My Greatest Enemy

Written By Buddy! Magazine
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Katherine Lin (ISB G10)

Katherine, new to the Buddy! family this year, is an avid and enthusiastic writer, who enjoys exploring a variety of genres and topics. She is particularly drawn to issues regarding mental health and psychology. The chaotic whirlwind known as 2020, as well as the on-going “new normal”,” have heightened the importance of mental wellness.

Despite how chaotic your bedroom may look, all humans need order. Patterns help facilitate learning, memorizing, and making decisions. Could you imagine trying to learn mathematics with no organizational structure? Would you feel comfortable living in constant uncertainty of what to expect next? That would be utter chaos! Patterns and routines enable humans to make predictions and logical conclusions. This awareness provides our brains with a sense of safety and ease. Thus, our brains tend to look for patterns everywhere.

“Fear feels like an incessant tunnel, but that shouldn’t deter us from continuing through.”

How do we develop comfort zones? As humans, we are all hesitant to venturing the unknown or confronting novel things. We are constantly looking to those "old buddies" for comfort and solace, whether that being a sport you have played for your entire childhood or a person who can read you like a book. A comfort zone is a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person, and they are at ease and in control of their environment. Despite everything, our "familiar acquaintances" feel safe, whereas change feels terrifying.

Now, you might be wondering, "what is wrong with staying in the comfort of my cozy bed?" "There is nothing more soothing than my morning coffee ritual!"

Indeed, humans need comfort and familiarity. From our comfort zones, we perform more consistently and confidently. We draw from past experiences to anticipate outcomes. From this, we minimize risk, creating a psychological safety net for ourselves. Staying within the comfort zone places less pressure or workload on our brains. We don't expend a lot of energy from habitual or familiar procedures. Think about arriving at school in the morning. Do you think much as you walk to your mentoring classroom? Or do your legs just magically take you there as you daze off into thin air? These tasks are performed quickly and easily without too much forethought or planning.

On the other hand, how does our comfort zone's solitude and perceived "security" limit our potential? The main consequence is that we become close-minded and pessimistic. People become complacent after becoming accustomed to remaining within the comfort zone. Despite avoiding a handful of potential failures, you lose a mountain of rewarding possibilities. In physics, Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion dictates that "a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it, and a body in motion … will remain in motion … unless acted upon by an outside force." How do we learn and better ourselves when we stay isolated on our own "comfort zone" islands?

“As humans, we are all hesitant to venturing the unknown or confronting novel things.”

Comfort zones cushion people in a dangerous yet falsely alluring place of immobility. We learn to self-doubt and avoid challenging situations. Constantly believing that you "can't" is detrimental to mental health. Why are some people more prone to develop depression or disordered mindsets? Indeed, many factors contribute to mental health, including trauma, genetics, illnesses, etc. However, personality also plays a vital role. Low self-esteem, pessimism, being self-critical, or constantly striving for perfection have all been associated with a greater tendency toward depression and other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, eating disorders, and depression.

Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression, with more women being affected than men. Depression is a serious problem that can be triggered by chronic dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, our brain's tendency to form habits and comfort zones establishes a depressive state. For instance, when someone becomes so accustomed to staying in every night, they find safety in doing so. If a friend invites them out to dinner, suddenly, what may seem like a joyous and straightforward event to you, is this person's nightmare. This person will overthink every small detail and predict the worst possible outcomes. Thus, this person will decline the invite, but while staying home, also feel upset, bored, and isolated. They are gradually feeding their inner demons and entrapping themselves in a cycle of anxiety, close-mindedness, and depression. Our personalities shift; our mood fluctuates; our habits form and dissipate. As humans, we can adapt and improve, but what if we become confined and isolated?

Does the topic of staying indoors sound familiar? The Coronavirus pandemic has caused most of us to stay indoors to practice social distancing. Shopping for toiletries while being snuggled up in bed may be the new normal. However, this lifestyle has a lot of mental health implications. Being locked up in your house can build anxiety and restlessness. Too much time alone and being too occupied by screen-based activities make us withdraw from friends and loved ones, which is linked to social anxiety. The isolation imposed by staying at home leaves people feeling that they have no control over the situation. Gradually, people find themselves feeling bereft of motivation or optimism. Things that were exciting and interesting before might seem colorless. Then, this depressing but "comfortable" arrangement becomes the new routine, providing relief. Our minds are often the culprits that trap us in unhealthy beliefs or behaviors.

Fear feels like an incessant tunnel, but that shouldn’t deter us from continuing through. This is just another unfairness that life has to offer. Humans are characterized by habituation, which refers to the fact that nervous system arousal decreases after repeated exposure to the same stimulus. This mechanism is hard-wired into the human genetic program, as it enables us to direct more of our energy on novel stimuli.

I guess it's true that the monsters do not live under our beds but rather in our heads.

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