How to Get Your Mind Off Problems
Those darned pink elephants
You know the old saying: “Try not to think of pink elephants and you won’t be able to stop.” Problems are similar. Especially when they aren’t only stuck on replay but are also cumbersome creatures.
My pink elephants plod through my brain after midnight occasionally; it’s free rein time. “If only you hadn’t said that stupid thing to that guy yesterday, you could sleep with a clear conscience,” they bellow. Or “you haven’t got enough of…” Or “you’re not good enough at…”
My zoo of dilemmas isn’t as large, or well-fed, however, as those run by many problem-keepers.
Tricia’s difficulties speak to her on and off all day. She can barely get a separate thought in sideways.
“I need to get my mind off stress before I explode,” she tells me.
The only way I know to quieten the nervous conversation in your head, apart from taking action to solve issues when possible, is to stop thinking about them.
Try, though, and you’ll make them worse. They’ll stampede if you aren’t careful.
Tricia hasn’t got the hang of not considering difficulties yet. She talks about them non-stop.
Because she tells everyone her woes, they call her up to see how she’s doing regularly:
“How’s your problem with so-and-so Trish?”
“It’s so dreadful for you. I don’t know how you cope.”
She doesn’t realize discussing problems, without aiming to solve them, feeds them.
Problems grow when fed with attention.
“I’m venting,” she says, “and gaining support.”
My reply: “Are you sure?”
How to starve problems then?
Shift your focus.
At first, unless you’ve shifted to an all-consuming event like plunging into ice cold water, your thoughts will ping pong back and forth.
A problem will call out. You’ll think of bowling or what you’re going to make for dinner and forget it for a few seconds. Then bam! Your problem will be back like a bad penny.
But that’s okay. Be cool about seeing your old pal again and repeat the procedure. Maybe bowling or food weren’t tasty enough topics.
Perhaps you’ll benefit from ‘doing’ something rather than attempting to fill your brain with fresh fodder.
Get physical
Problems reside in the mental sphere, so it makes sense to switch attention to your body. Anything from a workout to a massage could alleviate stress and ease your awareness of problems.
When elephants roam in my imagination during the night, I don’t panic.
“Oh, there you are” I say as I get out of bed and stroll to the kitchen and make a cuppa. “I wondered where you’d gone.”
Talking to them as though I don’t give two hoots shrinks them somewhat.
I might turn my attention to mind games too, playing with them.
“Bet you can’t be as quiet as a mouse,” I goad and follow up with “that’s right. Now be like a voice on the radio with the volume turned right down.”
Other times, I amuse myself by encouraging my problems to communicate in a squeaky tone or under the guise of a pop singer, swooning out a happy song.
If pop or Mickey Mouse don’t come to my aid, I use another NLP — neuro-linguistic programming — trick (I know plenty, as a certified practitioner).
My favorite is to picture a problem and imagine it has a frame around it, like a photograph. Then I wash all the color out of it with a bucket of water and it reduces in size until it’s gone.
Much of the time, however, I don’t need to play with my problems.
Thinking about bowling works for me.
I find it a bore and fall asleep.
Copyright © 2019 Bridget Webber. All rights reserved
How to Get Your Mind Off Problems
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