Being Comfortable Having Discomfort

TED Talk Videos

• TED Talk 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QijH4UAqGD8

• TED Talk 2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-ep5HRV6AQ

Why It’s Important to Sit With Discomfort

• Acceptance-based strategies significantly reduce pain intensity and unpleasantness compared to control conditions.
  PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32695054/

• Accepting negative emotions and thoughts reduces rumination, which can perpetuate negative emotions.
  PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28703602/

• Acceptance lowers the tendency to suppress mental experiences, which can otherwise backfire.
  PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28703602/

• Acceptance reduces negative meta-emotional reactions, such as feeling guilty about feeling angry.
  PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28703602/

• Accepting mental experiences allows them to follow their natural, relatively short-lived course rather than being exacerbated.
  PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28703602/

• Acceptance is linked with greater psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and lower depressive and anxiety symptoms.
  PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28703602/

• The benefits of acceptance are specific to mental experiences (emotions and thoughts) rather than external situations.
  PubMed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28703602/

• Moving too quickly into problem-solving, distracting yourself, or numbing emotions can prevent understanding what feelings communicate about needs or situations.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Not feeling your emotions may cause you to miss messages that could prevent staying in unhealthy situations longer than necessary.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Avoiding feelings may limit taking healthy risks that lead to personal growth or improved life circumstances.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Failing to engage with emotions may reduce opportunities to learn valuable information about yourself.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Chronic avoidance of emotions may contribute to self-destructive coping (substance abuse, eating disorders, over-shopping, self-harm).
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Suppressing powerful emotions requires significant energy and may result in anxiety, depression, or anger interfering with life enjoyment.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-refugee-experience/202207/a-simple-way-to-become-less-anxious-and-more-self-accepting

• Avoiding painful feelings may reduce access to positive emotions, making individuals feel less authentic or alive.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-refugee-experience/202207/a-simple-way-to-become-less-anxious-and-more-self-accepting

• Acceptance strategies reduce the believability of private experiences (thoughts), related to cognitive defusion.
  ScienceDirect – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005791612000237

• Acceptance strategies can change responses to pain-related thoughts and feelings, broadening behavior (e.g., tolerating pain longer).
  ScienceDirect – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005791612000237

Solutions for Sitting With Discomfort

• Notice emotional experiences as they arise rather than avoiding, repressing, or distracting yourself.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Welcome emotions with curiosity—ask why they are present and what they communicate.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Remain present with discomfort without trying to eliminate uneasiness to improve emotional tolerance.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Notice and name feelings as they appear to develop greater emotional awareness.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Journaling in a stream-of-consciousness style can help move thoughts out of your mind and reduce dwelling.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Observe feelings without labeling them as good or bad, recognizing emotions are real but not factual representations of reality.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Recognize emotions are temporary and will pass to reduce avoidance urges.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Practice self-compassion by acknowledging painful emotions to engage with them supportively.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Speak kindly to yourself to normalize struggles and reduce self-criticism.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Seek support from a mental health professional to safely identify and respond to emotions.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/unpacking-anxiety/202402/what-does-it-mean-to-sit-with-your-feelings

• Ask, “What am I aware of now?” in a quiet place to gently notice uncomfortable feelings.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-refugee-experience/202207/a-simple-way-to-become-less-anxious-and-more-self-accepting

• Attend to bodily sensations and notice thoughts and feelings with curiosity rather than judgment to create distance from them.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-refugee-experience/202207/a-simple-way-to-become-less-anxious-and-more-self-accepting

• Gently return attention to present-moment awareness when distractions arise to reduce emotional avoidance over time.
  Psychology Today – https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-refugee-experience/202207/a-simple-way-to-become-less-anxious-and-more-self-accepting

• Apply acceptance strategies in chronic pain contexts to increase pain tolerance.
  ScienceDirect – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005791612000237