A common misconception when people think about the word mindfulness is that it has to be revolved around a peaceful exercise such as yoga or deep breathing – but mindfulness is much more than that. Though you must be in an accepting state of mind and enter the practice with a positive attitude – it is important to practice mindfulness in times of distress in order to relieve yourself. There are many ways to do this and an important crisis survival skill is a distraction. Though this does not entail completely ignoring a problem and never facing it in the future – but to distract yourself into a calming state of mind in order to do so and wait for the appropriate time. Keep reading to find out the components of this mindfulness survival technique; Wise Mind #ACCEPTS
A
The ‘A’ in accept stands for ‘activities’ and it is the most common way to distract yourself. Partake in a hobby, watch a video, go on a walk, cook, play a sport – the list goes on. It is best to partake in something you’re passionate about so that you are entirely focused on that particular activity rather than the problem that you are facing or the issue that is causing you distress.
C
Contribute – yes, you are still doing activities, but for someone other than yourself. Doing positive things for others or partaking in a voluntary activity can be very uplifting and distract you from your own personal problems. Contributions can be anywhere from volunteer work to asking a friend how their day has been.
C
Compare yourself to people coping the same as or less well than you. If you are doing better than you were a year, or two, or even five years ago – make that comparison.it is always important to count your blessings and look at people that are less fortunate than you. This should not invalidate your feelings – but, it should give you the perspective that you may not have it as unfortunate as others.
E
Distract yourself through opposing ‘emotions.’ If you are sad or angry, watch a silly or funny movie, and bust up laughing, you have changed your emotion and put yourself in a different place. Other ways you may distract yourself through emotions are through reading a book, listening to music or a podcast, and so much more.
P
Push Away – Build an imaginary wall between yourself and the situation. Imagine yourself pushing it away with all your strength. Block the situation in your mind. Each time it comes up, tell it to go away, or put some other thoughts in its place, perhaps some more pleasant thoughts. Use this distraction technique until you are in a better mental space to deal with the situation.
T
This may sound ironic but distract yourself with thoughts. These can range from anything between happy thoughts, and simple thoughts. It is understandable that it is hard to think of happy moments in times of distress – so, maybe start off with something easy. Some examples are counting to 10 or counting the tiles in a floor or the panes in a window or the stars in the sky, anything to keep your focus on the counting. This is a good one to use in a sudden emergency, when you need to pull something out of your bag of tricks really quickly.
S
The last on the list of #ACCEPTS is sensations. This can be anything that makes you feel physically good as we want to take ourselves out of thinking about our mental state and lean towards our physical state. You may try holding ice in your hand, taking a warm shower, kissing or hugging somebody you love, and more.