Photograph these pages. Keep them where you can find them fast.
When your body sounds the alarm. Sometimes you fight, sometimes you run, sometimes you freeze, sometimes you go along with it to stay safe. None of those are choices you make on purpose. If you froze, you did not fail.
5-4-3-2-1 (to come back to now). Name 5 things you can see. 4 you can touch. 3 you can hear. 2 you can smell. 1 you can taste. Breathe slow. You’re here. You’re safe.
Box breathing (to calm down fast). Breathe in for 4. Hold for 4. Out for 4. Hold for 4. Repeat. (Navy SEALs use this. It works in minutes.)
Cold water (to reset panic). Splash cold water on your face. It slows your heart down almost instantly. (Skip holding your breath if you feel dizzy.)
Your rights—these can never be taken from you:
▸ The right to feel safe in your own body.
▸ The right to say no.
▸ The right to leave.
▸ The right to ask for help without shame.
▸ The right to heal at your own pace.
▸ The right to a future that looks nothing like your past.