Distraction: A way to deal with anxiety and worry?

[Pukeamon]

Hey all,

Just wanted to know your opinions on the question: Is distraction a good way of dealing with anxiety and worry?

I guess i'll start it off. Obviously there are different levels of worrying and worrying is beneficial to some degree but too much or too little is bad for u so you need a balance. So let's say you worry too much. Do u think of find that distracting yourself from worrying thoughts helps or is it just a delaying/ignoring tactic which doesn't deal with the problem? I guess whenever you have a problem it's best to deal with it rather than ignoring it but i'm kinda confused as to whether distracting yourself from thoughts is the same as ignoring thoughts hm....

Here's an analogy to help. Let's say you own a kingdom. The kingdom next door isn't very friendly. You hear sources saying that they're planning on invading your kingdom. You can choose to ignore it and just pretend everything's all fine which is helpful in the short term but obviously not that great in the long term or you can choose to deal with it by making plans or whatever. So post away with your ideas of whether distraction is helpful or unhelpful

 

[Nah]

Generally speaking, ignoring a problem is not the best way to deal with it, as it will probably not do anything to solve the problem. But sometimes you can't find a feasible solution to whatever is worrying you and your only option really is to ignore it/distract yourself....and hope you'll eventually find an answer. The distraction is kind of needed to prevent yourself from going insane from the worry/anxiety.

 

[Pukeamon]

Generally speaking, ignoring a problem is not the best way to deal with it, as it will probably not do anything to solve the problem. But sometimes you can't find a feasible solution to whatever is worrying you and your only option really is to ignore it/distract yourself....and hope you'll eventually find an answer. The distraction is kind of needed to prevent yourself from going insane from the worry/anxiety.

ah. so u see distraction as just a way of ignoring the problem? hm.. well when ppl overworry they have irrational thoughts and by distracting it helps make u calm again? tbh i don't really know what i'm talking about lol

 

[Her]

ah. so u see distraction as just a way of ignoring the problem? hm.. well when ppl overworry they have irrational thoughts and by distracting it helps make u calm again? tbh i don't really know what i'm talking about lol

There's temporarily disengaging from the stress of a situation/one's insecurities, and then there's using distraction as an excuse not to grow. That is ignorance. One is fine, it is healthy to recognise your limits and decide to face the problem when you have taken a breath or whatever. The other is just damaging to yourself and others.

 

[Somewhere_]

I had a lot of anxiety last year and I dealt with it by using distractions. It doesnt work will only make your problems worse. It helps in the short term, but in the long term it hurts because it caused me to mismanage my time and forced me to time crunch on homework and studying. But every situation is different, so my experience will be different and maybe in other cases distraction can be beneficial.

 

[Murmansk]

Eh, I kinda think most of society is just catered to distract people from a vast array of problems, be they personal or social.

The amount of time people spend playing video games, watching shows, listening to music, or simply lacking connection with others while being unproductive is pretty astounding.

 

[Auticorn]

In some ways, yes. However, I also have to take meds to control the worst of my anxiety and worries though to be honest. I still get anxiety every now and then, but I can usually control it by listening to music, writing my stories or playing video games. :3 I do agree with Harley some though because it can be a problem since all those things do is cover up the problem. It really does depend on the person because people have different methods to help them come up with issues that come their way.

 

[CoffeeDrink]

I used to worry. But that's until I realized I really have no control. I always plan on doing someone else's job, because no one feels like doing their job or they're too lazy. There isn't pride in the work place anymore... but if it's a distraction you're looking for, you've come to the right place.

 

[gimmepie]

The problem with anxiety, especially when it comes to anxiety disorders, is that there's not always something that can be done about it. A lot of the time there is not identifiable cause for the anxiety at all.

Obviously if there's circumstances you can change to reduce your anxiety, then taking steps to make those changes is the best course of action you can take but if it's a situation that's out of your control distraction can help I think. I have personally found distracting myself with other things can at least help keep the anxiety at bay but it's one of a few coping mechanisms I employ.

 

[Sirindu]

Eh, I kinda think most of society is just catered to distract people from a vast array of problems, be they personal or social.

The amount of time people spend playing video games, watching shows, listening to music, or simply lacking connection with others while being unproductive is pretty astounding.

I agree about the state of society. Media and consumerism seems bent on distraction. Why do we feel such a need to be distracted?

And often times I think many people--myself included--feel a sense of guilt over pursuing distractions. But why? Is there some sort of existential purpose we're supposed to be accomplishing instead?