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Category Archives: Mindful Distraction

No. 7 – Letting My Surroundings In

August 12, 2010 12:16 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅
This week to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing… Coping Kete I will practice using mindful awareness to silently observe and describe my surroundings to myself in neutral and accepting terms. I will start out by describing the elements of the situation or my thoughts that I find distressing. Then I will observe and describe other elements of my immediate environment to yourself. I will try to ensure my body posture and eye gaze allow for me to take in my surroundings – I will sit/stand up straight and open my posture, look around me and widen my focus. We so often turn ourselves into closed systems when we are distressed. I will simply observe and describe, but try not to make judgements about my observations. When I notice that I have made a judgement, I will observe and describe it to myself and then turn my attention back to something around me. When I am comfortable observing my surroundings and bringing my thoughts back to that task, I will add ‘Mindfully Observing my Surroundings’ to my Personal Coping Kete as a distraction strategy for moments of distress.
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No. 6 – Practicing Proper Belly Breathing

August 4, 2010 8:04 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

This week, to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness I will …

Spend 1 minute doing diaphragmatic breathing every morning.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a standard relaxation/breathing exercise where you:

  • Place one hand flat on your stomach and one on your chest.
  • Breathe in slowly through your nose (or pursed lips). With each in-breath, push your belly out and imagine pulling the air into the bottom of your belly.
  • As you breathe in watch your hands; the hand on your belly should rise more than the hand on your chest.
  • Pause briefly.
  • Breathe out slowly through pursed lips (as if silently whistling).
    • Your out-breath should be 2 times longer than your in-breath – though that is something to aim for over time.
  • Pause briefly.
  • Breathe in again and continue with the pattern of slow deep breaths in and slow, relaxed breaths out for 3-5 minutes. It might help you to do a count for each breath in and out (e.g. 2 seconds in and 4 seconds out).
  • You can do this without the hands if you wish, but it can help to ground things and focus on the out breath.

This exercise takes practice before it is useful. If I get hungry for air, I can try yawning or opening my mouth wide to relieve the sensation; it happens because the body is used to another breathing pattern and this is new.

Breathing is a way to control heart-rate and racing thoughts, reducing anxiety and panic and getting some space between feeling and responding.

Once I have become comfortable doing the breathing exercise every day, I will add ‘Standard Belly Breathing Relaxation’ to my Personal Coping Kete as a self-soothing or distraction strategy in times of stress or distress.

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No. 4 – Open Posture

July 21, 2010 12:49 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅
This week, to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing … Coping Kete I will practice being aware of my body and making sure my posture is straight and comfortable, allowing for easy breathing and a stance of strength. Keeping the lungs open and my breathing regular will help to balance out my mood. Once I am familiar with changing my posture and observing its effects on my mood, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete for times of stress and distress.
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No. 1 – A Mindful Moment Outside

June 30, 2010 10:39 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅
This week, to attain, maintain or regain your sense of wellness… Coping Kete Make a practice of taking a short 2-5 minute break from what you are doing to give yourself space to settle by going outside and being present with what is around you. Focus on any plant life around you, the various movements, the sky, the way the light is falling, the layers of sound around you, and the different sensations you feel. Notice what is close and what is in the distance. Slowly describe to yourself everything you see and sense. When you get distracted by thinking, notice that too, remind yourself that you are here in this place, in this moment and shift your awareness back to what is around you. After a few minutes, like this, simply return to whatever you were doing.
Once you are comfortable doing this, add ‘ A Mindful Moment Outside’ to your Personal Coping Kete to tune into your physical surroundings to self-soothe during times of stress and distress. You can politely excuse yourself from most situations to create a mindful moment and return to that moment in your mind later to visualise a bit of calm. Taking a break to self-soothe before we respond to difficult situations can allow us to choose our responses instead of acting on impulse.
This is the first of many, weekly coping strategies for people to experiment with in their journey to build their own personal coping tool kit for surviving the tough times and change the unhelpful patterns that keep them stuck. Find out more about The Coping Kete and how to use it here. Come back in a week for a new strategy.
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