What Are Distraction Methods for Anxiety?

When your thoughts are spiraling due to anxiety, one way to head them off is just by distracting yourself. This will help you manage these big emotions in the moment. Distractions are usually used in combination with other coping mechanisms so you don’t become overly reliant on them.

After distracting yourself from your anxiety, it’s important to reevaluate what happened—what triggered the anxiety and how you can cope with this situation in the future. For easing your mind in the moment, here are a few distraction methods.

Use a grounding technique

One of the most common grounding techniques is listing five things you can see, four you can hear, three you can touch, two you can smell, and one you can taste. Another easy one is finding seven objects around you, one for each color of the rainbow.

Try mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of becoming aware of your body while noticing your thoughts and feelings without judging them. Try sitting somewhere quiet and listening to your breath, noticing how your body feels in its position. Allow your thoughts to pass through your mind and notice them.

Practice deep breathing

Getting in control of your breath is a great way of calming anxiety. During anxiety, your breathing will become shallow and activate your fight-or-flight mode. By inhaling slowly through the nose and exhaling slowly out the mouth, you’ll slow your breathing and heart rate. Try 4-7-8 breathing: inhaling for a count of four, holding for seven, and exhaling for eight. Or box breathing: inhaling for a count of five, holding for five, exhaling for five, and holding again for five.

Get creative

Even if you’re not a creative person, doing some kind of art can help with anxiety. Whether you journal, doodle, paint, sing, or dance, expressing yourself creatively can both distract you and get your feelings out. You don’t even necessarily need to articulate your emotions—just channeling your energy into a positive outlet will calm your mind.

Turn on the TV

Nothing distracts quite like television. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, turn on your favorite show you know will make you laugh. The same goes for watching videos online or playing games. While it’s not good to be overly reliant on screens, using them to momentarily and quickly take away from spiraling anxious thoughts is okay.

Do a chore

Sometimes, the best way to distract yourself from anxiety is to immerse yourself in a task that requires your full attention. If you’ve been putting off reorganizing your closet or emptying out the fridge, try tackling something at home that can busy your mind for a while. Not only will you be distracted from your anxiety, you’ll also feel accomplished once you’ve done something productive.

Go outside

Being in nature has been proven to help anxiety and other mental health issues. Even if you just walk around the block, your mind will be confronted with new sensory details. The sounds of birds or traffic, the smell on the breeze, and the sun shining through the clouds are all new things to pay attention to that will distract from your anxiety.

Are you struggling with anxiety?

Everyone gets anxious once in a while. But if you’re having to distract yourself from anxious thoughts several times a week or having panic attacks, you may have an anxiety disorder. Consider talking to a mental health professional. In therapy, you’ll learn targeted ways of dealing with your anxiety triggers and talk through your negative thinking patterns. Your therapist may also want to talk about the underlying causes of your anxiety, which could stem from trauma, childhood, or past relationships.

To find out more about how anxiety therapy can help you overcome anxiety, please reach out to us for anxiety therapy.