Harness the Power Of Distraction
Sometimes I take my phone to check mailbox but when I pick it up, I see WhatsApp notification and then I open it and I see a link and I click on the link and reach Instagram to see that video and then continue to scroll and 10 mins later I wonder for maybe 30s why did I take my phone?
If this happens to you then I have something very interesting to share in regards to what is distraction and how to use it wisely. However, it’s important to recognize that distractions aren’t inherently negative. They often arise from genuine interests, curiosity, or the need for a mental break. The key lies in understanding how to channel these distractions in a constructive way.
What is distraction? In a layman’s language distraction is shifting attention from location A to location B. What happens when we do that? We give attention to something other than what’s required in that moment. In the beginning I shared my experience of how easily I was distracted but, with time however the frequency of me visiting WhatsApp or other social media decreased but how?
With the help of an extremely powerful tool “Acknowledgment”. I started to acknowledge that I am getting distracted in this moment. That gave me a sense of power and then I reminded myself that we have to read for 15 minutes uninterrupted. It was not easy in the beginning but gradually I got better at it.
PS: — Acknowledging and reminding yourself is one of the easiest ways to avoid distraction.
But the main agenda of me writing this article is not to tell you how to overcome distraction instead it is to tell you how can you use distraction to your benefit. You will be surprised to see how distraction helps you deal with pain let us understand with an example Jiya & Jalal were in a relationship for more than 7 years but due to some family issues. Jalal couldn’t accept it. He would keep contacting Jiya and she would deny and Jalal reached a point of depression when he first approached Mending Minds for help. Although we used a lot of strategies to help him accept the reality in the preliminary state our major focus was to help him come out of depression and distraction worked like magic pill for him. We kept him engaged in various games across all ages and I vividly remember Sunday afternoon and he had a session with me but he was so preoccupied in playing dumb charades game with some of my colleagues that he had to be reminded of the session. I know someone who plays candy crush every time he is in a place where people gossip just to distract himself from gossip. Every time I see myself stressing about what’s happening in and around me, I choose to distract myself and focus on wither gardening, watching meme, sipping hot coffee but given a chance and a situation I prefer to sleep. This is known as self-expansion mode of engaging with distracting activities.
Problems can arise when distraction become a permanent escape from an uncomfortable reality. Please be very clear that at some point you have to accept he reality but distraction will help you temporarily to stay away from negative thoughts in a peaceful environment but at a later stage you will either accept it yourself or life shall force you to do. Self-expansive distraction can also be used in achieving goals, building skills or attaining new knowledge that can be used over the long term. These distraction aid in building ourselves and our self-worth however it is absolutely the individuals’ choice whether he or she is engaging in expansive or suppressive activities. Use the questioning tool to identify when are you leaning towards? Question like am I using this distraction to build strength power knowledge and to be skilful or I am using it as a momentary escape.
PS: — if you are aware that this pain is going to be forever, please understand that no distractions can heal it and, in that case, you have an option either you fix what’s broken or look for a coping mechanism.
