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want to improve your mental health? escape your comfort zone · feel your feelings with Ethan Jewell

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  We've all been there. The seemingly endless cycle of
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  routine where each day blends continuously into the next.
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  It's safe, it's predictable, it's comfortable.
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  But I've come to discover that the comfort zone can be a
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  killer. The comfort zone becomes a
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  breeding ground for monotony and depression.
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  When everything is the same, it's hard to see a world where
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  you will ever feel better. My name is Ethan Jewell and
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  welcome back to Feel Your feelings.
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  Everyone loves having stability and comfort.
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  I know, I sure do. I have a pretty set day-to-day
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  routine. I'm sure you do as well.
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  Whether it's with school, work, creative endeavours, or whatever
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  takes up your time throughout the day, most people are wired
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  to enjoy predictability. It's essentially a survival
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  instinct. However, when does
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  predictability become painful? When does comfort become
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  uncomfortable? It's a very fine line to walk
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  between having contentment with what you have, but still seeking
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  new things and growth. If we do not walk this line,
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  days can become indistinguishable.
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  Creativity and growth will struggle to find their voices,
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  and we will inevitably fall. Now imagine disrupting this
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  monotony as the key to unlocking that growth in your mental
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  health that you desire. When we venture beyond the
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  confines of what we are comfortable with, we send
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  ripples through the stagnant waters of routine.
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  It's in these disruptions that growth truly happens.
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  So join me as we explore how stepping outside of our comfort
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  zones can improve our mental health and quality of life.
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  Who knows? You might find the answer to
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  your days blending together. We'll start by discussing how we
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  can embrace mental health growth through discomfort.
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  Then we'll define the line between unhealthy stress and
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  healthy discomfort before finally tying it all together by
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  discussing how being uncomfortable creates lasting
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  memories, meaningful connections, and true human
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  growth. So why even step out of our
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  comfort zone in the 1st place? I mean, after all, it's
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  comfortable, so why wouldn't we just stay there?
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  As it turns out, your comfort zone may be exactly what makes
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  you feel bad. Your comfort zone may just be a
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  breeding ground for mental health issues.
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  Author Despina Carpathio states that many health professionals
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  have connected health issues such as anxiety, depression, or
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  feeling stuck to living inside your comfort zone.
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  Routine can lead to boredom. Boredom leads to a wandering
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  mind, and a wandering mind can make mental issues that are
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  lying low come to the surface. By simply breaking routine and
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  stepping outside of our comfort zone, we expose our brains to
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  unique circumstances that we have yet to experience.
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  This literally transforms the way your brain works and could
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  help with these feelings of being stuck or with mental
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  health issues in general. When we step out of what is
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  comfortable, we are forced to think outside of the box and
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  form new neural pathways. This growth alone is incredible
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  for our mental health. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not
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  saying that trying new things or getting uncomfortable alone will
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  completely solve all of your mental health issues.
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  But by trying new things, by breaking out of what you are
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  used to, you literally grow as a person, and with it your mental
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  health grows as well. As I often do on this podcast, I
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  can speak from personal experience the absolute wonders
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  that stepping outside of my comfort zone has done for me.
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  I tend to seek the comfort zone. I'm a relatively anxious person
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  and tend to overthink if I'm being honest, meaning that
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  routine usually feels good. But what I've found is if I stay
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  in that routine for too long, I start to feel worse.
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  I feel as though I'm not going anywhere.
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  I'm not getting anything done. I'm just living the same day
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  over and over, and this becomes a breeding ground for my mental
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  health issues to flourish. I'm not busy.
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  I'm not using my time, doing new things, and instead I just go
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  through the motions, point A to point B not growing at all.
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  However, when I add something new, something challenging, into
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  my routine, I literally just feel better.
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  I'm not a psychologist or a mental health professional, so
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  honestly, I can't give you a scientific rundown on why this
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  is, but I challenge you to give it a try.
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  Add something new and uncomfortable to your routine.
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  For me, it's been things like cold showers, going to the gym,
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  or talking to strangers more for you.
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  It could be one of these, or something as simple as going to
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  a new location for lunch, talking to a friend you haven't
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  reached out to in a while. If you add new things into your
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  routine, it switches up monotony and you will feel some sort of
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  difference. Successfully completing new
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  experiences releases dopamine, one of our feel good chemicals,
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  and might help you seek new challenges as dopamine is a part
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  of our natural reward system. This will then challenge your
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  brain to seek more growth, to seek more things outside of your
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  norm. And this is how we find success,
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  both physically and mentally, by starting a pattern.
