The two-minute reset for spiraling minds

I lived a lot of years inside my own head. Most spirals lasted longer than they needed to because I kept trying to solve them with the same instrument that started them: the thinking mind. It was a bit like trying to put out a grease fire with more oil.

This reset is the one I built for myself. It is deliberately somatic. It has three moves, and none of them ask you to figure anything out.

The three moves

One: name three physical objects in the room aloud. Two: run cold water over your wrists for thirty seconds. Three: exhale twice as long as you inhale, four times.

"The way out is never as clever as the way in."

That is it. It works because it interrupts the loop before it becomes a story. I keep it in my back pocket. You can too.