Do We Have Anxiety? Or Are We Uncomfortable?

By: Roy Terracina

Sometimes when I’m mentoring young people, the topic of anxiety emerges. These young people are often very aware that for them to grow, they need to stretch their comfort zone. This means learning new things, speaking to new people, and attempting actions that we may not be an expert it in yet. Very few people don’t experience discomfort when they try these new things, but by embracing and pushing through, we can grow into the people they wish to be.

I think it’s important to make sure we don’t confuse our discomfort with anxiety. So what is the difference between anxiety and being uncomfortable? I’m not a medical doctor so I’m not referring to chemical imbalances or social disorders but it appears to me that discomfort is similar to anxiety, but the largest difference is how you handle, react to, and process this feeling.

Being uncomfortable could be thought of like a muscle. The more we exercise it, the stronger our ability to handle the discomfort.

It’s uncomfortable to be in a difficult conversation. But do we push through and have it? Or completely avoid it and bury our feelings inside because of the discomfort? If we have enough of these conversations, it gets easier. It may never will be fun, but it will get easier.

It doesn’t feel good to have money shortages. But does this put us in a place of inhibiting depression? Or is it just a temporary tough time that we need to work through?

I believe that being uncomfortable is a form of anxiety with the proper management tools. When we focus on the things we can control and give those items our time and energy, it’s significantly easier to manage those feelings in a productive way.

This is not medical advice, nor medical observations. I’m simply trying to express that life can be hard and by acknowledging this is what hard feels like, can allow us all to push through.