Distraction Techniques

Distraction techniques are crisis survival skills from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) that help you shift your attention away from overwhelming emotions or distressing situations when you cannot immediately solve the problem. These techniques give you temporary relief from intense distress, allowing you to get through crisis moments without making them worse through impulsive actions.

When You Use Distraction Techniques

Crisis Situations

You can use distraction when your emotions feel too overwhelming to handle directly, you're having urges to engage in harmful behaviours, you cannot solve the problem right now, you need time for intense emotions to decrease, or you're waiting for a better time to address the issue.

The Goal of Distraction

Distraction techniques aren't meant to solve your problems or eliminate all distress permanently. Instead, they help you survive difficult moments safely so you can address underlying issues when you're in a better state to think clearly.

ACCEPTS: The Distraction Toolkit

The ACCEPTS Acronym

DBT organises distraction techniques using the acronym ACCEPTS:

A: Activities that require concentration

C: Contributing to others or helping someone

C: Comparisons that put your situation in perspective

E: Emotions - generating different feelings

P: Pushing away the situation temporarily

T: Thoughts that occupy your mind

S: Sensations that shift your focus

Activities (A)

Engaging Your Mind

When you use activities for distraction, you engage in tasks that require enough concentration to pull your attention away from distressing thoughts or feelings. The key is finding activities that genuinely capture your focus.

Effective Activity Options

You can try puzzles, crosswords, or brain games, cleaning or organising tasks, creative projects like drawing or crafts, exercise or physical activities, cooking or baking, reading engaging books or articles, or learning something new online.

Choosing the Right Activity

Pick activities that match your current energy level, are available to you in the moment, genuinely interest you enough to capture attention, and don't require too much emotional investment.

Contributing (C)

Helping Others

When you contribute to others, you shift your focus from your own distress to someone else's needs. This can provide perspective and create positive feelings that counteract negative emotions.

Ways to Contribute

You can volunteer for causes you care about, help a friend or family member with a task, do something kind for a neighbour, contribute to online communities or forums, donate items you no longer need, or simply listen to someone who needs support.

Benefits of Contributing

Contributing often provides a sense of purpose and meaning, creates positive emotions that can improve your mood, helps you feel connected to others, and gives you perspective on your own situation.

Comparisons (C)

Putting Things in Perspective

When you use comparisons for distraction, you think about situations that help put your current distress in perspective. This isn't about minimising your pain, but about gaining a broader view of your situation.

Helpful Comparison Strategies

You can think about times when you've successfully handled similar situations, consider people who have overcome greater challenges, remember that many people face similar struggles, reflect on how this situation might look in five years, or think about your past successes and strengths.

Using Comparisons Carefully

Make sure your comparisons are genuinely helpful rather than making you feel worse. The goal is perspective and hope, not guilt or minimisation of your experience.

Emotions (E)

Generating Different Feelings

When you're overwhelmed by negative emotions, you can deliberately create different emotional experiences through activities that naturally generate other feelings.

Ways to Generate Different Emotions

You can watch funny videos or movies to create laughter, listen to uplifting music to generate joy or energy, look at beautiful art or nature photos to create awe, watch inspiring stories to generate hope, or engage with cute animal videos to create warmth and affection.

Choosing Appropriate Emotions

Pick emotional experiences that provide relief without being too intense or overwhelming. Sometimes, gentle, soothing emotions work better than highly energetic ones.

Pushing Away (P)

Temporarily Setting Aside the Problem

When you push away, you consciously decide to set aside the distressing situation for a specific period of time. This isn't denial or avoidance; it's a deliberate choice to deal with the issue later when you're better equipped.

Pushing Away Techniques

You can visualise putting the problem in a box and setting it aside, tell yourself "I'll deal with this tomorrow," imagine pushing the thoughts out of your mind, schedule a specific time to think about the problem later, or use imagery to create mental distance from the situation.

Setting Boundaries with Yourself

When you push away, set a specific time when you'll return to the issue. This helps ensure you're not avoiding the problem permanently while giving yourself needed relief.

