There's no comfort in the growth zone and no growth in the comfort zone.

[limey123]

Very apt saying? (Seen today)

[Mr. Nobody]

I wonder if comfort is more something the body wants/needs,
and growth is more something the mind wants/needs?

Is comfort the denial of change?
Is growth the appreciation of change?

Is comfort a kind of dwelling in the past, and growth embracing the new?

Again,..it feels like comfort is the body/mind trying to find respite and repose,
But continued respite and repose could become a decay of some sort.

Bleh, ... Friday night is my drinking night,.. *hic*

[Clumsy*]

Originally Posted by limey123

Very apt saying? (Seen today)

That's a really good one. Thank you!

[Moksha]

But what if leaving the comfort zone and moving into the growth zone causes so much pain (or releases so much buried pain) that it breaks you? “Until the pain is so big, you feel nothing at all,” as John Lennon put it. Real life isn’t a mawkish Hollywood movie.

[Clumsy*]

Originally Posted by Moksha

Real life isn’t a mawkish Hollywood movie.

Hi Moshka, I'm not sure I understand this.

[Dougella]

^^ That's where support from a therapist and a gradual approach comes in.

[Sunrise]

Where's the comfort in living a life of chronic fear, anger, resentment and paranoia? I would ****ing kill for a comfort zone. If I had a comfort zone I reckon all my issues would be over.

[Dougella]

^ Yeah, my comfort zone is in my bed behind my computer screen knowing I don't have to go anywhere or interact with anyone in the near (or quite honestly distant) future. That is a small zone of comfort.

[Sunrise]

I actually agree with the quote, but it's not really "me". It's aimed at go-getter types who are obsessed with goals and living life to the full. There's nothing wrong with that, but that's not the situation I'm in. I'm someone who wants to live a normal life rather than a life of fear and pain. Quotes like that are for people who want to live an amazing life rather than a normal one. I chalk up surviving to the end of each day as a win.

When you experience serious mental illness there's no such thing as a comfort zone.

[gregarious_introvert]

I'm not sure that I had a "comfort zone" in the past; of course, I had my "safe place" when I was agoraphobic, but there was always so much that I wanted to do that it never felt comfortable - more like a prison.

Nowadays, I don't feel like I'm living outside my comfort zone either (although, of course, there will always be situations which don't feel comfortable, as there are for all of us), more that I'm extending my comfort zone (I guess this means that I am stepping outside it, but these days it's a very quick move from uncomfortable to comfortable). I hope that doesn't mean that I've stopped growing?

[choirgirl]

Hi Nanuq *waves*

[Dougella]

^ I still want to know what you consider "value" in someone's life? Don't you think everyone has value?

[Sunrise]

We do have a sort of blind spot I think, with this issue - for example we almost only talk of mental illness as if it were a brave battle - and you will win it in the end! - as opposed to the wreck and ruin leftover from a pitiless massacre of human potential and hope

The current trend for mental health awareness does seem to focus on a very narrow definition of "mental health". A lot of it portrays mental illness in a very safe, family friendly way and seems to ignore many of the not so nice aspects of it that are still very much a taboo subject.

What does a comfort zone for someone with schizophrenia experiencing psychosis look like? What does growth look like for someone who is in hospital getting there stomach pumped after taking yet another overdose because they can't escape their constant suicidal thoughts?

Sometimes just surviving each day is growth. Mental illness is rarely about achieving great things. For some people getting to the end of each day in one piece is a success story. And these people have as much value as human beings as anyone.

[Dougella]

^ That's what I think too, getting through each day and doing the basics of life can be a big achievement for some people with mental illness. For me getting to a point where I feel ok more days than not (when I'm just at home and not having to go anywhere or do anything stressful) is huge. We all have value as human beings.

[Counterpoint]

Originally Posted by Sunrise

When you experience serious mental illness there's no such thing as a comfort zone.

I know what you are saying, but mental illness, in all its forms, is a psychological defense mechanism. It is more a 'safety zone' than a comfort zone.

[Sunrise]

I think for me it's more of a "defense zone". I don't feel safe or comfortable but I definitely feel defensive. I don't think there's anything remotely comfortable or safe about feeling that way.