Skills of Distraction

Creating New Circuitry

It was over a decade ago when I first became stricken with severe anxiety, to the point that it affected me physically. I had never experienced a panic attack in my life. But suddenly, I found myself frequently overcome by dizziness, numbness, tingling, chest pains, and a slew of other frightening symptoms. Not knowing what was happening, I legitimately thought something was wrong with me. And naturally, I did what any sane person would do. I went to the doctor and had them run a bunch of tests.

As you can probably guess, all the results came back as normal. I didn’t have some dreaded fatal disease. Quite the contrary, I was in perfect health. Except I wasn’t… Physically, I was okay. But mentally, I was severely malfunctioning. Or at least that’s my interpretation of what was going on. And for the first time in my life, I realized that what was happening in my mind could have dire consequences on my body.

For some people, this is a difficult leap of faith. Can your mind alone really give you a mock heart attack or make your face go numb? In my experience, yes. And this should strike us as evident. Your brain, via your nervous system, makes your body do everything. It doesn’t matter what action you are performing. The thing moving your limbs or making sounds come out of your mouth is the energy coming from the gray matter between your ears.

So, it stands to reason that your brain can also create physical symptoms that aren’t the result of anything other than mental processes. For example, most people understand the concept of “phantom limbs.” Despite losing an arm or a leg, many amputees still feel it as if it’s there. And we’ve all had the experience of hearing or seeing something purely imaginary. These are simply brain glitches of sorts. It’s the only way you can sense something that doesn’t exist.

These examples also happen without intention. They are not conscious acts. This is another critical feature of your brain that’s important to understand. It loves to offload work to your subconscious, especially if it’s something you do repeatedly. Your mind essentially says, “Hey, I keep doing this process repeatedly. Why don’t I turn it into an automated pattern so I can focus elsewhere?”

The most common example of this is driving. When you first learn to operate a motor vehicle, it takes tremendous concentration and focus. But soon enough, you can cruise down the road while simultaneously talking on the phone, drinking coffee, and daydreaming. You aren’t paying any attention to the act of driving itself. Your brain has changed this pattern from something you must think about to something that just happens.

Unfortunately, most people don’t take this reasoning to the next logical step to realize it can occur with any pattern or habit you develop over time. If you start being anxious or depressed a lot, guess what? Your brain is eventually going to move that behavior to your subconscious. Now, you’ve developed a chronic condition. If those patterns are also tied to somatic symptoms, you can be in a genuinely debilitating situation.

But here’s the real problem. It’s hard to get rid of these “bad” patterns. In my experience, you can’t just relax your way out of them. Things like meditation and breathing exercises are great and worth doing. But once a habit is built into your subconscious, it stays there until you actively overwrite it. You won’t drastically change how you do anything “naturally” simply by focusing on your thoughts or controlling your air intake. You need to make a concerted effort to do things somehow differently and repeatedly until you develop a new pattern of behavior. You must be new.

So, how do you do that when it comes to anxiety or depression? One way is to engage your conscious mind in a manner that doesn’t allow your subconscious any room to operate. I’ve found skill development to be the most effective form of such a distraction. Teach yourself something. This turns your old subconscious patterns “off” and develops new neural pathways in conjunction with the skill itself. It cannot be a passive activity like reading a book or meditating. You must learn something that involves your mind and body: bowhunting, woodworking, playing an instrument, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, etc.

I spent 2020 learning piano (or at least trying to). And I made it a habit by committing to twenty minutes of practice daily. I wasn’t concerned with an end state or goal other than the practice itself. I was just putting in the work consistently. While I didn’t feel great every day while doing this, I slowly felt better as the weeks and months went by. I couldn’t think about anything else, consciously or subconsciously, while focusing on what my hands were trying to play.

The bottom line is that it’s never too late to lay down some new neural circuitry. Regardless of your current state of mind, everyone can benefit from this. COVID-19 taught the world what happens when people sit idly indoors for months. I think it’s safe to say that binge-watching Netflix isn’t the best way to spend time and certainly doesn’t create positive habits.

Go pick up an instrument, enroll in a martial arts class, or learn how to build something. It’s good for your body and your mind. And your subconscious will thank you for it once it’s done being distracted.

DISCLAIMER: RARE SENSE® content is not medical advice. Nor does it represent the official position or opinions of any other organization or person. If you require diagnosis or treatment for a mental or physical issue or illness, please seek it from a licensed professional.