Master thread for distraction techniques

[[da...]]

Do we have a master thread for distraction techniques? If not, let's use this thread to collect all the distraction techniques used by folks to pass time. They say TIME is the best healer.

[[al...]]

I play internet chess for hours.  It really helps to distract sometimes

[[da...]]

- Read books

- Watch TV shows

- Watch movies

- Try to go into a flow state

[[Si...]]

@[al...] are you on Internet Chess Club? 

[[An...]]

I use my ears more than my eyes now for infotainment. I love listening to audio podcasts using my iPhone. I can often drift off to sleep while listening(I do set a sleep timer so the sound does not wake me back up). I personally find this to be a great distraction.

[[be...]]

@[da...] When I found BB, I was trying to get off of the Valium, and had been doing it pretty much by myself, while here I read and learned a lot. But I felt so lonely, I started a Word for the Day thread and two Music threads and had a long running blog, that I gave 100% to others each day, I guess for me having those threads helped a lot with distraction, but the biggest help, was to set my wd sx aside and give to others, just by listening through their posts and posting help to others. I became humble and realized that by giving to others...it helped me to not dwell on how badly I felt, and over time it was the best distraction in the world. Stay Strong.💖Peace and Healing.

[[al...]]

@[Si...]  I play on chess.com or Lichess

[[me...]]

11 hours ago, [[b...] said:

@[da...] When I found BB, I was trying to get off of the Valium, and had been doing it pretty much by myself, while here I read and learned a lot. But I felt so lonely, I started a Word for the Day thread and two Music threads and had a long running blog, that I gave 100% to others each day, I guess for me having those threads helped a lot with distraction, but the biggest help, was to set my wd sx aside and give to others, just by listening through their posts and posting help to others. I became humble and realized that by giving to others...it helped me to not dwell on how badly I felt, and over time it was the best distraction in the world. Stay Strong.💖Peace and Healing.

That's so nice be good I hope I can help others when I'm through this dark tunnel 🥴🥴

[[da...]]

 

From https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/coping/distractions

1. Bake or cook, especially foods your body may be telling you it needs, or discover new recipes
2. Be in nature
3. Build a Lego structure
4. Clean out your closet and arrange clothes by color
5. Color—try an adult coloring book or a book of mandalas
6. Connect with someone else going through withdrawal to offer mutual support
7. Count something—leaves in a tree, prayer beads, squares on the ceiling
8. Cuddle with someone you love
9. Dance
10. Do a guided body scan (there are many free ones available online)
11. Do puzzles, like Sudoku or crosswords (start with the easiest if need be)
12. Do a household task, especially one you’ve been putting off, maybe while listening to some good music
13. Do some gardening or repot a plant
14. Do repetitive movements, such as rocking
15. Do some needlepoint, knit, or crochet
16. Do some physical exercise
17. Do yoga poses
18. Follow a guided visualization
19. Get a massage—book a session, ask a friend, or do some self-massage
20. Get support from an online mutual support group
21. Get yourself feeling really cozy in bed
22. Give someone you love a back massage
23. Go for a bike ride or a long drive
24. Go outside and touch or hug a tree
25. Go to a “paint your own pottery” studio
26. Hang out with a dog (yours or a friend’s)
27. Have a cup of decaf tea
28. Hit a punching bag (be sure to wear boxing gloves!)
29. Hug someone
30. Learn a new language
31. Learn about and try out essential oils
32. Learn how to do origami
33. Learn how to do tapping (EFT)
34. Learn how to play a musical instrument
35. Learn self-hypnosis
36. Learn tai chi
37. Light a Himalayan salt lamp
38. Light some incense
39. Listen to an audiobook when you’re in the car, or at home
40. Listen to interesting podcasts, maybe while walking outside
41. Listen to Madness Radio
42. Listen to music
43. Look back at old journals to remember when you felt better
44. Make a collage
45. Make some bracelets
46. Meditate (try downloading the free Insight Timer or Headspace app)
47. Pace
48. Paint (perhaps pick up a “paint by numbers” project if you don’t feel like starting from scratch)
49. Play a board game
50. Play cards or solitaire
51. Play chess
52. Play computer games
53. Play video games
54. Pray
55. Put together a photo album or scrapbook
56. Question your beliefs
57. Reach out to someone who’s struggling and offer support
58. Read a children’s or young adult book (such as Harry Potter)
59. Read poetry
60. Read stories of people healing from psychiatric drugs
61. Redecorate a room or do some house renovations
62. Repeat a mantra
63. Repeat an affirmation
64. Sing
65. Sleep
66. Socialize
67. Swim
68. Take an Epsom salt bath
69. Take photographs (some like to look for beautiful things)
70. Try sensory deprivation (such as a flotation tank)
71. Visit a museum
72. Visit encouraging websites, such as Beyond Meds or Recovery Road
73. Volunteer at a local nonprofit or charity
74. Walk
75. Watch a movie, a Disney movie, or TV show, especially a light-hearted one
76. Watch documentaries on issues that interest you
77. Watch TED talks
78. Work on a jigsaw puzzle
79. Work part-time
80. Write—whether free-flow writing, in a journal, or a short story or poem

 

[[da...]]

