Losing your cool

You had just one last little frayed nerve. It was hanging on for dear life, but now it's been stompy-squashed and... You. Are. Done.

You've had it. Adrenaline floods your body sending your pulse leaping like a rabbit. The urge to yell and shout and hit things seems almost overwhelming. Hey, The Incredible Hulk grows and turns green when he loses it so a bit of foul language seems almost mild by comparison.

Ideally, of course, we would all have been aware of our increasingly frazzled state and taken steps to calm ourselves down before we snapped. But life is rarely ideal and here we are, ready to murder someone over what was a minor infraction. They just were the straw which broke the camel's back. Rather then inflict grevious bodily harm (too much paperwork, court cases, blood to clean out of the carpet), we need a quick injection of stillness that will let us react rationally.

Do something which "grounds" you.

This might be going outside and touching a tree or grass. Or a potplant, if thats all you have. Living things are relaxing and they dont talk back.

It might be taking 3 deep breaths while wiggling your toes. This sends your thoughts to your feet and away from the emotional heat in your head.

It might be counting backwards from 100 to 80 by 7s: re-engaging the brain with something complicated and getting rational thinking happening again.

And if all else fails, smile. Even a fake grimacing smile can become real: our bodies have the capacity to affect our emotions. Worst case? You'll frighten and confuse your target and they might just back away slowly, terrified of making further eye contact! Win win, I say.