Many people tell us they seek refuge from their negative thinking and emotions through distraction. Whether it’s scrolling through social media, binge-watching tv shows, or immersing ourselves in work, distraction is an enticing solution. It is readily accessible (often in the form of our phones), offers immediate relief, and allows you to temporarily forget your problems. In the short-term, this can provide you with comfort and reassurance.  

However, while distraction can be a helpful strategy when used occasionally, it can create problems if it is a strategy you rely on consistently to manage your negative thinking and emotions. This is because distraction comes with a range of downsides, many of which cause more problems than the discomfort you initially tried to avoid. 

Distraction provides temporary relief

While distraction may provide immediate relief, the relief is temporary. If the underlying cause of the negative thinking and emotions are not addressed, the thoughts and emotions are likely to resurface as soon as you are no longer distracted. 

Distraction is all-consuming

For many people, the activities they use for distraction create further problems. Some forms of distraction may be so all-consuming, you become aware of nothing else for hours at a time and neglect other important parts of your life. 

For example, the impact of working long hours might make you more absent, exhausted, and disengaged from the people you care about, leaving you isolated and lonely. Scrolling on your phone means you are tuned out from your partner, leaving your partner feeling neglected and unimportant, eroding your sense of connection and satisfaction.    

Distraction can lead to unhelpful or even harmful behaviours

Sometimes, distractions can be unhelpful or even harmful to you. Binge watching tv might keep you up at night, affecting your sleep and performance at work the following day. Drinking too much alcohol or too often might affect your physical and mental health, cost you money, cause you to over-react to situations that arise. 

Distraction makes you vulnerable

When you consistently rely on distraction, you miss out on the opportunity to process your negative thinking and emotions. This means they can build up over time, causing more distress and leave you vulnerable to developing mental health issues like anxiety or depression.

Distraction prevents you from effective coping

When you avoid confronting difficult issues in our life, you miss out on the opportunity to develop healthy and effective coping strategies and skills.  You can quickly become overwhelmed and anxious in response to them, making you more likely to respond to them in an impulsive and reactive way. This can leave you struggling to deal with even small challenges in life.

Distraction undermines your resilience

Emotional resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity and navigate life’s challenges effectively. When you confront your challenges head on, you get more skilled at dealing with them and more confident in your ability to cope. Over time, these experiences build your resilience.

Summary

Distraction is an accessible and powerful way of avoiding the pain of negative thinking and emotions. However, the many downsides can leave you vulnerable to developing further problems and distress.

To combat this, psychologists help people to broaden their coping skills to include a wide range of strategies rather than relying solely on distraction. Some of the main skills include the capacity to tune into and sit with negative thoughts and emotions, without reacting impulsively, trying to escape, or change your experience. With practice, this allows you to notice your negative thinking and emotions in a calm manner, have the headspace to think things through, and consciously decide how you would like to respond to your negative thinking and emotions. 

If you believe you rely on distraction too often or your distraction activities are causing you further harm, it might be time to consider a different approach. To find alternative solutions to distraction, check out the resources below or speak to a psychologist. 

Further resources

The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris offers an explanation of the above ideas from an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach. It is a great place to start to better understand the ways in which avoidance contributes to further suffering.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman provides a range of strategies aimed at managing negative thoughts and emotions from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approach. 

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