I was exhausted, the coffee I'd drunk was stronger than expected, and I was getting too anxious over moderating a forum elsewhere. Plus my neighbor is in crisis, often, and I can't help her. And then there was the news of more school violence.

I was in spaced out anxiety land for awhile and then slowly realized what was going on. I could hear my inner self talk starting to wind up and make things worse. So I told myself: "I'll get through this just fine, I have before. I'll get through this and write a post for psychcentral on it afterwards.".

So I held onto those thoughts. I also turned down lights, turned off the television, and stopped reading upsetting stuff online. I closed my blinds to diminish a tendency to be hypervigilant when anxious. I drank some water and ate some good food.

I took a leisurely warm bath. I reminded myself to relax, let things be simple, and to breathe.

I reminded myself that I didn't have to make any decisions or do anything strenuous right then, I had the night ahead of me and could relax. Found a good book and settled in with that til I went to sleep.

In the morning I was calmer, felt like I'd been through a wood chipper, but also that I'd done a good job of self-care. I get to take a break from disturbing news and web interactions.

Knowing that I was going to write up this post helped me stay on track.