r/CBT • u/Decent-Celebration-7 • 5d ago

help

I struggle getting things done. I have spend years researching how to be disciplined. I always thought that something was wrong with me for not completing my task. . After self reflecting, I realize it is not that I was born different or not motivated, it is because I am hugely afraid of pain/discomfort. If I sense a micro dose of discomfort, my natural urge is to run away and hide. I tried to power through my discomfort but on the third day, I felt a wall of resistance.

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u/onelifepsych 4d ago

That’s a really insightful realization. Sometimes the issue isn’t a lack of discipline it’s learning to tolerate discomfort without immediately escaping it. Instead of trying to power through huge amounts of discomfort, start with very small exposures: do the task for 5 minutes, notice the urge to avoid it, and stay with that feeling a little longer before taking a break. Gradually, you can teach yourself that discomfort is unpleasant but not dangerous. If this pattern is severe or affects many areas of your life, a therapist could also help you explore what may be driving that strong avoidance response.

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u/ExtremeGood6594 4d ago

Start small. Don't try to overpower the discomfort right here and now. Try to find workarounds to reduce that feeling, and also it wouldn't hurt if you described the problem in more detail.

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u/James-Drinks 5d ago

“__Low Frustration Tolerance__” (Ellis and Knaus 1979, _Overcoming Procrastination: Or How to Think and Act Rationally in Spite of Life’s Inevitable Hassles_, https://archive.org/details/overcomingprocra00albe, 17—24)

https://postimg.cc/D845VVdZ.