Breathing
Follow the circle. Breathe in as it grows and out as it shrinks. A few rounds is often enough to notice a shift.
Ready
—
0 rounds
A Place to Pause
Take a minute before the next thing.
A few simple tools for when your body is moving faster than your thinking. Nothing on this page is saved, tracked, or sent anywhere. Use what helps and leave the rest.
Five senses
For when your mind is somewhere else: replaying a conversation, or three steps ahead of today. Work through it silently or out loud.
Step 1 of 5
Step away, then come back
When a conversation with someone you care about starts to escalate, a planned break can help both of you return with more of yourselves available. A break works best when the other person knows it is coming and knows you will return.
- Say you need a break, and say when you will be back.
- Use the time to settle your body, not to rehearse your side of the argument.
- When the timer ends, go back. Coming back is the part that builds trust.
20:00
Choose a length, then start.
Sound
Generated on your device, so nothing has to load. Headphones help.
Scribble pad
Draw nothing in particular. It disappears when you leave the page and is not saved anywhere. On a phone, tap Draw with finger first, then Done drawing when you want to scroll again.
Drag to draw
Talk to someone
A breathing exercise is not the answer to everything. If today is bigger than that, these lines are free and staffed by real people.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text, 24 hours
- 988
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME, 24 hours
- 741741
- Thresholds Mobile Crisis Response Team: a clinician and a peer come to you, without police, on the North and Northwest Sides of Chicago, 24 hours
- 773.572.5464
- Trans Lifeline: peer support from trans operators, no emergency services called without your consent, weekdays noon to 8 p.m. Central
- 877.565.8860
- LGBT National Hotline: peer support for LGBTQ+ callers of any age, calls are not reported to outside organizations, weekdays 1 to 10 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central
- 888.843.4564
- The Trevor Project: LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 to 24, call or text START to 678678, 24 hours
- 866.488.7386
- Illinois Warm Line: non-crisis peer support, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- 866.359.7953
If you are my client, bring what came up to our next session. I reply to calls and email within 24 to 48 hours, so please do not use them in a crisis. If you are thinking about therapy, a free 15-minute consult is a good place to start.
These are coping tools, not therapy, and they are not a replacement for care from a therapist or doctor. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or a crisis line.