1…2…3… Pickles!

Got distracted, didn't you? Sometimes it really is that easy. One random thought, one notification, one movie, one worry; and and suddenly our attention is somewhere completely different.

We all get distracted in this day and age. Sometimes it's scrolling, the internet, shopping, volunteering, jobs, kids, movies or games. Some of these are good things. But even good things can become distractions when they keep us from going deeper in our relationship with Christ.

Sometimes distraction can even begin with pain.

I've been dealing with mental health struggles for a while, and one of my triggers has been yelling. At times, those experiences have triggered the thought that God is a “big meanie.” Deep down, I know He isn't that way. I've learned to combat that lie using cognitive behavioral therapy strategies that help me challenge unhealthy thoughts and retrain the way I respond to them.

But recently, instead of confronting some of that pain, I found myself getting stuck in distraction.

For about a week, I became absorbed in watching thriller movies. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with watching a movie, but I began to recognize what it was doing in my life. My workflow suffered. My apartment became messier than usual. I felt more depressed. Something that started as entertainment had become a way for me to avoid what was happening inside.

Then I went to church and attended a prophetic worship service.

Being in that environment brought up pain I had experienced in other prophetic and charismatic communities. I didn't like what I was feeling. Instead of running from it, I went to the back of the room, cried and rested.

I felt the Lord tending to my soul and tending to wounds I had been carrying.

Afterward, I began picking up music again; something I had laid down for a long time because there was pain connected to that area of my life too. I believe the Lord has been calling me to pick it back up while I continue using CBT strategies and receiving support.

I also started cleaning my apartment again, and even doing that helped me feel better.

That's when I began realizing how powerful distraction can become.

When we're hurting, worried, depressed or afraid, it's easy to look for something that will quiet what we're feeling. We might endlessly scroll, binge movies, bury ourselves in work or reach for other ways to cope. Even things that aren't inherently bad can become unhealthy when we're using them to avoid what needs our attention.

Counseling can be an important part of healing too, but I've learned that the work doesn't end when the counseling session does. The strategies we learn have to come home with us.

For me, that means challenging unhealthy thoughts, recognizing triggers, making healthier choices and continuing to bring my pain before God.

Sometimes the question isn't simply, “Is this thing bad?”

Maybe the better question is:

“What am I using this for, and is it helping me move forward; or helping me avoid what God is asking me to face?”

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable… think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8, New International Version)

Reference

Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1978)