Distraction Skills

When you begin to experience an emotional crisis, there are steps that you can take to prevent the whole situation from becoming worse. 

Today, I remembered the practice of the skill of distraction I learned at school.

I heard a not so pleasant news. Someone just lost a loved one. I cried, I screamed and I did not know what to do with my emotions again.

I got up did a couple of things, put on my walking shoes and went for a prayer walk. I could not pray, I decided to make a call to someone who could connect to what I was feeling.

I came back home I still was not fine. I decided to mow the lawn and do some gardening. By the time I was done I felt a bit better and encouraged myself in the Lord.

Let us work on making a list of distracting, pleasurable activities that you can do when having an emotional crisis. 

These activities are meant to distract you from the emotional distress, so that you will create more space between you and the situation and then come back to the problem later, when you feel a little better. 

Have fun with this exercise!

INSTRUCTIONS

Create a list of distracting activities that you can use to interrupt a descent into emotional crisis. 

Do this exercise once, and then return to it occasionally to refresh your list.

1. Things you Enjoy

First, think of activities that you enjoy doing in your free time. It can be a hobby of yours, something that you usually do in your free time to unwind. Maybe it's reading books, watching movies, playing with your pet, listening to music.

You want to choose something you can easily do at short notice. So don’t choose cruising the French Riviera, unless you live in Europe and have a boat. You should also not choose things that are unhealthy and that you might regret later. So even if you enjoy drunk texting, maxing out your credit card, and binge eating, they should not be on your list. Take several minutes to think about this, and write down 5 activities.

Things I enjoy (list as many as possible):

1. List of Distracting, Pleasurable Activities

To get you started with some more ideas about activities you can use to distract yourself when you are overwhelmed with negative emotions, we have a list of pleasurable activities below. Whenever you feel like you could do the activity below, check it off .

• Cook your favorite meal

• Go out and have a cup of coffee with a friend

• Work out

• Listen to your favorite music (and maybe dance)

• Watch a movie at home or a TV show

• Pick up a new hobby (yoga, Pilates, etc)

• Take a hot bubble bath

• Visit a museum or a gallery

• Play an instrument, or start learning to play one

• Simply go for a walk outside

• Play a game with your friends (Monopoly, Clue)

• Call a friend or a family member and chat

• Chat online with your friends

• Go shopping and browse around

• Start writing a book

• Meditate

• Listen to music

• Read a magazine or the newspaper

• Get a massage or go to a beauty salon

• Watch a sports event (baseball, basketball)

• Buy some plants or do some gardening

• Go to the movies or watch a play

• Read your favorite book genre

• Play video games

• Play with your pet or give it a bath

• Go on a date with your loved one

• Have a picnic or go for a hike

• Take a nap or sleep

• Listen to a podcast you enjoy or the radio

• Start a diary

• Do karaoke

• Eat snacks or something you enjoy

• Go outside and enjoy the sunshine

• Watch YouTube or visit a Website you like

• Read comic books

• Go for a drive or take the public transportation

• Create new art that you enjoy

• Go out and have your favorite lunch

• Draw a painting, or do some coloring

• Do some work or finish up some chores

• Buy a gift for a loved one or a friend

• Go swimming in the local pool

• Dress nice and go out

• Watch stand-up comedy

1. Experiment with one of the activities this week when you feel overwhelming emotions.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

When should I use the list of distracting pleasurable activities?

You can use the list whenever you feel like you can benefit from distracting yourself when you feel overwhelming emotions and are triggered to behave in a certain problematic behavior. After you become more distanced from the situation and your overwhelming emotions you can go back.

What if I enjoy an activity that is not very good for me (such as eating too much, smoking, or procrastinating)?

Try to fill your list of distracting, pleasurable activities with things that won't affect you in a negative way. Usually, activities such as addictions or avoidance of things bring a temporary relief to the pain that you might feel, but they will not solve the root of the problem. This way you will also practice delaying immediate rewards which is always necessary when we try to accomplish a goal that requires long-term commitment.

I can't think of anything enjoyable, I've been feeling pretty depressed and down lately. What should I do?

Often, when we find ourselves in such a situation, we make assumptions that there is nothing that we would find enjoyable. Now, when you're depressed, it is realistically hard to do this. Here is what you can do: before trying an activity that you might enjoy, write down how much you assume you'd enjoy it on a scale of 0-100. Then try the activity, and assess how much you actually enjoyed it after. Maybe the second number won't be as high as you would want, but it will probably be higher than what you assumed before.

eConestoga, 2024