Page 37 - Vision Manual

Sensations is a distraction technique that allows us to reduce distress through focusing on our physical selves and sensations. Using our five senses, we draw our attention away from distress by listening to loud music, running our hands under cold water, eating spicy foods, or handling things with interesting textures like a koosh ball or stuffed animal. Be careful not to do anything with a potential to harm yourself, however.
How do you distract yourself with sensations? What might work for you?
Improving Difficult Moments
If we find that we are using distractions for too long, we may be practicing avoidance. Avoidance is the natural reaction to stress and anxiety where we avoid the things that we feel stressed about. Unfortunately, avoidance is rarely effective as a coping skill because it usually ends up with the situation getting worse. The stressors that we are avoiding get more intense and can blow up on us in unintended, difficult to control ways. That’s why it’s important to practice moderation when using distractions and make sure that we don’t only use distractions. For this reason, we have other skills that can help us remain present during intense stress and difficult moments. These skills can be remembered through the acronym IMPROVE.
Imagery
Meaning
Prayer
Relaxation
One Thing at a Time Vacation Encouragement
Imagery- Use of positive or pleasant imagery can help make tough moments more manageable. People use imagery in a wide variety of different ways, including empowering images of successful interactions, or using images of a relaxing or safe place to help make stressful or anxiety-provoking moments more stable. Taking five
37 | P a g e