Rough day? Start here.

Sixty seconds. That's all this is. Put both feet flat on the floor and let them be heavy. Look around and name three things you can see, out loud or in your head. That tells the nervous system where you are. Now, one hand on your ribs. Breathe in for four. Out, slowly, for six. The out-breath is the one that settles you. In for four. Out for six. Once more. In. And out. Nothing has been fixed, and that's fine, that wasn't the job. The job was one minute of steadier. If this is a regular thing, log it, because a pattern is what gets you taken seriously. And if the feeling is bigger than a hard day, please tell someone today.

Alright. It's starting. This will peak and it'll pass, usually inside a few minutes, and nothing has gone wrong. Let's take the panic out of it first. Drop your shoulders. Unclench your jaw. If you can, get cool air or cold water on the places closest to the surface: wrists, the back of the neck, the face. Loosen a layer. Now slow the breath right down. In through the nose for a count of five. Out for five. Keep it low in the belly, not up in the chest. In, two, three, four, five. Out, two, three, four, five. Slow paced breathing like this is one of the few non-hormonal things with real evidence behind it, and it works best if you keep going for a few minutes rather than one round. In for five. Out for five. Let the heat crest. You don't have to fight it, you only have to stay slow while it moves through. When it eases, note it if you're tracking. Patterns are how you find your triggers.

This one is for the three a.m. wake-up. You don't have to fall asleep. You only have to breathe. Let your tongue rest behind your top teeth. Breathe in through your nose for four. Hold for seven. And out through your mouth, slowly, for eight. Again. In for four. Hold for seven. Out for eight. The long exhale is doing the work. Two more rounds, then let it go and stay lying down.