Distraction

Why Use this Skill

Sometimes, reality sucks, and problem-solving hasn’t yet helped you. And, when you’re upset about something, ruminating or worrying about it just makes it worse. Distracting ourselves from pain, or from painful thoughts, can help us feel better—at least temporarily. Distraction is also one of the easier coping skills to learn and practice. You probably already use it!

When to Use This Skill

Use Distraction when:

• You’re upset about something and can’t change it.
• You can’t stop ruminating, worrying, or negatively obsessing.
• You have something scary coming up (like getting medical test results or a job application decision) and you want to stop thinking about it for now.

How to Use This Skill

Most people think of fun activities when they think of distraction—watching TV, going to a bookstore, listening to music, reading a magazine, scrolling social media, going on a walk, etc.

Activities are great! But there are tons of other types of distraction:

• Use physical sensations and grounding techniques to get out of your thoughts and into your body. Squeeze a stress ball, listen to loud music, eat hot sauce, smell strong essential oils, etc.
• Fill your brain with anything besides what’s upsetting you. Do crossword puzzles, repeat mantras or sing your favorite song, count how many tiles/birds/people/whatever you can see around you, or do math in your head.
• Contribute to other people’s well-being to distract from your own problems and feel good about yourself.
• Imagine putting your problem behind a wall, on a shelf, or in a lockbox, to come back to later.
• Use the power of different emotions. Watch scary movies when you’re sad. Read funny books when you’re anxious. Listen to spa music when you’re angry.

To practice distraction, do anything that gets your mind off of your painful emotions and the thing causing your painful emotions—as long as it doesn’t hurt you or cause you more problems!