Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital issued the following announcement on Dec. 9.
Whether you are at work, at home, or working from home, you continue to experience many changes in your routine that cause stress. Strong emotions have sucker-punched most of us this year as people struggle with grief, anger, disappointment and frustration over how COVID-19 has affected our lives.
“Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic pill that can make those emotions disappear,” said Amber Olson, LCSW, with Memorial Behavioral Health (MBH). “But picture a toolbox with different coping strategies that you can open when your outlook needs a positive intervention. Distraction is one of those tools that might lessen the chances of strong emotions derailing your day, week or month.”
Normally distractions are something we try to avoid–when we are trying to get things done, for example. But distraction is the ability to temporarily redirect your attention away from a strong emotion, which can sometimes allow the emotion some “cooling off” time, making it easier to manage.
What do positive distractions look like for you? They can be customized to your experience, schedule, budget and attention span.
- Creative distractions: draw, write or build something.
- Productive distractions: clean the floors, catch up on laundry, wash dishes or organize a junk drawer.
- Feel good distractions: revisit a favorite book, funny movie or old television show.
- Mind Benders: challenge yourself with a game that requires attention like Sudoku or a crossword puzzle.
- Physical distractions: change the environment. Walk or hike somewhere. Exercise for a specific amount of time.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital
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