Distraction can help regulate your emotions. Distraction is a coping skill. These help you rebalance and regroup so you are more resilient to manage and cope with the emotion, feeling or situation.
Distraction skills to help with anxiety
Distraction can help regulate your emotions. Distraction is a coping skill. These help you rebalance and regroup so you are more resilient to manage and cope with the emotion, feeling or situation. This Mental Health Awareess Week our Children & Young Persons Counsellor shares advice on distraction skills to help cope with anxiety and grief.
Distraction skills can be used just for a few minutes. Some of the best ones are the ideas you come up with yourself and enjoy, ones that connect with you personally. It could be listening to a favourite song, doodle/journaling, physical activity, reading, watching a favourite tik tok, Netflix clip or chatting to a friend.
You can also do a grounding technique. These are visual, or sense tools, to help distract you from feelings and thoughts of anxiety. They are useful to help you to distract yourself from a situation where you may be feeling overwhelmed by anxious thoughts, memories, and feelings.
Distraction skills – practical examples:
5 Senses
Squared Breathing
There are other distraction techniques such as calm hand, body mind map – tense and release that are helpful and all use different senses.
Self care to rest through grief and anxiety
Together, feeling anxious and grieving can be tiring and draining on yourself, physically and mentally. It is important to ensure you take care of yourself, to give your mind and body a rest through our grief and anxiety.
It is okay to do something you enjoy and take a break from your grief. This time gives your body a much-needed break and recuperation. This could be going out with a friend, engaging in an activity or hobby, movie night, etc, whatever it is that you enjoy and relax.
There is no time limit on grief, it is a unique, personal, journey, that must be done at your own pace, space, and time. Everyone will experience and process their grief differently.
Counselling at KEMP Hospice
KEMP Hospice has a team of counsellors who can offer counselling and emotional support, helping people cope with their grief when facing life without a loved one.
For more information about KEMP Counselling for Young People (11 to 17) click here or KEMP Counselling for Children 5 to 10) click here
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