Distraction Box

[Just Pomegranates]

*bumps*

After lurking this thread the other night, I'm thinking of trying to make a distraction/emergency box for anxiety which seems to be a bigger thing for me right now then SI urges.

I've decided I'm going to put these things in it...

- Worry Dolls (inspired by the Worry Doll thread) or I'd like to but I need to find a set IRL or maybe try to make some
- A little book to record my worries/anxiety-inducing thoughts in relation to the Worry Dolls
- Bits of paper to record an achievement that day/week for every mistake/failure I think I've done in a similar time frame
- A stick of cinnamon or cloves in a cloth bag because I find that smell pleasant/soothing
- Maybe some tea bags because drinking tea is also soothing and gives me something to do with my hands and requires me to focus a bit on something aside from my anxious feelings
- Two small tumbled Smoky Quartz crystals because this crystal book I own says that holding a piece of Smoky Quartz in each hand when stressed/anxious can help
- Favorite chocolates

I also tried to pay attention to the 5 senses as well in this after my T giving me handouts about self-soothing and part of that being through the senses. I've already acquired the Smoky Quartz so I'm on my way.

[Lofticries]

^ I really like your ideas

I'm considering seeing if something like that would help me. I'm quite prone to OD and I can instantly see ways that a box of things could help me with that, like a panic box.

A box to help with depression/anxiety/ED I can see being more useful on a day to day basis. I'll have to have a good think about what would help in these situations. I think a few things similar to St Jimmy's.

It is something I've got in mind to start collecting for.

[Just Pomegranates]

^Ahh thank you. I'm also thinking of putting some rescue remedy in mine but it's kind of expensive so I haven't totally decided on that yet.
I hope a distraction box would be helpful to you and I think making one for depression/anxiety/ED would be a good idea. Sort of like each major area that's flaring up lately is covered to some extent.

Also, thank you for bumping this thread. You've reminded me that I should be trying to use mine - or parts of it anyway - right now.

[Lofticries]

^ It depends how helpful you find it and what situation you'd use it in.

-I think tea is a definite addition to mine. Maybe a slightly more unusual/special/calming tea. Maybe some classic Tetley too as sometimes the classic and familiar is what's needed.
-If I find some nice worry dolls I like that idea too. Not sure where I'd get them except online.
-A list of small things to do to make me happy.
-Some of my favourite pieces of Gala Darlings work.

Some of the areas are difficult, like ED. A couple of super food recipes? Even when having a very bad ED day I'm still a health freak. I can't resist a raw food meal that I know is packed with things to help my body and mind and loaded with benefits many ordinary foods don't have. That's one coping mechanism that's always worked. A down side of this though would be that the ingredients are often hard to find for these things and they're expensive.
Maybe a packet or too of seeds to grow micro greens, they'll last a long time in the box but I'll be able to grow them over a few days. It might be enough to kick start a healthy eating plan.

That's the beginnings of a box there.

[Just Pomegranates]

^ That's definitely a good start. I found my worry dolls in a new age-y kinda store where they sell crystals and tarot stuff and henna and incense all kinds of things like that. If you have any of those kinda shops in your area, it might be worth going in and seeing if they have any?

On the tarot note, maybe you could put a deck of those in there if you find that soothing to mediate on/contemplate the cards or certain cards.

The ED one sounds pretty good as well. Maybe you could put in some meal plans for a few different days where they have at least one healthy thing from the major food groups? You could also put in a print off those questions from Before/After that were re-written to an ED theme if you found those helpful to challenge ED-ish thoughts? You could maybe put in a few packaged things of your favorite foods/treats as well?

Few more ideas to consider maybe.

[Lofticries]

^ They're good ideas!

I've tried the questions in my place. I didn't reword them but it still worked quite well. I've made a plan for tomorrow and it's eased a lot of my feelings of being lazy/inadequate.
Putting them in the box, even if it's just a reminder to then fill them in online again would be a good idea.

There is a new agey/wiccan store in a little town that's not too far. Maybe when the weather settles down I could have a trip there. There are some nice coastal paths for walks there too, it's quiet and the people that pass always smile and say hello.

