I’m a big proponent of distraction as a mental health preservation/anti-frustration technique.
Distraction is not avoidance. It’s not neglect or a failure to deal with reality. Do you know how you sometimes come up with a solution to a problem when you’re not thinking about it? Or you go for a walk or take a shower and the answer comes to you? That’s a distraction. I’m in favour of deliberately distracting myself when something becomes overwhelming or seems impossible to figure out.
This is what I get from doing DIY projects at home. They distract me from whatever life problem I’m dealing with because we all have them. These projects force me to concentrate on something else for a while. I return to the issue with a fresh perspective as opposed to ruminating on it ad nauseum, going around and around the same track. I’ve found a brief distraction helpful as a decision-making tool. It’s more useful than a pro and con list.
Perhaps now more than ever, we’re all dealing with similar problems. They’re unsolvable right now and our questions have no answers. (Anyone who says they do, is lying or mistaken.) How long will this go on? When will life get back to normal? How much worse will the pandemic get before it gets better?
Instead of worrying about something you can’t control, control what you can by getting distracted. Everything from yarn to paintbrushes to woodworking tools is still being sold online. If you can’t make your special thing right now, design the next special thing you’ll make. If you don’t want to get crafty, there are loads of other ways to distract yourself. All sorts of courses are being offered online – some of them, for free. Get friendly with Google and find something to learn. And if you can’t find a distraction, you’re not trying hard enough.
Distractions, I have a few. Walking the dog or working my guide is a daily distraction. a little fresh air and brisk walk always good for the oulsoul. Back at the end of February before the lock down I started teaching myself the programming language Python and have been writing and trouble shooting programs ever since. As someone who has taken numerous self study courses and worked from home, like you I have a variety of outlets.