Midcourse Corrections ♦ Check your body. Make sure that no tense posture is worsening your internal state. ♦ Take a deep breath and relax your body. ♦ Destigmatize and dedramatize. Remember that this happens to everyone, and it will pass. ♦ If any negative thoughts are present, remember that they’re just thoughts, and not necessarily valid. ♦ Find little things to be grateful for: your ability to breathe, the fact that you will still be alive by the end of this. ♦ Imagine getting a great hug from someone you trust for twenty seconds (of course, you may not have twenty seconds, but if you do, this is remarkably effective). Once your threat response is quieted down, to bring yourself back into a state of confidence remember a moment in your life when you felt absolute triumph.