Category Archives: Mindful Distraction

No. 54: Paint

July 21, 2011 5:00 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing… Coping Kete

I will practice painting something on a piece of paper, wood, cloth or canvas to shift the moment. It doesn’ t matter what I paint, I will focus my attention on the sound of the brush on the surface and allow myself to get lost in the brush-strokes. I could simply colour in the surface, paint how I feel or try to copy something that is around me. Painting is great because I can start it and then come back to it later. When things get stressful or distressing, I can return to the artwork and add to it or I can start a new one if I am feeling completely different. This will give me some brief valuable ‘ me’ time in my day where I can distract myself from what’ s going in my day or a moment. This gives my unconscious mind a bit of a rest and sets me up for a moment of safety. I could get a few tubes of acrylic paint for a few dollars each from my local stationary shop. Some emporium style shops have a great range of really cheap paints, brushes, papers and canvases – but really, I can paint on anything. If I keep in mind that I can do a lot with just one colour and I’ ll be able to get started almost straight away. Once I am used to taking a few moments to paint in my everyday life, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a way of shifting or expressing moments of stress and distress.\r

This week’ s strategy comes from a participant at today’ s RCNet Monthly Forum. We’ ve fleshed it out a bit.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction ⋅ Tagged: acceptance, Coping, mindfulness practice, private expression, self-care, time-out, visual art

No. 48: Count On Mindful Distraction

June 9, 2011 11:31 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing…

I will use mindful distraction to allow emotions to pass. I will practice turning my attention outside of myself by counting the number of colours around me, then the number of shapes around me and then the number of textures around me. As I go, I will tune into the sensations I experience as I notice different shapes, colours and textures. This is a simple exercise, it may not seem like it could do much. But this is a powerful way of letting go of current distress so that something else can flow in. Once I am used to shifting my attention to the basics of my surroundings, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a strategy for pulling myself out of intense moments when I need to reduce the intensity.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: mindfulness practice, Stress Management, time-out

No. 23: Doodle Through

December 1, 2010 5:12 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness… Coping Kete

I will practice using sketching to shift my attention. When I notice I need a break from the current moment, I will doodle in a notebook with a pen or pencil. I will just draw/sketch shapes and colour them in, or trace lines on the page or draw koru or flowers or anything at all. It doesn’t matter what I create, the point is that I will focus my attention on the pen in my hand and the lines I am creating. I will observe how I feel after doing this. I can make this one easier to practice by carrying a small notebook and pen/pencil in my bag or pocket. Once I am comfortable spending a bit of time drawing patterns or shapes in a notebook, I will add the strategy to my Personal Coping Kete for when I want to distract myself from stress or distress. By focusing attention on this simple action instead of the stressful or distressing thoughts, I can take some of the heat out of my emotions and get through the current moment. It’s also a good way to keep my hands busy if I am feeling fidgety or restless, but need to sit still.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction ⋅ Tagged: relaxation, self-care, time-out

No. 22: Planting An Imaginary Garden

November 24, 2010 4:45 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing… Coping Kete

I will practice using visualisation to change the moment. Once a day, I will visualise myself planting and then enjoying my own imaginary garden. My imaginary garden will be my idea of the most perfect garden. This is a private place of my own design. I will plant my favourite flowers, shrubs, herbs, fruit trees, vegetables and any other plants that I have enjoyed at some time. I will start at the beginning by imagining the piece of land that the garden is on and laying out where I want each thing to be. The good thing about an imaginary garden is that we can make things flower well or mature whenever we want them to, without having to worry about things like time or seasons! Each time I come back to the visualisation, I can add something else or I can simply take a walk through the garden, watching things grow or just enjoying what is there. I will imagine the sounds in my garden, perhaps there are birds there or I can simply hear the wind through the trees. I will furnish the garden with any kinds of extras that I may please, I might hang a hammock under one of the mature trees, I might have a river running through the bottom of the garden, whatever I find peaceful and beautiful in nature, I can put in my garden. I will create this peaceful ‘space’ in my imagination and I will return to it when I need a bit of calm or some distraction from the intensity of the moment. Throughout the visualisation I will practice diaphragmatic breathing – deep, soft, slow breaths into my belly. This will help to create a conditioned association between imagining the garden and relaxed breathing, so over time it will become very easy to experience a state of calm when I practice the visualisation. Once the garden is established in my imagination, I can pop in really briefly and get the same kind of benefit. I can do this exercise whether I have a garden or don’t have a garden, because in my imaginary garden I am not constrained by any of the rules or barriers that may be present in the real world. Once I am comfortable using this visualisation to relax, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a way of shifting moments of stress and distress.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: gratitude, positive thinking, relaxation, time-out

