Physical Distractions

- Exercise
- Ripping up paper into small pieces
- Punching a punch bag
- Having a pillow fight with the wall
- Shouting and screaming (best to do when alone!)
- Dancing
- Going to the gym
- Swimming
- Yoga, Ta Chi,
- Popping bubble wrap
- Going for a drive, bicycle ride, bus ride, go for a walk
- Throwing socks against a wall
- Going out for ice cream
- Go to the park to feed the ducks
- Putting on a pair of boots and stamping your feet
- Playing catch with a ball
- Playing with a stress ball
- Going shopping
- Buying cheap teddy bears and taking your anger out on them instead of yourself.
- Plucking your eyebrows

Creative Distractions

- Doodling or scribbling on paper
- Writing poetry, a journal, letters, stories etc.
- Playing a musical instrument
- Singing
- Knitting
- Sewing
- Crocheting
- Drawing or painting
- Memorising poetry or song lyrics
- Making a mix-tape, compilation of your favourite music

Comforting Distractions

- Cuddling a soft toy, pillow
- Allow yourself to cry
- Sleep
- Shower or bath
- Playing with a pet
- Make a hot-chocolate
- Change into your pyjamas and watch daytime TV
- Get somebody to give you a massage, or massage your own hands and feet
- Rubbing body lotion on where you want to hurt yourself

Constructive Distractions

- Doing school work, home work, paper work
- Write a to do list
- Untangling necklaces, string, wool
- Organising your room, clothes, photographs
- Cleaning
- Read a book
- Cooking, bake a cake or make cookies, make a meal
- Organise CDs, DVD’s and books in genres, alphabetical and/or chronological order
- Colour co-ordinate you wardrobe
- Call a help line, Samaritans, Childline etc
- Polish furniture, jewellery
- Gardening
- Write a list of all the positive things in your life
- Shredding
- Put on some sturdy shoes and stamping on cans for recycling
- Post on web forums, reply to posts
- Write a letter to whoever you are angry/upset with but you don’t have to post it
- Make a happy/memory box – Fill it with some of you favourite things

Displacement Distractions

- Drawing on yourself in red marker
- Putting on fake tattoos, henna tattoos
- Snapping an elastic band on your wrist
- Putting plasters or bandages where you want to harm
- Mix warm water and red food colouring and put it on your skin
- Chew leather
- Squeezing ice cubes
- Make ice cubes with added red food colouring, rub them on the area you want to harm
- Use stage make-up to create fake injuries.
- Use skin coloured plasticine, smear it on your skin, cut into the plasticine (carefully) pour fake blood or food colouring into the fake cut.
- Draw yourself or around your arm on a piece of paper, draw the harm you are imagining then destroy the picture.
- Pour red paint on your arms
- Take a photo of yourself when you are feeling upset, write all over it how you are feeling then destroy the picture.
- Take a hot shower and use a good exfoliating body wash and a sponge or glove and scrub!
- Draw over all your old scars, which provides a repetitive action and hopefully will relieve urges.
- Bite into a chilli

Fun Distractions

- Watching a favourite TV show
- Going to see a film, watching a dvd, video
- Surf the internet
- Dye your hair
- Put on fake tan
- Put on false nails
- Listen to music, download new music
- Dressing up, glamorous or silly
- Use make up or face paints
- Painting your nails
- Finger painting
- Colouring in, drawing with crayons or felt tips
- Playing with play dough or modelling clay
- Pop balloons
- Jumping in puddles
- Hunt for things on Ebay
- Plan an imaginary party
- Look for you perfect house in the paper
- Write down your full name then make as many words out of it as possible
- Counting anything, patterns on wallpaper, bricks in a wall, ceiling tiles
- Play video/computer games
- Colour (or scribble) over the pretty women in magazines, cutting up magazines
- Build things from Lego, then destroy them and rebuild, repeat!
- Go to the zoo and rename all the animals
- Buy a distracting toy like a Bedlam cube, Geomag or a Tangle
- Do crosswords, word searches, suduko, etc
- Name all you soft toys
- Play with a slinky
- Origami

Inspiring Distractions

- Looking up into the sky, cloud watching or star gazing
- Watching a candle burn
- Meditate
- Pick an object a shell or rock for example and focus on it very closely
- Look at works of art
- Look out the window at a tree
- Watch fish, birds or butterflies

Distractions with others

- Just being with other people can be a distraction
- Phone a friend
- Helping someone else
- Go to a public place
- Hugs
- Visit a friend
- Talk to someone close to you who knows what you are going through