The take care of yourself thread, from me! I’m not a medical professional, I’m just speaking as someone with an adrenaline/cortisol imbalance.

First, Maslow. Start with the basics. Are you drinking enough water? Are you drinking too much alcohol? Are you eating enough food? Can you get more vegetables? Is your home as clean as you can get it? Are you getting enough sleep?

Second, do you feel safe in your environment? What can you do to feel safer? For example, I have decals over a window for more privacy. They were $8 on Amazon. I carry pepper spray and a whistle when I hike. Some people choose to get a dog to feel safer at home, or have roommates

Third, you need relationships. Twitter is a poor sub for the real thing, but I know many people on this site would gladly sit with each other and listen to problems. Some kids do giant group chats. A coworker does “Iowa lunch”. This is also where a therapist may help

Fourth, you need to have feelings of accomplishment. There’s many ways to do this, and it could just be “today I made my bed and I didn’t stay in my pajamas” (change into sweatpants please!) wash your face with water. Brush your teeth. Read a book. Play the harmonica

The final level of Maslow’s hierarchy is self-actualisation. This one takes time. Instead, this is where I recommend finding things that are simple joys. It doesn’t take much to feel joy in the moment. Good music, a nice cup of coffee or tea.

You don’t have to do anything other than get through the next five minutes. Don’t think about anything after that. Don’t borrow tomorrow’s anxiety for today. Count breaths. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7, breathe out for 8. Repeat. You got this. I’m here for you

Finally, dance. Dance like a crazy white lady on Instagram who talks about “free flow”. Shake it off. Sounds crazy, right? It works though