After a while I closed my eyes and focused on my breath long enough to feel the ache in my chest, lump in my throat, the pressure on my head go away. It took a long time but I staying there until every part of my body was relaxed. It helped to focus on relaxing my muscles from head to toe. I don't even realize I am clenching my teeth or just how tightly I am holding my shoulders, or how tense my stomache is etc etc until I start to focus on each of those areas and let the tension go.

I discovered a way to deal with disruptive thoughts. I imagined myself walking down a lane. Every now and then someone came out a door to say something to me. Instead of engaging them I said, 'sorry, can't stop now, catch up with you another time.' The people coming out the doors represented thoughts popping into my head trying to get my attention. By acknowledging them without being stopped by them and doing this with the aid of a graphic seemed to make it easier to stay focused on the path.