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  If you are not happy with where you are, if you feel stuck in a
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  routine, if you feel too stuck in your comfort zone, please
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  give this a shot. Add something new to your
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  routine and watch as your brain forms new connections and you
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  flourish by getting uncomfortable, you might find a
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  whole new level of comfort and happiness.
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  However, there is still a fine line that we need to walk.
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  Please understand, I'm not saying a comfort zone is a
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  horrible thing. In fact, for many of us, it's
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  great. It's healthy to have a
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  predictable routine that you can fall back into when things get
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  hard tasks that you complete every day in order to keep
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  moving whenever your brain wants you to be stationary.
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  There's nothing wrong with this. I still have a daily routine
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  that I fall into. I don't spend all day every day
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  searching for new experiences and things outside of my comfort
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  zone, so it's important to find a balance.
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  Find comfort in your routine, but also explore.
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  Get used to the things that happen every day, but also look
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  for new opportunities and challenges to grow.
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  Worst case, if it doesn't work out, you can always fall back
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  into your comfort zone. You can always fall back to what
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  you know. If you try something new to
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  improve your mental health and you find yourself falling back
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  into your old ways, that's OK. At least it's safe.
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  At least it's a comfortable place to nurture yourself and
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  grow. You just can't hold yourself
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  back forever. It's important to find a healthy
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  balance, and the only way that you're going to find this is by
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  experimenting, by trying new things, by trying things for
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  your mental health and your physical health that you haven't
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  tried before. This is how we break up monotony
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  and find new growth. At the heart of the human
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  experience is the ability to create lasting memories and
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  shared experiences. Whether with friends, family, or
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  even strangers, the moments we share become impactful imprints
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  on the canvases of our lives, and often these experiences lie
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  just on the other side of our comfort zone.
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  I'm sure you've heard this before, but I want to drill it
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  in When we get uncomfortable, it opens us up to new things, to
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  new people, and that is where we grow.
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  But that is also where we find memories and experiences, and
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  that is crucial for having good mental health in order to think
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  back on the good times, in order to think back on the memories
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  and the experiences that you've had.
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  An extreme example from my own life is this past summer I hiked
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  Half Dome, which is one of the most dangerous and well known
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  hikes in the United States. I was completely unprepared and
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  it was entirely out of my comfort zone as I had never done
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  a hike this long. We hiked 22 miles.
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  It was intense. It was scary and it was
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  uncomfortable. But now that I've come out of
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  this experience, I can say it was one of the most life
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  altering and positive things that I've ever done.
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  And it was all because I stepped out of what was comfortable.
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  Now this is a very, very extreme example.
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  It could be as simple as sharing a laugh with friends.
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  But in order to find something new, in order to break out of
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  where you are and form experiences and form connections
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  and form new neural pathways and find a new you, you have to
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  change your routine. It's not going to be easy, It's
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  not going to always feel completely comfortable, but it
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  is necessary for growth. As humans, we are all here to
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  live. We are all here to experience
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  new things. So get out there and do it.
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  I know it gets tough. I know it gets hard and I know
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  it gets heavy. But you are absolutely capable
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  of exploring new things and stepping out of your comfort
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  zone. I believe in you and I hope that
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  you can believe in you as well. So together, let's experience
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  new things, let's find that growth and let's fully
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  experience this life that we have in front of us.
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  That's going to wrap it up for today's episode.
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  Sorry if I got a little rambly there.
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  This is just a topic that I am incredibly passionate about.
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  I love experiencing new things. Speaking of new things, I have
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  new music coming out soon. It's very out of my comfort zone
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  because I'm singing in it. I've been making musical poetry
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  for about four years and just now took the leap to start
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  singing. I'm really proud of it, although
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  a little scared of it all. Releasing the next song comes
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  out on February 2nd and you can hear a snippet and pre save it
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  on my website ethanjewel.com. Please shoot me a message on my
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  Instagram at Jewel Boy with an eye under score and let me know
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  what you thought about today's episode.
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  So thank you for being here. Thank you for at least
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  considering leaving your comfort zone, and as always, thank you
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  for feeling your feelings. I'll see you next time.