4 ms·

I used to be rather anxious during some of my school years, dreading all the social interactions I would be forced into, with people that I did not want to be p

I used to be rather anxious during some of my school years, dreading all the social interactions I would be forced into, with people that I did not want to be part of my life. I think that's normal and perhaps a necessary part of human development. I'm fine now, at least.

refurb 6y ago
I agree it’s an uncomfortable, but necessary part of human development. One of the worst things you can do for your mental health is avoid uncomfortable feelings. All that usually accomplishes is making those feelings even worse. That’s why exposure therapy is such a big part in dealing with phobias and anxiety. It’s counter intuitive, but being stressed and anxious (within reason) helps you develop coping mechanisms that come in really handy in life.
- waterhouse 6y ago
  Wiki: "Exposure therapy is based on the principle of respondent conditioning often termed Pavlovian extinction.[16] The exposure therapist identifies the cognitions, emotions and physiological arousal that accompany a fear-inducing stimulus and then tries to break the pattern of escape that maintains the fear. This is done by exposing the patient to progressively stronger fear-inducing stimuli.[17] Fear is minimized at each of a series of steadily escalating steps or challenges (a hierarchy), which can be explicit ("static") or implicit ("dynamic" — see Method of Factors) until the fear is finally gone.[18] The patient is able to terminate the procedure at any time." I think there are some key differences between the above and what school permits.
- everdrive 6y ago
  It's a tough problem conceptually. At some point you "grow up" and your fears, biases, and immaturities are crystallized. What is the difference between a preference, and something that you must overcome to mature? To me it seems (mostly) arbitrary. The distinction primarily being that once you're an adult, you can choose when to remain comfortable, and when to keep pushing yourself. When you're a child, it's forced on you. And for sure, a child who was never put outside of his comfort zone would make a bad adult. It's just hard to know until hindsight. Some things are simple bad, and should be avoided, but other things are immaturities, and you could grow out of them.

refurb 6y ago

I agree it’s an uncomfortable, but necessary part of human development. One of the worst things you can do for your mental health is avoid uncomfortable feelings. All that usually accomplishes is making those feelings even worse. That’s why exposure therapy is such a big part in dealing with phobias and anxiety. It’s counter intuitive, but being stressed and anxious (within reason) helps you develop coping mechanisms that come in really handy in life.

waterhouse 6y ago
Wiki: "Exposure therapy is based on the principle of respondent conditioning often termed Pavlovian extinction.[16] The exposure therapist identifies the cognitions, emotions and physiological arousal that accompany a fear-inducing stimulus and then tries to break the pattern of escape that maintains the fear. This is done by exposing the patient to progressively stronger fear-inducing stimuli.[17] Fear is minimized at each of a series of steadily escalating steps or challenges (a hierarchy), which can be explicit ("static") or implicit ("dynamic" — see Method of Factors) until the fear is finally gone.[18] The patient is able to terminate the procedure at any time." I think there are some key differences between the above and what school permits.
everdrive 6y ago
It's a tough problem conceptually. At some point you "grow up" and your fears, biases, and immaturities are crystallized. What is the difference between a preference, and something that you must overcome to mature? To me it seems (mostly) arbitrary. The distinction primarily being that once you're an adult, you can choose when to remain comfortable, and when to keep pushing yourself. When you're a child, it's forced on you. And for sure, a child who was never put outside of his comfort zone would make a bad adult. It's just hard to know until hindsight. Some things are simple bad, and should be avoided, but other things are immaturities, and you could grow out of them.