Comfort zone Vice or Coping? Can you determine if your “comfort or numbing” behavior is a vice or a coping behavior? It can be both. Here is the deciding factor. If you get a drink to numb or vice down the stress in your life every time you get stressed ( especially if that is daily) then you have a vice. If you never really “deal” with that stressor or fear head-on.
If your coping behavior is ongoing and not growing out of it, it’s a vice. If you get a drink to ease some of the fear, the pain you’re under and still continue on with dealing with it, it can be healthy. Here is the thing. It’s meant to build muscle or resilience. If you get a drink every time you have stress that is a crutch. This goes for food, drugs, tobacco, t.v. videos, porn etc.
Eventually, you will not go to get the drink after you’ve faced the fear and gotten emotionally stronger. That is healthy.
If you continue on with the vice, the comfort food, drink, smoke, gambling, OCD behaviors than it really is the vice that continues on with you staying in your comfort zone. That can be an addiction.
Our story can also be a vice…. getting to the place where we keep our story and then feel relief. As illogical as it is, it’s still the thing that keeps us from growing.
Being in a place of discomfort and facing the fears is the way to get that resilience you need to build a life of confidence, self-love, and boundaries.
The place that feels free! A place where you feel you can handle whatever life throws at you. For sure the lessons get harder as you build more resilience.
Just like learning martial arts. You get thrown down a lot, lose the match until you build up the skill to be able to “kick ass”. The teachers get harder and stronger the more you learn the skill. Until you can battle with them in a confident way and it feels more equally matched. It never guarantees you will win the match, but at least you know you can participate in the match with confidence in your skill.
If you always keep your matches to the level where you know you will win, and not step up in skill, you are keeping your story. Keeping things at status quo.
Is your coping skill just that or is it a vice to keep you from stretching yourself.
#ConsciouslyAwakeCounseling