I have a good simple image that tells you a method of meditating, it's the one I use. Some nice incense would be a nice extra touch, I could pick that up when I go to look for worry dolls.

I thought about putting pistachio nuts in, one of my favourite and healthy foods. I know I'd just eat them well before I needed them though!!

[Just Pomegranates]

^ Ahhh good stuff!

I'm glad the Before/After questions worked quite well for you, and even if you don't fill them out on paper, the reminder to do them online is just as good. A trip out to that new agey/wiccan store sounds like it'd be nice. I don't have incense in my distraction box itself but I have like 7 boxes of different types of incense in my room and I always find incense nice/quite soothing to smell/watch the smoke. That's a good idea as well.

Ahhh man I love pistachio nuts as well!
Definitely support that for sure. Maybe get an extra bag or two if you think you might eat them before they make it into the box/get used when you use the box?

[Lofticries]

^ Hey, I found my tarot cards. I might put them in there. It might be something different to try with meditation, especially if I feel like I can't clear my mind.

Did you buy a new box or clear out an old one? I have boxes of DVDs that I probably need to clear out as I never use them so I could use one of those. I'd also quite like something new/special but not sure a distraction box really warrants me buying something new.

[Just Pomegranates]

^ Yay for finding the tarot cards! That would be cool and then they're there if you do decide you wanna try them.

As for my box, everything is in this little chocolate tin that caught my eye. I emptied all the chocolate stuff out of it and put my distraction box stuff in it instead and it works well. I don't think it matters if your box is new or not - it's totally personal choice. I didn't have any boxes around my house I thought were a suitable size and enticing enough to want to use for an anxiety box I planned to use regularly so I was on the lookout for a new one. I think an old antique box would be awesome. If I decide I want to shift everything to a new box I might go for one of those if I can find one I like. I used to have a prety nice one I kept letters in but it molded on me a while back with the damp problem in our house and I had to get rid of it unfortunately.

[Lofticries]

Been buying things for my box!

I got some VERY expensive tea. So I'll only use it on distraction box occasions making it special that way.

I got some worry dolls. Somehow messed something up when getting them... They said they were like £2.50 then when I paid for them they ended up being like £16!?! I thought it was for my whole cart but it was just them!! I think I accidentally went for the buy 4 get one free option.

Guess what my friends are getting for their birthdays...

I've also ordered some essential oils, I wanted to put a lavender bag in but I knew it would fade in scent so I've bought oil instead. There was a deal with eucalyptus and orange oil included for pretty cheap so I got that.
Lavender is calming for anxiety, eucalyptus is invigorating for low mood. It works with the teas I got. I got calming tea and pick me up tea.
I wanted happy tea but it's got St Johns Wort in it and I can't have that.


My other idea is to get my favourite pictures printed of my best friends/boyfriend, hole punch them and tie them with pretty ribbon.

[Just Pomegranates]

^ You distraction box sounds like it's coming along really well. I love all the stuff you've been doing so well done there!



I've added a little jar of Tiger Balm Red Ointment to my distraction box because I LOVE the smell of the different spices/oils they use it in. I think it smells fantastic and I've loved it since the first time I smelt it and find it really soothing.


Edit
I'd love to have these T2 Chai flavored cookies/biscuits in my distraction box. I think those would be lovely to nibble on a few when you're feeling stressed.

[ChaosCat]

This is a great idea! I think I'm just going to make mine a "box of happiness". I found some little sparkly nail decals in jars. Being really inexpensive I got quite a few and they make me smile even if I just look at them and the shapes in them. This got another thought going for me, I have a spare MP3 player and I think I'd like to fill it with songs that make me happy. I'd also like to put pictures in it too. My pets being adorable and people I care about. Maybe a tiny (extremely soft) stuffed animal could go in it. A few little treats and something scented... I really like lemons, but I don't know what I would get that would be lemon scented and last for a while.

[TheRockingHorse]

I agree with ChaosCat, this really is a great idea. I'm starting to work on one now!

[Just Pomegranates]

I haven't had to use my anxiety box in ages which is quite pleasing.