INTERMISSION
Take a breather, a moment to pause.
Close your eyes and listen intently to your surroundings. Pick out a particularly soothing sound, or hone into the silence.
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1. Breathe in through your nose to the count of four.
2. Exhale through your mouth to the count of five.
Eventually, your myriad of thoughts dissipate. Distant crickets and cars are drowned out as you drift away, the rain pattering outside lulling you to sleep. Those sleep techniques you searched online really did help.
You frantically try to reconnect but nothing seems to work.
You give up. Close your laptop and stare at your unmade bed. Crawl back into it and drape the blanket over yourself, hoping to create some sense of warmth to fill the aching, hollow gaps inside you.
Subdue the truth that lies on the tip of your tongue. Lie to yourself. You don't feel alone.
Bury this feeling inside you, this overwhelming feeling of …
You trudge to the bathroom and look at the mirror. Analyse the frown lines. Ghost a hand over the hills on your face. Stare at the empty eyes gazing across from yours, and spot the dark circles hanging underneath.
You don’t know who the person you’re facing is. It's as if you've experienced a ...
This dark feeling is beginning to wear you down...
Would you like to take a breather?