Do you distract?

It occurred to me today that while we have evolved into a social animal we live in a time where human to human contact has never been easier to avoid. If you need food, you can go online and have it delivered. If you need clothes, you can go online and have them delivered. In fact, there is nothing you actually need to go out for these days. Even when you are out, if you want to make sure nobody strikes up a conversation with you, no problem. With music and radio available on mobile phones and MP3 players, you can simply put on ear phones and ignore all around you. Even if you’re not listening to anything they’ll assume you are and leave you alone.

I came to this conclusion, funnily enough, while walking down the road listening to music on my phone today. It just occurred to me I no longer have to really talk to anyone anymore. I can use technology to avoid or ignore everyone for 90% of the time, if not more. The trouble with this is, as already said, we require human contact and without it we develop problems. Loneliness is the obvious conclusion, but how does that actually affect us? Most people will say it can lead to depression and this of course is true, but there are other ways it can have an adverse effect on an individual. It will leave us with a want, even if we don’t realise we’re lonely.

To take our mind off this feeling we start distraction behaviours. We eat more in the form of snacks, we drink too much alcohol, smoke too much or take illegal drugs just to name a few distraction methods. All are just distracters, all only take our mind off the real issue for a short time. We feel good while carrying out this behaviour, but once the chocolate bar is finished or the whiskey has worked its way out of our system we are back to square one. Most people in this situation don’t realise their behaviour is just a distraction from a bigger problem. Until it’s too late. Then one day they realise they are overweight, an alcoholic or a drug addict, depending on their chosen distractor.

Have you got a distraction technique? It doesn’t have to be one that is obviously destructive like those mentioned already, you could be what people describe as “workaholic”. The only way to stop this cycle is to admit you distract and identify why and finally satisfy your need. It may be too late to stop you becoming overweight or worse but remember it is never too late to get help. Hypnotherapy can help you identify the reason you distract. Once that is known then we can work on satisfying that want you didn’t realise you had. So I’ll finish with two things. One, think about your habits. Are they distracters? Two, next time you’re on a bus or train, or waiting for one or sitting in a waiting room, say good morning or afternoon to those around you. You never know a conversation may start and it could be the best thing that could happen to you or the other person that day. Isolation is a terrible thing.