by 
The first set of Distress Tolerance Skills are the Crisis Survival Skills. The first of the Crisis Survival Skills is Distracting.
This skill may seem counter-intuitive. Why would distracting be skillful? Ordinarily, it is true that getting distracted from our work or being distracted while in a conversation with someone are not viewed as positive behaviors.
In her wisdom, Marsha Linehan realized that we cannot always be in Wise Mind. Sometimes it is necessary to take a break in order to calm down and “unfluster” when we find ourselves in Emotion Mind. This break could be in the form of some kind of distraction away from the problem, such as singing a song.
While this may seem like avoidance (and it is), it is only temporary until we return to Wise Mind. Distress Tolerance skills are short-term skills to get through an emotional crisis. Once we return to Wise Mind, we then address the problem. Avoiding a problem indefinitely is not a skillful behavior.
Distraction skills are organized into 7 groups. Marsha loves her acronyms, so think Wise Mind ACCEPTS:
Activities
Contributing
Comparisons
opposite Emotion
Pushing away
other Thoughts
intense Sensations