Shock Steady Tool
Tier-1 Containment

Shock Steady Tool

How destabilized are you right now?

1 = steady enough • 5 = very destabilized
Something just happened.
Your thinking is compromised right now. This is normal.
This tool will do some thinking for you for the next 90 minutes.

First 5 Minutes

Do these in order. Don’t skip steps.
1
Sit down. If you’re already sitting, lean back.
2
Set a timer for 5 minutes.
3
Don’t try to process what happened yet.
4
Just breathe until the timer goes off.
Right now your nervous system is trying to solve something that can’t be solved in this moment. These 5 minutes create space for your system to stop spinning.

Next 10 Minutes

Your body needs attention before your mind can function.
5
Drink water. A full glass, slowly.
6
Eat something if you haven’t in 4+ hours. Anything is fine.
7
Check the temperature. Add/remove layers as needed.
8
Go to the bathroom if needed.
This seems basic because it is. Your brain cannot think clearly when your body is dysregulated.

Next 15 Minutes

Create a temporary boundary around this situation.
9
Turn off non-essential notifications for the next 2 hours.
10
Tell one person what happened (text is fine: “Bad news today, taking time to process”).
11
Clear your schedule for the next 2–3 hours if possible.
You’re creating a container so this situation doesn’t bleed into everything else today.

Next 30 Minutes

Now we organize what you can and cannot control.
12
Write down exactly what happened in 2–3 sentences.
13
List 3 things you definitely cannot change about this situation.
14
List 1–2 things you might be able to influence (not control, influence).
15
List any actions you absolutely must take in the next 48 hours.
This isn’t problem-solving yet. This is just sorting what belongs where.

Next 30 Minutes

Address only what’s urgent. Ignore what’s important.
16
Handle any truly urgent items from your list (urgent = has a deadline today).
17
Text anyone who needs to know you’re taking time to process.
18
Do one small, normal thing (shower, walk, organize desk).
Important decisions can wait. Right now you’re just preventing things from getting worse.

Final 30 Minutes

Reset your system before re-engaging with the world.
19
Spend 10 minutes moving your body (walk, stretch, clean).
20
Spend 10 minutes on something completely unrelated (music, reading, cooking).
21
Spend 10 minutes planning the next 24 hours (when to think about this again).

What you’ve accomplished:

  • Prevented your nervous system from staying in crisis mode
  • Created boundaries around the situation
  • Organized what you can/cannot control
  • Handled immediate necessities without making big decisions
Tomorrow you can think about solutions. Today was about stabilization.
You don’t need to have answers yet. You just needed to stop the spinning.

Exit / Return to life

You bought yourself time. Proceed slowly. No major decisions today.