to develop through necessity.

I will complete in article 3 soon.