How to correct for a dysregulated nervous system (mine, specifically):
- Long walks. Preferably over uneven ground. Up the hill to the cemetery, through the weeds on the side of the road. Miles and miles of footsteps, one after the other, until the muscles in my legs are aching and my breath stings, shallow and sharp.
- Showers. Waste as much steaming hot water as is necessary. Let the water wash all of the tremors away.
- Music. Running Up That Hill, by Kate Bush. All the ’90s emo classics, all the pretty fiddle and banjo ballads with the lovely vocal harmony over the top.
- Sweat pants, comfy sweaters, hot cocoa. Blankets. Cats. Tea.
- Dressing like an androgynous badass. Unearth all of the best jackets for broader shoulders, pull on the old black boots. Too much highlighter, sparkly gold cheekbones. Altogether too much grease in my hair
- Sit up straight. Stand tall. Chin up. Shoulders back. Walk with purpose, carry myself like a monarch even when it hurts
- Talking shit about my enemies with some of my oldest friends, the ride-or-dies, getting pizza and chilling in the woods
- Observing the extraordinary power of walking away
- Reading books so good I can get lost in them
- Doubling down on my studies until I understand everything perfectly
- Listening to a well-timed thunderstorm