60 Ideas for Battling Binge Eating Using Distraction.
If you’re like a lot of people, you probably think distractions are bad and believe they get in the way of productivity. And yes, they definitely can be a negative element and a barrier to progress. After all, if you’re distracted, you are not giving your full attention to what you ‘should’ be doing.
You might have a work or school deadline, for example, but you get caught up scrolling social media. Or repeated notifications on your phone may keep disrupting your focus away from the task at hand. Perhaps there are projects around your house which need to be done, yet you alternatively get distracted by something on television. In each case, your attention gets pulled away and the distraction becomes problematic.
Distractions can absolutely pull your focus away and can thus be a limiting factor in your life, keeping you from finishing stuff and from focusing. However, they actually aren’t always a bad thing.
Did you know that distractions, if used thoughtfully and intentionally, can be therapeutically helpful and can be used to your advantage?
It’s true! In fact, scientists confirm the positive utility of deliberate, purposeful distraction.
Distraction Can Be a Powerful Therapeutic Tool
As a therapist, I do sometimes recommend my clients purposely make use of distractions. For example, when collaborating with individuals who are looking to overcome binge eating or emotional eating, I often suggest using distractions in response to urges and cravings. The distraction technique isn’t necessarily the ultimate to solution to what’s going on, but it can be an effective coping tool during the overall process. And many of my clients do agree that it’s helpful.
Notably, research published in the international behavioral science journal Appetite affirms that distractions can be assistive for those struggling with food. Titled “Derailing the streetcar named desire. Cognitive distractions reduce individual differences in cravings and unhealthy snacking in response to palatable food,” the study, in summary, showed that distractions (during the study the distractions used included computer games such as Tetris and problem-solving tasks) were successful in terms of “limiting the impact of food attractions.” The researchers suggest that food desires, urges and cravings are “cognitive states - albeit affectively charged - rather than pure expressions of basic physiological or emotional responses.” Overall, their findings show that “cognitive interventions (i.e. distractions) . . . dampen cravings.”
How can you use this information if you’re trying to stop binge or emotional eating?
For my clients who are trying to stop bingeing, for instance, I will, if and when appropriate, recommend they create a distraction list. The list is a collection of ideas for how they can potentially distract themselves when an urge to binge strikes.
If you’ve ever experienced an urge to binge eat, you probably know that it can feel overwhelming and seemingly impossible to resist. Your mind feels flooded with binge-centric thoughts. And it feels like nothing will ever make it stop – bingeing truly seems, at the time, to be the only resolution to make the intense feelings go away.
You probably do not like the experience of having these urges, which is entirely understandable. Yet, while a binge urge tends to be quite unpleasant, it will eventually go away. In many cases, the urge will subside on its own within ten to thirty minutes. It can be likened to an ocean wave in that it will rise, peak, but then will finally fall away. Those minutes definitely might feel unbearable. But you really can tolerate them. And it might be helpful to simply remind yourself of this when the urge strikes.
Of course, knowing the urge will subside is one thing. How do you manage in the meantime?
This is where your distraction list comes into play. During an urge, it might be challenging to think clearly - or to think of anything other than the need to respond to the urge by bingeing. You might feel flooded by thoughts and emotions. This is why I encourage clients create their distraction list ahead of time. I encourage them to plan ahead so that they are prepared to react when the time comes – there won’t be any need to try and figure out what to do as you’ll already have planned out how you’ll respond.
Here's how it might look:
1. You have an urge to binge eat.
2. You stop to take a long, slow breath and you remind yourself that urges rise, peak, but then will go away.
3. You promise yourself that you will not immediately respond to the urge. Instead, you will delay and distract. You may say to yourself “I’ll wait five minutes and then I can either try to delay further, or I can go ahead and binge if I consciously decide that is what I want to do.”
The goal is to try a short delay, whatever feels manageable for you, and then to continually keep practicing, seeing if you can delay a little bit longer each time. So, you might be able to delay responding to your urge for five minutes today (or less if that works better), but then in a few weeks you could be able to delay for ten minutes or more.
And yes, you want to give yourself to permission to still binge.
Wait . . . . what?
Yes, you can (and maybe will) still binge. Keep in mind that this is a process. While you do ultimately want to stop bingeing, trying to immediately eliminate the binge behavior can be a challenge at first. Too much of a challenge, in fact.
Instead, it’s something we work up to over time. You will likely find it easier to delay reacting than to totally avoid following through with the binge when you first start practicing. After all, if stopping bingeing was so simple, you wouldn’t be sitting here reading this.
Have patience and compassion for yourself, change is challenging. And it’s okay to baby step your way forward. Over time, you’ll get better at delaying. The urges will get weaker and your ability to respond to them will grow stronger.
If you do binge, don’t dismiss your effort at delaying. Your attempt is a win. If you delayed and distracted for 10 seconds that is a win. In the past, you had an urge and just reacted without stopping yourself to think much about it. If you are now able to pause and be more conscious about what is happening, that is a positive step forward. Your insight is improving. And the binge became a choice you made – you took control and made a conscious choice. You might desire to make a different choice in future, but you were able to mindfully respond with awareness as opposed to unconsciously reacting. That, too, is a win.
4. You will reach for your distraction list and select something which will keep you distracted during the next five minutes (or however long you have agreed to delay responding to your urge).
5. When your time is up, you have some choices to make. Do you want to try to delay again? If you did five minutes, could you do five more? Or does the urge feel like too much and your choice is to binge?
