A quick exercise to calm your nerves

✅ Today’s tip: Use the 5–4–3–2–1 method to calm down.

Let’s cut to the chase: Everyone’s tense today. On Elemental, the therapist Michele DeMarco offers a strategy for pulling yourself out of an overwhelming moment: Count five things you see, four things you feel (physical sensations, not emotions), three things you hear, and two things you can smell. Finish it off with one thing you like about yourself.

Engaging all your senses (and giving yourself a little boost) is a way to feel more grounded in the here and now, even if just temporarily. When you can slow down your racing emotions, DeMarco writes, “this has a regulating effect on your nervous system, as it brings your body back into equilibrium and your mind back to its ability to think clearly.”

📚 More from Forge on making it through today:

25 Different Ways to Cope With Uncertainty
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In Praise of Freaking Out
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4 Stoic Teachings for Election Week
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