- Take a nap

- Create a second brain using Obsidian/Notion app.

[[Br...]]

Great list @[da...]!!  It's pretty comprehensive so not sure I can add much, so I'll just piggyback and add  a little to your suggestions. 

- Watch a comedy TV show, stand-up comic , or funny movie.  Even better, a funny TV series; I got into a routine during withdrawal where I watched an episode or two of a favorite comedy TV series every night after dinner.  Laughter is so important! 

-Epsom salt baths especially before bed are great - Add a few drops of essential oil in a scent you like ( I used lavender) with the Epsom salts to a very warm bath.  Light a pillar candle, turn off the bathroom light and listen to an entertaining audiobook. It's soothing as well as distracting.

- Learn a new skill - YouTube has tutorials on just about anything you can think of. It's not called "university of YouTube" for nothing!

 

 

 

[[da...]]

- Listen to videos at https://www.youtube.com/@BaylissaFrederick/videos multiple times a day for hope, support and reassurance.

[[Si...]]

None of this helps with real withdrawal; all these activities will either be impossible or make it worse.  With the exception maybe of a hug, which still only helps a tiny bit if at all.  

[[Pi...]]

Count backwards from 100.  I was at the dentist yesterday and getting anxious and started counting backwards.  It works.

 

 

[[da...]]

- Get two mobile phones - one android and one iphone. Install a lot of games, apps, news apps, substack, twitter, facebook, telegram. Follow/Subscribe to a lot of groups/individuals on these apps. Enable ALL notifications including sound notifications. By following this, all day long, the phone will keep pinging you with notifications causing continuous distraction.

Edited March 21 by [da...]

[[da...]]

- Learn day trading - tons of videos on youtube teaching for free. Udemy has paid courses. You will need to sit at the computer and stare at charts all day long to make trades. If you don't want to use real money, do paper trading with a dummy account.

- On your computer, have a lot of tabs and windows and apps open to distract you. I use twitter, robinhood tabs, news readers like newsify/inoreader, chatgpt, perplexity, pdfs on different topics (you can download from scribd.com), whatsapp, telegram, iBooks, calibre ebook manager, mind mapping app. Listen to music/youtube videos in the background. Keep phones handy too.

Edited March 21 by [da...]

[[Ma...]]

Online scrabble, doodling in a sketchbook, walking, walking some more; then walking again.

Making a playlist, writing and sending old school cards to friends, daydreaming my future self.

Lastly: my home has never, ever been so clean! And my dogs have never been so spoiled!

Edited March 21 by [Ma...]

[[da...]]

Good list @[Ma...].

[[da...]]

- Make DIY dishwashter tablets

- Make DIY liquid soap

[[ns...]]

On 15/10/2023 at 14:54, [[b...] said:

@[da...] When I found BB, I was trying to get off of the Valium, and had been doing it pretty much by myself, while here I read and learned a lot. But I felt so lonely, I started a Word for the Day thread and two Music threads and had a long running blog, that I gave 100% to others each day, I guess for me having those threads helped a lot with distraction, but the biggest help, was to set my wd sx aside and give to others, just by listening through their posts and posting help to others. I became humble and realized that by giving to others...it helped me to not dwell on how badly I felt, and over time it was the best distraction in the world. Stay Strong.💖Peace and Healing.

begood, helping others is how I distract as well. I'm grateful to have read your encouraging words and one day, I hope to share my music and have a blog here too!

Thank you for what you do, it's amazing!

Ns

[[ns...]]

dangerous007,

Great idea for this thread!

I'll be back to share my thoughts 🙃 

[[Pi...]]

I listened to podcasts that captured my attention.  

[[ns...]]

7 hours ago, [[M...] said:

Online scrabble, doodling in a sketchbook, walking, walking some more; then walking again.

Making a playlist, writing and sending old school cards to friends, daydreaming my future self.

Lastly: my home has never, ever been so clean! And my dogs have never been so spoiled!

Lol, your so fun Mary 🌞 

Edited March 22 by [ns...]
Correction

[[ns...]]

3 hours ago, [[n...] said:

dangerous007,

Great idea for this thread!

I'll be back to share my thoughts 🙃 

Ok, so i love this thread.

I'm sure most have read somewhere that I always speak about trey Jones anxiety on YouTube and therapy in a nutshell with Emma. Really helpful for anxiety sufferers, panic attacks, ptsd etc

Exposure therapy is a great way to get out of the house, get some excercise and face your fears. I do this! It's really challenging and it helps so much to get out in the world again. It's not easy when your in the thick of it but I push myself quite a bit. I always tell myself, I'm safe,  I'm uncomfortable but I'll be ok.

