Is Avoiding Discomfort Helping or Hurting You?

How many times in a day do you make decisions to avoid discomfort? Probably a lot more than you realize. Don’t worry; I’m not about to tell you to give up your mattress and pillows. I’m not even going to say to take a cold shower (this time).

I was looking at some information about chronic pain the other day and came across someone saying that they have neck pain when blow-drying their long hair. Someone else was suggesting that they use a hair dryer like this one rather than loading the neck muscles that hold the head up:

I found this alarming, and it made me start to think about how many people approach chronic pain. That drying device could be excellent for someone who is profoundly disabled, or for someone immediately post-operative from a neck or shoulder procedure, in the short term. But in the context of chronic pain or long-term use, I’m NOT a fan.

People tend to avoid using the area that hurts, which can be great in the setting of a broken bone, a dislocated joint, or another acute severe injury. In chronic pain, however, this does more harm than good.

Those with chronic neck pain would likely benefit from strengthening their neck muscles to dry their hair without pain. The pain they are feeling may be weak muscles working hard during the action of drying their hair because that’s the only time the person is actively strengthening them. It may simply be a sign that they need to do more strengthening, not less! That person may need to gradually build up the neck muscle strength to tolerate a 10-minute blow-drying session. Guess how they do that? NOT by avoiding it altogether.

In the face of chronic pain, many people avoid movement. They avoid it because they fear it will worsen their pain or because they do not feel safe. This avoidance can make the pain worse and make it last longer.

People often choose immediate comfort without considering the long-term ramifications. The ironic thing is that a lot of the time that short-term comfort can lead to long-term discomfort. Making the more difficult decision and choosing discomfort in the short term can pay dividends in the long run.

Another example of this is working out. If you aren’t in shape and aren’t consistent with strength work, it’s hard. It can be painful. Delayed onset muscle soreness can be intense in the beginning. Trying to catch your breath can be painful. But if you embrace that discomfort, you will experience great comfort in the long term. You will be able to keep up with your kids and your grandkids. When you stay consistent with it, it doesn’t hurt like it does when you begin.

The same thing often applies to nutrition. People choose to eat something their body craves in the short term despite knowing that it’s not helping their long-term health goals. Rather than embracing the discomfort in the short-term by seeking counseling help for emotional eating or practicing discipline with cooking their meals, they seek the instant comfort of foods and beverages.

Let’s revisit those cold showers for a moment, shall we? Cold showers were a hard one for me. I hate cold. I mean, I really, really hate it. But there was a point in my life when I struggled with significant crippling anxiety. I knew that learning to control my breathing and sit with the discomfort of cold therapy would help manage stress in the long term, but it didn’t make it any easier. Do you know what did make it easier? Not allowing it to be a choice. Just committing to it and doing it. You can waste so much energy debating whether to do something or not. Taking that battle out of your mind by simply committing to it is so much easier. I didn’t give myself an “out.” I didn’t allow an option of not doing it. And, like all things, it’s easier when you are consistent with it.

Let’s explore this in the context of relationships. Ever been in a relationship where you avoided the discomfort of having difficult conversations, even when you knew in your gut you needed to? How did that work out in the long term? Often those challenging conversations are opportunities to strengthen and grow as a couple. But they can have the exact opposite effect when they are avoided rather than embraced. They can wreak havoc and drive people away from one another long-term.

What areas of your life do you choose short-term comfort even when you know it’s not helping you achieve your goals? What is one thing you can commit to tackling head-on and embracing the discomfort with today?

If you are struggling with these concepts in your life and need a guide, these are some of the things we tackle in our online programs. We cover topics like this in our community coaching calls and help our members make improvements that carry over into all aspects of their lives.

If you would like to enroll in our programs but don't know which is right for you, simply respond here, text us at 828-949-0409 or book a free 15 minute call with us here.

Happy Wednesday and until next week,

- Katie at Whealth

Our programs help you overcome pain. See what our members say about Whealth.