When we’re caught up in anxiety or feeling overwhelmed, it’s hard to see through the fog-like cloud in our heads.

Perhaps we know what we should do: breathing exercises, planning ahead, dealing with a single task at a time etc. But often in the moment our sensibilities seem to betray us. We are amidst a meltdown and would be advised, where possible, to take some time out.

Contemplating the plethora of problems that you likely have, especially when you are at your lowest ebb, will only make you feel dizzy, nauseous, and will negatively affect your breathing.

You are having a down day and you can’t see the wood from the trees. You are not in the best frame of mind and you need to surrender your head to this. It is like being caught up in a snowstorm – your vision actually feels impaired. Picture it, what can you see? Maybe a rooftop, tops of trees, or the outline of a pathway?

This is not the time to heave out the shovel from the shed. Besides, you’ll likely slip over trying to fetch it. What you need to do is collect small nuggets of energy in the form of bringing about a sense of relief, because it’ll make you feel more anchored.

You need to find an unrelated agenda, and do as many as possible of the following to achieve this – or think of some of your own:

Find relief in the fact that you have enough milk to make yourself a cup of tea, or enough bread to fix yourself a sandwich, that you can find a food delivery slot, that your favourite crisps are still in the cupboard, that the programme you love relaxing to is about to air, that you do have time for a hot shower. Find as many sources of relief as possible which do not tax your brain.

Keep this resource in mind for the next time you feel yourself panicking, because the more you rely on this, the sooner you can help ease your troubled mind and help orientate yourself for when you’re feeling better.