I am currently looking out my hotel room window and I can see the ocean, sailboats, jet-skiers, and sun-bathers. I can hear people laughing by a pool, the squawking of seagulls, the lapping of the ocean waves. I’m in Clearwater Beach, Florida with my husband who is attending a meeting.

Before we left home to come here I was a bit worried and stressed. I’ve been moving to a new office, considering a big purchase, and juggling a lot of personal things. Mark and I had a nice drive down here and we enjoyed being able to talk without interruption about these concerns.

We took a walk on the sidewalk alongside the white sandy beach yesterday and I noticed that I was relaxed and not stressed. I came back to our room and did a Google search on “Distraction and Worry”. Bingo! Of course, like anything else I’ve ever “Googled” I found all sorts of information about this topic. Several articles expressed that it is good to distract yourself from worry; that if you are stressed about routine life problems such as bills, taking care of work and home, or managing your time, it is good to use distractions to get your mind off these issues.

SOME HELPFUL DISTRACTIONS:

Take your dog for a walk
Meet a friend for coffee
Do something that brings you joy such as playing the piano, planting flowers, going for a swim, reading something inspirational…

Some of the articles I read addressed more serious anxiety. A piece by Patrick B. McGrath, PhD called “The Truth About Distractions and Anxiety” used an illustration of a fear of flying. He shared that people may use medication or alcohol to avoid their fears/worries. He suggested trying to work through this type of problem by tackling it head-on. He said if you fear flying just create a plan to do it and prove to yourself that you CAN! Of course, that’s not easy and you need support. So…it’s worth trying some distractions to help your day-to-day worries and stressors.

If you feel your anxiety/worry is more serious, seek help from a qualified mental health professional.

Gayla W. Partin, LISW-CP, Counseling Sumter, LLC, 2/27/2018