Patient was instructed today regarding practicing distraction technique for management of anxiety as follows:
- Distraction is an alternative anxiety management technique of shifting the attention away.
- Distraction can help with masking and reducing the experience of anxiety, by consciously training the mind to focus on an activity, but does not completely terminate the anxiety.
- Practice distraction technique by doing some art work, such as, painting. You can try different colors and shades, to make the painting look better. You can also try other art works, such as, knitting, designing, and decoration. If you try room decoration as a distraction technique, you can rearrange the furniture and paintings, to see if it would appeal better.
- While selecting art work as a distraction technique, choose an option that has room to explore and experiment. Focusing on novelty, excellence and minute details of the craft, can help shift your focus from the anxiety and distress.
- Since shifting the attention from anxiety could be difficult when the anxiety level is high, start practicing distraction when the anxiety level is manageable or none and gradually move on to practicing it with high anxiety levels, as you gain more control on practicing the technique.
