Yeah I do the self help book thing too, my brother thinks they're ruining my mind. I've put them aside the past few months.

It's rare that I actually try to distract myself from my symptoms. Usually I confront the memories and feelings head on by analyzing them, thinking critically about them, or trying to re-frame them into a different perspective.

What I noticed help me escape from them was exercise. If I'm overwhelmed with physical pain I don't notice the emotional pain. Swing dancing helped too, though not sure why.

Then about a year ago when the symptoms got bad I found I could escape it by watching television drama. I started watching reruns of Brothers & Sisters, Battlestar Galactica, and other drama's online. Losing myself in other people's pain helped me forget about my own.