Thoughts (T)

Occupying Your Mind

When you use thoughts for distraction, you engage your mind in mental activities that require concentration and pull your attention away from distressing thoughts.

Mental Distraction Options

You can count backwards from 100 by sevens, recite song lyrics or poems you know, plan a future vacation or event in detail, think through the steps of a complex recipe, remember details from a favourite movie or book, or work through mental math problems.

Making Thought Distraction Effective

Choose mental activities that are challenging enough to require focus but not so difficult that they create additional stress. The goal is engagement, not perfection.

Sensations (S)

Using Physical Sensations

When you use sensations for distraction, you create intense physical experiences that shift your attention away from emotional distress. This works because your brain can only focus on so many things at once.

Sensation Techniques

You can hold ice cubes in your hands, take a hot or cold shower, listen to loud music, smell strong scents like peppermint or citrus, eat something with intense flavour like sour candy, or engage in physical activities that create strong sensations.

Safety with Sensations

Make sure any sensations you use are intense enough to be distracting but safe and not harmful to your body. The goal is distraction, not self-harm.

Research and Evidence

What Studies Show

Research demonstrates that distraction techniques effectively reduce acute emotional distress, help prevent impulsive behaviours during crisis, provide temporary relief that allows for better decision-making, and support overall emotional regulation when used appropriately.

International Applications

Studies from Europe, Asia, and Australia confirm the effectiveness of distraction-based coping across diverse cultural contexts, with adaptations for different cultural activities and preferences.

Common Challenges and Solutions

When Distraction Doesn't Work

If distraction isn't helping, you might need to try a different technique, combine multiple approaches, or use other crisis survival skills like TIPP first to reduce emotional intensity.

Guilt About Using Distraction

Some people feel guilty about "avoiding" their problems. Remember that distraction is a temporary strategy to help you survive crisis moments, not a permanent solution. You can address underlying issues when you're better able to think clearly.

Finding Accessible Options

Build a distraction toolkit that includes options available in different settings (home, work, public places) and different energy levels (high energy activities and low energy options).

Cultural and Personal Considerations

Individual Preferences

Your most effective distraction techniques will depend on your interests, personality, physical abilities, living situation, and cultural background. Experiment to find what works best for you.

Cultural Adaptations

Different cultures have varying approaches to emotional expression and coping. You can adapt distraction techniques to fit your cultural values while maintaining their effectiveness.

Professional Applications

If You're Receiving Treatment

Your therapist should help you identify your most effective distraction techniques, practice using them during calm moments, create a personalised crisis toolkit, and support you in using distraction appropriately as part of a broader coping strategy.

For Mental Health Professionals

When teaching distraction techniques, you should help clients build personalised toolkits, practice techniques in session, address any guilt or resistance about using distraction, and ensure clients understand when distraction is and isn't appropriate.

Relationship to Other DBT Skills

Integration with Other Modules

Distress tolerance: Distraction is one of several crisis survival skills

Mindfulness: Helps you recognise when you need distraction techniques

Emotion regulation: Distraction provides temporary relief that supports longer-term emotion regulation

Interpersonal effectiveness: Some distraction techniques (like contributing) can improve relationships

Your Distraction Plan

Building Your Toolkit

Identify which ACCEPTS techniques appeal to you most, gather materials you might need for your preferred techniques, practice using techniques when you're calm, and create easy access to your distraction options during crisis.

Crisis Implementation

Keep your distraction plan easily accessible, practice recognising when you need distraction, have backup options available, and remember that the goal is temporary relief, not permanent problem-solving.

Moving Forward

Building Confidence

As you practice distraction techniques and experience their effectiveness, you'll likely feel more confident in your ability to handle emotional crises without making them worse through impulsive actions.

Long-term Benefits

Regular use of appropriate distraction often leads to reduced intensity and duration of emotional crises, increased confidence in crisis management, better overall emotional regulation, and improved ability to address problems when you're in a better state to do so.

Conclusion

Distraction techniques provide you with practical tools for surviving emotional crises safely. These skills help you get through difficult moments without making them worse, giving you time and space to address underlying issues when you're better equipped to think clearly and make good decisions.