A quiet corner
Nothing to finish here. Pick one thing and stay as long as you like.
Breathe in for four, out for six.
Open one. Skip any line.
I can’t catch my breath
- Sit or stand, and put both feet on the floor.
- Breathe out more slowly than you breathe in.
- Look at one still object and name its color.
- Press your feet down for a few seconds, then release.
If this comes with chest pain, fainting, or breathing trouble that is new for you, contact local medical help.
I can’t sleep
- Dim the screen after this, or stop here.
- Unclench your jaw, your tongue, and your hands.
- If a worry keeps returning, write one sentence in Let go, then leave it.
- Rest with your eyes closed still counts, even when sleep does not come.
I feel alone
- Say one true sentence, even if the room is empty.
- If there is one safe person, a short message is enough: “I’m having a hard time.”
- A lantern can carry one sentence up.
- If you want a voice, the numbers at the bottom of this page are there.
Loneliness is not a failure.
I’m angry
- Anger is allowed. You do not have to act on it.
- Put both feet on the floor and lengthen the out-breath.
- Open and close your hands slowly a few times.
- If it is safe, step into another room or outside for one minute.
- You can choose your words later, when your body is quieter.
I feel nothing
- You do not have to force a brighter feeling.
- Notice one temperature: air on your face, a cup, or your hands.
- Name two plain details of one ordinary object.
- Take a sip of water, and stay for one minute. That is enough.
Numb is allowed to be here.
Someone is gone
- There is no right pace. Skipping this is fine.
- A memory can sit here for a moment, or you can set it down.
- If you have not eaten or had water, something small is a kindness.
- One ordinary thing is enough today.
Grief does not have to be done well.
The worry won’t stop
- A worry is not a fact, and it does not all have to be solved tonight.
- If one worry is loudest, write it as a single sentence and leave the rest.
- Name one thing you can see and one thing you can hear.
- Then stop. More thinking is not required.
You don’t have to answer every thought.
Someone I love is hurting
- Stay near, or say: “I’m here. You don’t have to explain.”
- Ask what would help, and let “nothing” be a complete answer.
- Help with one practical thing if they want it: water, a quieter room, or company.
- If they may be unsafe, stay with them if you safely can, and use a line below. You can call for them.
You don’t have to find the perfect words.
Pick any. Even one is plenty, and none is fine too.
A gentle way to look at a worried thought. Nothing here is saved or sent. Skip any step, or stop anywhere.
1. What is my mind saying?
2. Does it sound like any of these?
Tick any that fit, or none. These are habits a tired mind falls into. Seeing one is enough.
3. What would I say to a tired friend?
Someone you care about who is tired and worried. Write something true and kind, not just cheerful.
4. One tiny step
Ideas from anxiety self-help books. Open one, take what helps, and leave the rest.
Float, don’t fightClaire Weekes
When tension rises, fighting it tends to feed it. Try letting your body go loose, as if you were floating on water, and let time pass. It rises, and it passes. You don’t have to make it leave.
Start tinyDavid Burns
Wanting to do something often arrives after you begin, not before. Pick something very small, for five minutes. Starting is what counts, not finishing.
How tense am I?Edmund Bourne
Give your tension a number from 0 to 10, with no judging. Try one thing from this page, then check the number again. Small changes are real changes.
/ 10
0 is calm, 10 is very tense
Let the muscles goEdmund Bourne
Tense a part of the body gently for about five seconds, then let it go and feel the difference. Skip any part that hurts.
Come back to the roomA common grounding exercise
Slowly notice five things you can see, four you can feel, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste. Skipping any is fine.
A ladder for something hardEdmund Bourne
Big worries shrink when cut into small steps. Do the first one, and stop there if you want.
Books and free material for when you want more. Open one page or one worksheet, not the whole thing. Research suggests this kind of reading helps most when a real person is alongside you.
Feeling GoodDavid Burns
A classic on spotting the thinking habits that feed anxiety and low mood, with exercises you can write out. The Chinese edition is called 《伯恩斯新情绪疗法》.
Overcoming AnxietyHelen Kennerley
A step-by-step cognitive behavioural programme with monitoring sheets. In the UK it is on the Reading Well list of recommended books.
The Anxiety and Phobia WorkbookEdmund Bourne
Relaxation, breathing, self-talk and gradual steps, laid out as exercises.
Hope and Help for Your NervesClaire Weekes
An older, gentle classic about not fighting tension: face it, accept it, float, and let time pass.
Mind Over MoodDennis Greenberger and Christine Padesky
A CBT workbook built around worksheets for thoughts and moods, much like the Thoughts tab here.
Free workbooksCentre for Clinical Interventions, Western Australia
Free CBT workbooks on worry, anxiety, perfectionism, sleep and more, in English. They say these don’t replace a professional.
Every Mind MattersNHS, UK
Free advice and practical tips for mental wellbeing, in English.
A garden that only grows. It never wilts, and nothing here can go wrong. Tap a bare spot to plant. Flowers also open when you breathe, release a lantern, or do a small thing.
What’s heavy right now? Write it here, however messy. It stays in this tab: nothing is saved and nothing is sent anywhere. When you let it go, it’s gone.