Home Health & Wellbeing
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.

Healthy distraction techniques.

LubnaLubna Deactivated Posts: 496 Listening Ear
I thought it might be helpful to make a list of healthy distraction techniques I went through with my team instead of self harming.
1)listening to music.
2)pinging an elastic band on your arm.
3)dunking your head in ice.
4)drawing or writting
5)hitting a pillow
6)putting something sour in your mouth.
7)talk to someone.
8)take some prn.
9)go for a walk
And if you try one of these for 10 minutes and it dosent work try a different one and if you've tried all of them and you still want to self harm then call a proffesional my worker told me.

Comments

  • AifeAife Community Manager Posts: 3,026 Boards Guru
    Thanks so much for sharing these distraction techniques @Lubna <3

    Maybe somethings don't get better, but we do. We get stronger. We learn to live with our situations as messy and ugly as they are. We fix what we can and we adapt to what we can't. Maybe some of us will never fully be okay, but at least we're here. We're still trying. We're doing the best we can. That's worth celebrating too ❤
  • Gemma1Gemma1 Posts: 123 The Mix Convert
    Thank you for sharing this @Lubna, it is helpful to people to see other options that help with distraction.
  • BubblesGoesBooBubblesGoesBoo Posts: 3,590 Community Veteran
    Thanks for sharing these, written them down in my distraction box 😊 here's some I've found helpful aswell
    1) dance, just dance (my fav is the angry dance from Billy Elliot)
    2) popping candy, it's great for grounding,  focusing on all the senses at once
    3) run til you can't breathe/think
    4) paint your nails
    5) make a happiness jar and add positive messages to it to read when you're struggling.
    ' So I put a bullet where I shouda put a helmet, and I crash my car cause I wanna get carried away, that's why I'm standing on the overpass screaming at myself 'hey, I wanna get better''  
  • coc0maccoc0mac Posts: 1,054 Wise Owl
    That's really thoughtful of you to share those! both yours and @BubblesGoesBoo tips sound really helpful :heart:


  • scottscott Deactivated Posts: 9 Confirmed not a robot
    Hey @Lubna. Thanks for sharing these techniques and @BubblesGoesBoo for yours too! That happiness jar sounds like a fantastic idea.

    The Mix has made an A-Z of distraction techniques which has tips from Activities to catching some Zzz's. It also gives some advice on how to get support too :)

    Scott :)
  • BubblesGoesBooBubblesGoesBoo Posts: 3,590 Community Veteran
    @scott thanks, I had heard about happiness jars before but one time I was in hospital the nurses made one for me 😊 (I cried when they gave it to me haha) they had started me off with positive messages about me, since then I've been adding to it, my friends and family have added things too 😊 this one's a message from a nurse 😁 (yes, it's in a classic hospital water jug 😂 ) 


    I'll check out those distraction ideas, I'm not struggling just now but still like to do distractions to keep the unwanted thoughts at bay 😊 
    ' So I put a bullet where I shouda put a helmet, and I crash my car cause I wanna get carried away, that's why I'm standing on the overpass screaming at myself 'hey, I wanna get better''  
  • GreenTeaGreenTea Posts: 12,938 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    Fiddle toys! I got sent a box of loads of different sensory fiddle toys, such as orbzy in a bag, I keep that in the fridge so it's cold when I roll my hand on it! For sight, I have bottles with different colour glitter and things in with water and glue that you shake and watch and it's really relaxing. For smell I have a soft blanket that I spray with lavender, which is really calming and then you have your standard fiddle toys you can get in shops that keep your hands busy
  • mags98mags98 Posts: 287 The Mix Regular
    Great thread and some good suggestions

    Similar to Lubna's but squeezing an ice cube in your hand for as long as possible  
Sign In or Register to comment.