Stage 2 · Lesson 2 of 7
Look after your body first
Stress hits the body: you sleep badly, skip meals, sit in one place scrolling. A tired, hungry body makes every thought darker. For the first two days, aim for the basics rather than a plan: eat proper meals, drink water, get outside for at least a short walk, and try to keep your normal sleep and wake times even if you sleep less.
Avoid using caffeine, energy drinks or staying up all night to cope, because poor sleep makes low mood and anxiety worse the next day. None of this solves the problem. It makes you able to think about the problem.
Common traptreating self-care as something you earn after you have fixed everything.
A question to check yourself come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Start with
- GuideFreeDoing What Matters in Times of Stress (WHO)
World Health Organization
Short, illustrated WHO guide to grounding yourself when stress is high
Practise
Keep handy
Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).