Balance your mood.
Distractions tend to be seen as negative. But distraction techniques can be really positive, especially when our mind gets caught up in a negative spiral or when we feel the urge to engage with unhealthy behaviours.
Temporarily distracting ourselves from a busy mind by doing things that come with more positive thoughts can help us to break the cycle of negativity and come back to the task feeling refreshed and more optimistic.
OVERVIEW
Distraction is a self-soothing technique and can help change your mood by taking your mind away from something that’s leaving you feeling negative. It works because it forces you away from an unhealthy behaviour or unhelpful thought process.
Distraction techniques are only designed to give temporary relief from our busy minds and so we would recommend both combining this tool with other techniques from across the Peak State resources – you might want to check out the self-compassion or problem solving exercises or the 15-minute rule?
THE WHY
Exercise
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CHECK: Just pause for a moment and check in with yourself. How are you feeling right now? Are your thoughts, feelings and behaviours helping you?
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CHALLENGE: Challenge yourself to stop doing whatever is unhealthy or unhelpful.
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CHANGE: Make a quick change for an activity that you are comfortable with, that’s quick and easy to do and one that you know will bring about positive feelings about yourself.
We will all come to points where our minds are not thinking clearly and if you’ve got a list of distractions written down somewhere handy – maybe on your phone – then you’ll be able to access them quickly and use them to break a negative cycle when you need it most.
Your list might include listening to a specific playlist, watching an episode from your favourite boxset or taking the dog for a walk. The simpler and more enjoyable the better…because these activities will be the most distracting when you need them to help you calm down and reset before coming back stronger.
LISTEN TO THE TOOL