Guided exercises

1. Sit comfortably with your feet on the floor. Unclench your jaw and drop your shoulders.
2. Breathe in through your nose for a slow count of 4.
3. Hold gently for a count of 4 — don't strain.
4. Breathe out through your mouth for a count of 4.
5. Hold empty for a count of 4. That's one box.
6. Repeat for 4–6 rounds. If counting feels like effort, just make the out-breath longer than the in-breath.

If you feel dizzy, breathe normally for a moment and try again more gently.

1. Look around and name 5 things you can see. Say them silently or out loud, slowly.
2. Name 4 things you can touch — then actually touch them and notice the texture.
3. Name 3 things you can hear, including quiet background sounds.
4. Name 2 things you can smell. If nothing's obvious, notice the air itself.
5. Name 1 thing you can taste, or take a sip of water and notice it.
6. Finish with one long, slow out-breath and feel your feet on the floor.

Go slowly — the slowness is what tells your body the danger has passed.

1. Sit or lie somewhere comfortable. Take three slow breaths to arrive.
2. Starting with your feet: tense the muscles firmly for about 5 seconds — then release and notice the difference for 10 seconds.
3. Move up through your body: calves, thighs, stomach, hands, arms, shoulders, face. Tense, hold, release, notice.
4. If any area is painful or injured, skip it — never tense through pain.
5. When you reach your face, let your whole body go heavy for a minute and breathe normally.

The release matters more than the tensing. You're teaching your body what 'letting go' feels like.

1. Dim the lights and put screens away — this is the signal that the day is ending.
2. Write down anything circling in your mind on paper. Parked, not solved.
3. Do something quiet and dull in low light: a few pages of a book, gentle stretching, folding laundry.
4. Get into bed and breathe out longer than you breathe in — in for 4, out for 6.
5. If you're still awake after about 20 minutes, get up, keep the light low, do something dull, and try again when sleepy.

A fixed wake-up time — even after a bad night — is the anchor that makes every other night easier.

1. Pick a set 15-minute slot each day — not right before bed.
2. When a worry shows up outside that slot, jot it down in a notebook and tell it: "later, at worry time".
3. At your slot, read the list. For each worry ask: can I do something about this, and if so, what's the smallest next step?
4. Worries with no action get acknowledged and closed: "noted, nothing to do today".
5. When the timer ends, stop — make a tea, step outside, change the channel in your head.

Most people find the same few worries repeat. That's fine — noticing the pattern is part of how they lose their grip.