Distractions are Not Solutions

Distractions are Not Solutions

Sometimes we all like to be distracted from what we are currently dealing with or walking through, the stress of life. Distractions have a benefit. Watching a funny video, playing a video game, a sport, or just going for a walk help to provide a brief relief. Although, what happens when the distraction becomes a dependence? Let me explain.

While hitting the pause button can give you a slight reprieve from the stress of life, it can also prolong the problem if the pause becomes a dependence. Consider some of the current “distractions” in your life. Are you using them for a pause break, to forget, or have they become a dependence in your life? Our distractions are not a solution. They are merely a simple short-term relief.

For example, take video games. Maybe you enjoy playing video games to unwind or destress a little. Although, your brief tool to destress now consumes most of your time off. Instead, you are too zoned out playing a game to interact with friends and family or address the presenting concern. You have to play. Or, maybe you enjoy a drink (alcohol, for those who do not understand) to unwind and relax, but now it has become the only way to relax, and you cannot sleep without it. You have to have a “nightcap.”

Now, the brief distraction has become a way to forget and has only masked the underlying concern that will manifest. Distractions are not solutions.

In a survey involving law enforcement, 63.9% of the sample exceeded the daily limit of the World Health Organization (Violanti et al., 2011). Law enforcement is on par with hazardous drinking; 17.2% of the sample stated they consume six plus drinks on one occasion on a weekly or daily basis (Violanti et al., 2011). Comparing this rate to the national workplace average, it comes out to 17.2% law enforcement vs. 8.8% U.S. sample (Violanti et al., 2011).

What does this tell us? Law enforcement may just be using alcohol as a distraction, among other things. There is a fine line, and there are times that a chosen distraction, good or bad, can become a dependence, rather an addiction, such as exercise, video games, gambling, pornography, relationships, and alcohol, just to name a few. So, the question is…has your distraction become a dependence?

1 Peter 5:8 reminds us, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Remember there are resources available, make use of them, do not quit.  

Reference

Violanti, J. M., Slaven, J. E., Charles, L. E., Burchfiel, M. E., & Homish, G. G. (2011). Police and alcohol use: a descriptive analysis and associations with stress outcomes. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 344-356.