Throughout our lives, we are building an invisible bubble around us to protect ourselves, both physically and mentally. This bubble develops through our experiences and how we interpret things around us. This bubble also looks and feels different from everyone else, and it is so important that we keep that in mind. This bubble is known as the comfort zone.
What is the comfort zone?
The comfort zone is different for everyone and it changes over time. At certain points in your life that comfort zone might become smaller, or if you are in a place where you feel comfortable, the zone becomes bigger. For me, my comfort zone changes depending on the people around me rather than the environment I am in. That bubble is ever-changing because as humans we are constantly changing.
Something I have realized lately is how people can make you feel guilty or bad when they harm your comfort zone. This results in making YOU feel bad for having personal space boundaries, and when people pop your bubble, they are quick to manipulate you into thinking that it’s your problem that you feel like your space has been invaded.
I have had several incidents where someone has made me uncomfortable by trespassing into my comfort zone. When I address the situation, they are quick to say “why are you mad?” or, “oh no, now you are upset” and “I don’t understand why you are uncomfortable with that.” This ends up making me feel guilty for the situation that happened, and I force myself to just get over it and to just deal with it.
It’s okay
We should not have to normalize things we aren’t comfortable with and we should not have to justify why we feel the way we do. If we are not comfortable with something, it should just be as simple as that and not have to argue why something harmed us. Your comfort zone is valid. No matter how big or small that bubble is.