How to Prevent Overwhelming Emotions from Hurting You

Do you find it difficult sometimes to cope with overwhelming emotions, flashbacks, unsafe impulses, symptoms of dissociation or insomnia?

You are not alone.

Feeling that you are drowning under the weight of emotional pain, you may need help to pull yourself up.

See what I found today browsing the internet – a list of distractive activities to help you to cope with intrusive trauma symptoms. You can read it here. But hang around for a minute!

Just a Few Thoughts

Although I would never choose highly annoying stuff like filing taxes or solving a Rubix cube as distracting activities – they never fail to push my buttons! – there’re plenty of good ideas to borrow.

Look at this one – it caught my eye:

No horse riding for me anymore, thank you!

But there’s something irresistible in the smells of animal fodder and life in action. In the buzzing of insects, chewing sounds coming from the barn, the attentive looks or total indifference of the animals you’re staring at.

When I first came to visit my boyfriend in Denmark, we drove on a country road in the middle of the night. It was pitch dark and I couldn’t see a thing. But I could smell a different world – a completely new sensation for a big-city girl.

I enjoyed the countryside for many years to come but first when we moved to Switzerland, I came really close to the farm world. There were only a few fences so men could touch a cow or a pig… in a theory anyway.

On my daily walks in the mountains of Zug and Baar, I always stopped to take in their soothing appearances. The warmth that came from the animals even in the middle of a freezing day.

Some were shy, the others didn’t give a damn about hundreds of tourists around them. That was their territory, and people could just wait!

My Favorites Activities

Anyway, here are my favorite “distraction techniques“:

#3. Sing. 

#11. Discover new music. I like looking on YouTube for funny music videos, adding them to my collection.

#21. Color-breathing / breathing techniques. Breathing techniques are really helpful!

#28. Sit outside and pay attention to all the things in nature. I just prefer to walk.

#33. Play music.

#34. Dance party. I’m not sure about the “party” but dancing is great!

#36. Draw.

#46. Do yoga. 

#47. Write an email or letter to someone.

#48. Call up a friend/family member.

#56. Fold laundry. Yes, why not? 

#60. Creative/expressive writing. 

#65. Take a walk.  

#70. Self-care. Although instead of watching a video, I would do something pleasurable for myself.

#72. Make an elaborate meal. Cooking and baking, in general, are good distractors for me. the recipe doesn’ have to be overcomplicated.

#83. Repair things around the house. 

# 87. Do gardening/landscaping/outdoor work.   

#93. Head out to a coffee shop/bookstore.  

#97. Meet up with a friend/family member.   

#98. Visit a barn or farm.  

#99. Go to an art, space, or historical museum.

#101. Learn a new physical skill. 

I would love #18 if I had a pet.

Your Turn

No farms around you?

Go to a park nearby and sit on a bench. Play with a friendly dog and chat with her owner.

You can lay on the grass and look at the clouds. Or do something we did when we were kids – zoom into the grass! There’s a buzzing life down there, remember? Tiny insects busy with their daily chores – ants, beetles of all sorts, even worms (I’m not keen on the last ones but you may be!)

Get out of the city when you can!

Have a wonderful, sunny day!

With love,

Irina

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Images by Irina and Pixabay