I do this to take a shower even. It can get pretty rough in the shower sometimes. I hit the wall, my head, my face! I gave myself a bloody chin the other day! So, telling myself I'm ok, I'm safe is how I get thru it!

I also move around alot in the shower or while I'm brushing my teeth, hair etc. It's hard to stand so that helps me. 

It's all about distraction. Its also sbout pushing youself to the limit, Fake it til you make it! But not really, I mean, we're readjusting and teaching our brain, rewiring so to speak. 

Our brain is healing so why not teach our brain as we go along.

I can't listen to music, it's my favorite thing to do, I can't play my guitar or piano right now, nor can I sing right now, my ears are screaming at me all day long, so, I spend time on bb talking to everyone, browsing around, to be of service if I can and just passing the time. I have to sit a lot! I can't watch TV, my ears! But, I used to watch with cc. Now the flashing light bothers me so again, bb is where I spend most of my time, browsing around..also Twitter, next door app, Eating, I love to eat 😋

So, this is how I pass my time with the techniques i use.

Maybe you'll find them useful maybe not. 

Another good one is, I love to make videos on the computer. I have so many photos of my grandchildren and children and other family members. I add music to them and make it relevant to each person's life I'm building the video fir, i love doing this! Kind of a great photo album music video and a great gift!

Oh, there are games on my phone also, sometimes I play a few of those too!

Ns

 

 

Edited March 22 by [ns...]
Addition

[[ns...]]

On 31/10/2023 at 07:50, [[d...] said:

From https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/coping/distractions

1. Bake or cook, especially foods your body may be telling you it needs, or discover new recipes
2. Be in nature
3. Build a Lego structure
4. Clean out your closet and arrange clothes by color
5. Color—try an adult coloring book or a book of mandalas
6. Connect with someone else going through withdrawal to offer mutual support
7. Count something—leaves in a tree, prayer beads, squares on the ceiling
8. Cuddle with someone you love
9. Dance
10. Do a guided body scan (there are many free ones available online)
11. Do puzzles, like Sudoku or crosswords (start with the easiest if need be)
12. Do a household task, especially one you’ve been putting off, maybe while listening to some good music
13. Do some gardening or repot a plant
14. Do repetitive movements, such as rocking
15. Do some needlepoint, knit, or crochet
16. Do some physical exercise
17. Do yoga poses
18. Follow a guided visualization
19. Get a massage—book a session, ask a friend, or do some self-massage
20. Get support from an online mutual support group
21. Get yourself feeling really cozy in bed
22. Give someone you love a back massage
23. Go for a bike ride or a long drive
24. Go outside and touch or hug a tree
25. Go to a “paint your own pottery” studio
26. Hang out with a dog (yours or a friend’s)
27. Have a cup of decaf tea
28. Hit a punching bag (be sure to wear boxing gloves!)
29. Hug someone
30. Learn a new language
31. Learn about and try out essential oils
32. Learn how to do origami
33. Learn how to do tapping (EFT)
34. Learn how to play a musical instrument
35. Learn self-hypnosis
36. Learn tai chi
37. Light a Himalayan salt lamp
38. Light some incense
39. Listen to an audiobook when you’re in the car, or at home
40. Listen to interesting podcasts, maybe while walking outside
41. Listen to Madness Radio
42. Listen to music
43. Look back at old journals to remember when you felt better
44. Make a collage
45. Make some bracelets
46. Meditate (try downloading the free Insight Timer or Headspace app)
47. Pace
48. Paint (perhaps pick up a “paint by numbers” project if you don’t feel like starting from scratch)
49. Play a board game
50. Play cards or solitaire
51. Play chess
52. Play computer games
53. Play video games
54. Pray
55. Put together a photo album or scrapbook
56. Question your beliefs
57. Reach out to someone who’s struggling and offer support
58. Read a children’s or young adult book (such as Harry Potter)
59. Read poetry
60. Read stories of people healing from psychiatric drugs
61. Redecorate a room or do some house renovations
62. Repeat a mantra
63. Repeat an affirmation
64. Sing
65. Sleep
66. Socialize
67. Swim
68. Take an Epsom salt bath
69. Take photographs (some like to look for beautiful things)
70. Try sensory deprivation (such as a flotation tank)
71. Visit a museum
72. Visit encouraging websites, such as Beyond Meds or Recovery Road
73. Volunteer at a local nonprofit or charity
74. Walk
75. Watch a movie, a Disney movie, or TV show, especially a light-hearted one
76. Watch documentaries on issues that interest you
77. Watch TED talks
78. Work on a jigsaw puzzle
79. Work part-time
80. Write—whether free-flow writing, in a journal, or a short story or poem

These are really good ones dangerous007. Great for rewiring the brain! Thanks!