Diversion

Diversion is a technique that all sufferers of anxiety should possess in their arsenal. What is diversion? It is anything that takes the focus off your anxiety. One of my favorite diversion tactics is to count (1...2...3...4...) until I feel mentally relaxed. I find that once I reach between 500-1000, I feel much better. What diversion does is disrupt the sequence of thinking that causes anxiety. Another method of diversion (and probably the best, but takes practice) is mindfulness.

I remember back a little while ago at the college, I would use the counting diversion when walking between classes. It seems crazy, but it is much more sane than the alternative. Another tactic I've used is focusing on my breathing, again, this and all other forms of mindfulness take time to develop. It's important to be aware that diversion is NOT running away from the anxiety, it's a process of switching the thought process to something that isn't anxiety provoking. The main source of anxiety is our thoughts, and if we can control our thoughts, we can control our anxiety.

Of course there are many many times of diversion, and the key is to find the right type for yourself. Here is a list of ideas...

-Positive self-talk
-Reading
-Watching TV
-Mindfully listening to music (relaxing music)
-Going on a walk
-Writing
-Counting
-Meditation
-Talking with people (avoid stress-producing topics, talk about things that are happy/interesting)

The key is to stop your mind from worrying. One of the biggest worries people with anxiety have is the anxiety itself. So never worry about anxiety. In fact, embrace your anxiety. Anxiety is your friend, worrying is your problem. If you didn't have anxiety, you would never become aware of the real problem—worrying. Think of anxiety as being like a smoke alarm, alerting you that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Many anxious people are so used to worrying, that they don't even notice that they are doing it (it's part of their habitual routine).

For those readers with anxiety problems, try doing some diversion, and let me know how it works. I'm very interested in any and all feedback.