Tips for anxious people to help them out of their "comfort zone cage"
A Comfort zone is defined as a psychological state in which a person is in a place or situation where they feel comfortable and in control. The things in the comfort zone are familiar and rarely expose those inside to experiencing new challenges. The person isnât being exposed to new things, thus allowing them to relax.
Having a comfort zone is nice, but letting that zone grow is essential to living a fulfilling life. The danger of not allowing your comfort zone room to grow is that it can become more like a cage that locks you inside of it. For instance, Iâm Agoraphobic, meaning I get seriously anxious when I try to leave my house. Donât get me wrong, there are other definitions for Agoraphobia, but this is the category that I fall into. My house became my comfort zone and Iâve become so comfortable and feel so safe inside that now when I leave, Iâm exposing myself to scenarios that I no longer feel comfortable in. This puts me into an anxious mindset which makes it difficult for me to overcome, causing me to often experience panic attacks and fainting spells due to overstimulation and high levels of anxiety.
A better way to explain this is by using the âComfort, Stretch, Panic Model" of Ryan A, and Markova D. They define 3 different learning processes which all people experience throughout their lives, well⊠Except maybe sociopaths.
First, we have the Comfort zone. Iâve explained this a bit, but Iâll still touch on the basics just to get the point across.
The âComfortâ zone:Â Inside our comfort zone, there is no fear or discomfort. This is the place we feel most at ease, as all things here are familiar to us. We arenât exposed to new learning processes or challenges here, but this is also where the downside comes in. You see, without opening ourselves up to those new challenges we have no room to grow or reflect on ourselves as individuals. Things here just remain the same (much like me and being worried about leaving my house).
The âStretchâ zone:Â In the stretch zone we reach our middle ground, right between the three zones. Though things seem new and unfamiliar here, learning is still possible. By being exposed to new challenges in small doses we can explore our boundaries and maybe even push at them a little.
-Â The âPanicâ zone:Â This zone is exactly as it sounds. Itâs a mental state in which we experience stress, panic, fear, and challenges in a manner that makes learning impossible, typically engaging the âfight or flightâ reactions. In this state, a vast majority of our energy is spent on us trying to control and manage our stress, fear, and panic. When a person gets trapped in this mindset for too long they begin to struggle with exploring their boundaries and in most cases it causes them to slink back into their comfort zone, making it more and more difficult for them to leave their comfort zone, hence the term âcomfort zone cage.â
As you can see from the explanations above, the comfort zone cage isnât a physical problem, itâs a mindset that people who struggle with anxiety too often can get stuck in where they fear new challenges and experiences. In my opinion, and I know this is going to make the anxious few nervous, the best way to creep out of that comfort zone cage is to open yourself to new experiences in small doses. Take those baby steps to introduce yourself to things you might enjoy, but baby steps only. Donât overstimulate yourself or put too much pressure on the experience, or you may reinforce the anxious habits and tendencies that have you feeling trapped.
The goal here is to slip into the âstretch zoneâ and explore ways to build new âhappy habits,â as the more you can get out there and try those things, the more often youâll be able to do it and the better youâll feel when you succeed. Donât forget to applaud your efforts when you make progress as this is another âhappy habitâ that will help reinforce your efforts toward rewiring your brain. Donât beat yourself up when you donât succeed, instead, find the areas that you did well in and maximize on those.
Be nice to you! <3