No. 20 – Fly Away

November 10, 2010 9:10 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing… Coping Kete

I will practice moving my attention away from current problems for a moment by visualising that I can fly. Once a day, I will practice visualising that my body has a sense of lightness about it, as if I can free myself from the constraints of gravity whenever I want. I will imagine that I ‘take off’ from where I stand. I will visualise what my surroundings look like from above. I will soar higher up through the clouds and imagine what they feel like as I fly through them. My clothes might get damp from the moisture held in the clouds but just before I get cold, I will break through to the sunshine above. I will let the warm sun soak into my skin as the light flows over my upturned face. There is no noise up there except for the sound of a soft wind. I know am completely safe and there is no way I can fall. I am in control of where I go and how I move. I fly around for a little while looking at things and then I gently float down to the ground. I will bring this sense of freedom and lightness with me as I return to the current moment. Throughout this exercise, I will keep my breathing deep and slow, as in the diaphragmatic breathing exercise. Once I am familiar with using this visualisation to relax, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a strategy to try soothing or distracting myself from distressing emotions. By turning my attention elsewhere for a moment, I will reduce the intensity of my emotional reaction and give myself space to make a considered response to whatever it is that I am dealing with or reinterpret things.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction ⋅ Tagged: gratitude, relaxation, time-out

No. 12 – Power Ballads

September 16, 2010 3:25 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week in order attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness… Coping Kete

I will spend 5 minutes every day singing along to music. If I can’t find a CD or set of songs to play, I will sing old songs I know off by heart. If I have time on my hands and am feeling anxious or stressed, I will pass some of the time by singing. I can do this alone or with others. Singing has real physical effects which you can use to your advantage. Singing changes the way we are breathing and this alters the level of CO2 in our bloodstreams, which triggers the release of neurotransmitters and creates a sense of elation. Depending on the song you are singing, it can also be a powerful form of self-expression and sense of connection. Singing is a very good way of changing the moment for ourselves. Once I’ve gotten used to spending some time singing, I will add ‘Power Ballads’ to my Personal Coping Kete as a strategy to shift my mood when I am feeling distressed.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: breathing exercises, Coping, physical needs, private expression, relaxation, time-out

No. 11 – Float for a Moment

September 8, 2010 6:40 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness… Coping Kete

I will practice using visualisations to shift my moment. Each day I will take a minute to pay attention to taking deep, slow breaths while I briefly visualise myself floating on my back down a calm river. The sun is shining, but not too hotly. I am mindful of the way the sun feels on my closed eyelids and how the buoyant water feels flowing beneath me. I allow the river to take me where it will, sometimes moving faster and other times meandering slowly; I cannot push the water. I will spend just a minute holding this image, and the sensations it brings, in my mind. If my attention drifts onto other things, I will mentally drop the worries in the river and watch them flow away. I will then return to the situation at hand, with my centred and more accepting state of awareness. I will observe how I feel afterwards. Once I am familiar with doing this visualisation to shift my attention, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a way of soothing or distracting myself from anxiety, anger or low moods.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: breathing exercises, creative expression, gratitude, physical activity, relaxation, self-care, Stress Management, time-out

No. 9 – A Body of Strengths

August 25, 2010 5:08 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness …

I will remind myself of my strengths regularly throughout my day. If I find this difficult to do off the top of my head, I will prepare a written list in advance that I can pull from pocket or bag and read. I will add to this list as time goes on and I get better at identifying the positive attributes, qualities and skills that I possess. If I am unsure of my strengths and skills, I will ask people who know me to have a think about it and get back to me with what they think my positive qualities are. Once I am used to thinking about my positive qualities a bit, I will add ‘Remember I am a Body of Strengths’ to my Personal Coping Kete. By thinking about my strengths during moments of stress and distress, I will work to balance my thoughts, emotions and physical responses. Whenever I notice that my self-talk is full of put-downs, self-directed insults or pessimistic expectations I will start listing in my head the strengths and skills that I have shown in the past. It can help to do a few diaphragmatic breaths first, especially if you are really distressed. See Week 6 for instructions on how to learn diaphragmatic breathing. Once you’ve learned it, it’s a great complement to most strategies. www.engagenz.co.nz/wordpress/?tag=breathing-exercises

Posted in: Mindful Distraction, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: breathing exercises, Coping, creative expression, perspective, positive thinking, social connection, Stress Management

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