As you go through the process, do your best to be aware. What is making things harder? Is anything helping and making it better? During our work together, I may give my clients a list of questions to reflect on which are intended to help them better understand what things are triggering their binge urges in the first place. That said, try to be mindful of your mood and the events leading up to when the urge hit.
Ready to create your own distraction list so you’re prepared to respond when the urge to binge strikes?
Below are some ideas to help you get started. This list is far from exhaustive. Some of the suggestions might appeal to you and be a good fit, others might not interest you at all (or even be upsetting for you to consider). Think about what will be appropriate for you personally and draft a version that is personalized just for you. You know yourself best, so take whatever feels helpful and leave the rest.
The primary goal is to get your mind focused elsewhere - and your body, too, if that’s possible as a bit of physical distance/distraction, too, can be useful (this might look like simply going outside your home or going to a completely different location, as well as getting your hands and/or body moving a bit). Sometimes you won’t have much energy to muster so your distractions should account for those times. Have a variety of options to choose from - ones which require less effort and ones which are perhaps a bit more elaborate. One day you may not want to get up out of your chair, another day you might notice you need something more complex and involved to get you out of the space you’re feeling stuck in.
It's important to note that the distraction you choose won’t necessarily take away binge thoughts entirely. Expect this and remember it’s normal. A binge related thought could (and probably will) pop into your head. Just notice the thought and re-direct your attention back to your distraction activity. The urge is a feeling, and it cannot harm you. It might help to say to yourself “everything is okay, and I can handle this. I can tolerate being uncomfortable.”
60 Distraction Ideas to Help You Battle Binge Eating Urges
1. Put together a jigsaw puzzle.
2. Take a warm shower or hot bubble bath.
3. Sweep or vacuum your floors.
4. Sing a song.
5. Play a musical instrument.
6. Plan a fun vacation (where will you stay, how will you get there, what sights will you see? – you don’t actually have to go on the trip, just dreaming and planning it can be enjoyable).
7. Play a video game.
8. Put together a playlist of music your enjoy – either old favorites or try to find some new songs.
9. Color in a coloring book.
10. Try to solve a Rubik’s Cube (maybe look up some videos or articles to find some helpful tips and clues on how best to solve it).
11. Watch a television show or movie.
12. Find some new television show or movie you’d like to watch – see what’s new and trending, read reviews, etc. There are so many options streaming - what will you watch next?
13. Play with a pet.
14. Go for a walk and listen to a podcast or audiobook. Keep the walk casual and easy – it’s about relaxing, not how many calories you can burn (if that’s too hard, this may not be the right choice for you).
15. Clean out a junk drawer.
16. Organize your garage or a closet.
17. Go get your car washed or wash it by hand yourself.
18. Work on an art project.
19. Make a gift for someone – or try to come up with some ideas of something you could make in the future.
20. Research a topic that interests you.
21. Sit outside and notice all the sights and sounds. Hear any birds? How many different plants and flowers do you see?
22. Try a crossword puzzle or other mind game.
23. Have a solo dance party. Play your favorite music – sing and dance along.
24. Message a friend to say hello and see how they’re doing.
25. Organize your email.
26. Write a review for something you’ve purchased online. Help other people decide whether or not to buy the same thing.
27. Research something you’d like to buy.
28. Paint your nails.
29. Go see a movie. You can go with a friend or go alone.
30. Go window shopping.
31. Build something.
32. Learn a new language.
33. Read a book, or research which one you’d like to read next.
34. Do some light stretching.
35. Fix something that’s broken.
36. Redecorate a room. Or come up with some ideas and dream about how you’d like to redecorate.
37. Do some gardening. Or learn about how to garden if you’ve never done it.
38. Go for a drive. No specific destination is necessary.
39. Find someplace new in your area that you might like to visit.
40. Watch relaxing and fun videos online.
41. Knit or crochet – or learn about doing it.
42. Write in your journal (can’t think of what to write? – type in ‘journal prompts’ in a search engine for ideas to help you get started).
43. Take photographs of the things around you or go somewhere to take them.
44. Add pictures and items to a scrapbook.
45. Volunteer (or make plans to).
46. Do some act of kindness for another person. It can be as simple or as complex as you’d like.
47. Read the bible or pray.
48. People watch.
49. Visit the library.
50. Sit at a local park or by the water – enjoy the views and atmosphere.
51. Visit a museum. History, art, science - whichever you’d prefer.
52. Meditate. Follow a guided imagery meditation on an app such as Insight Timer (or whichever one you like).
53. Finish some chores and get those errands done.
54. Buy a special “for no particular reason” gift for someone you love.
55. Watch a comedy skit.
56. Play a sport or practice a sporting skill.
57. Go for an easy bike ride.
58. Visit a friend or call them to chat.
59. Make a list of things you’re grateful for.
60. Engage in some self-care – apply some lotion, brush your hair, give yourself a foot massage.
Finally . . .
Putting a stop to binge eating is possible. But there is no magical overnight fix. It takes patience, practice, and persistence. Early in the process, you’ll probably still keep binge eating. Don’t set an expectation for yourself that you must stop all binge eating immediately. It’s unrealistic to place that pressure on yourself. Change takes time and effort.
Distractions aren’t meant to be a solution. They are a middle step meant to assist you as you work toward gaining insight and developing other coping skills. If you depend on distractions too heavily, you might simply be avoiding dealing with the underlying problems. Distractions are a tool not a means by which to avoid long-term.