Tackling Distraction and Avoidance | WBT Aug 22, 2021
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WBT… About distraction and avoidance!
I think we probably all avoid doing or thinking about things that we don’t want to or that cause us stress. In the case of avoiding doing, we often find other things that just must be done instead of whatever we’ve promised ourselves we’d do.
Like rather than work on your resume, you suddenly decide the junk drawer needs cleaning! Or when you’re about to go run some errands on a Sunday, but you decide to watch a few TikToks and come up for air two hours later… after the stores have closed. Oops. Here, distraction is avoidance.
In the case of avoiding feelings, what we often do is stuff them. But we’ve probably discovered that it’s hard to keep them stuffed without distraction. In this case, we probably turn to things for comfort or to obliterate the feelings so we don’t have to deal with them.
Sometimes, choosing to distract yourself will serve you. Using healthy distraction selectively to help reduce acute stress is an effective strategy that can keep you from experiencing overwhelming emotions and taking action that you regret. You can do this with a time-limited distraction that allows a temporary change in focus and also soothes your mind, body, and soul. Here, distraction can serve you!
But, proceed with caution:
You can overdo it. You can distract yourself from really living. Many of us are probably well acquainted with plenty of distractions that make our lives worse instead of better. Using unhealthy distraction for the same purpose, or so that you can avoid things in your life that need to be dealt with, only makes your stress chronic and your life worse.
Grab your journal!
What's your go-to unhealthy distraction? (A few examples of unhealthy distraction include binge-watching, doom-scrolling, numbing out with food/drugs/alcohol, etc.)
What’s happening in your life when you use it?
How often do you use it?
What can you replace it with? (A few examples of healthy distraction include walking, working out, meditating, listening to music, connecting with a friend, etc.)
Now that you’ve answered those questions, you can see that you can choose an approach that serves you and helps you deal effectively with the sh*t in your life with no regrets. Will you do it?