Mentoring guide · Overstressed days

When everything feels like too much.

You do not need to solve the whole day at once. Start with what your body knows. Remember what helped before. Look at the worry. Choose one kind next step.

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01 · Pause first

You can pause before you make a plan.

Use this guide your way

Start with any section. Follow the order, move around or choose only one prompt. You can skip anything that does not fit today. When you are ready, build and save your remedy card. It will stay in this browser so you can revisit it later.

Stress can make every task look urgent. Your mind may jump between the past, the next hour and the worst possible ending. Begin with a smaller time frame. What would help during the next ten minutes?

Try this sentence

“A lot is happening. I can meet this moment before I meet the whole problem.”

This page is a reflection tool. It is not a test or diagnosis. Take the parts that feel useful. Leave the rest for another day.

02 · Find yourself on the tree

Sometimes a picture finds the feeling first.

Look at the numbered Blob Tree in the source article. Choose the number that feels closest to you right now. Notice what drew you to that figure. There is no correct choice. Use the picture as a prompt, rather than a diagnosis.

The numbered Blob Tree with 21 figures in different positions on and around a tree — Photo by BlobTree.com. Via Raluca Barna on Medium. Created by Pip Wilson and Ian Long.

Which number feels like you right now? What made you choose this number?

How much stress are you noticing right now?1 · A little5 · A lot3 / 5

Image source: “Which Blob Person Are You?” by Raluca Barna, The Summit on Medium. The article credits the image to BlobTree.com. Blob Tree was created by Pip Wilson and Ian Long.

03 · Remember your evidence

You have met difficult days before.

Think of the last time you felt this stressed. Look for anything that helped by five percent. It may have been small. A shower counted. A sandwich counted. A message to a friend counted. Going to bed early counted.

What was happening last time? How did you know you were stressed? What helped, even a little?

Your answer is personal evidence. It gives you a better starting point than a list written for everybody.

04 · Look at the worry

Put the feared ending where you can see it.

A worry often grows when it stays vague. Write the outcome you fear most. Use plain words. Then look at it with curiosity. You are observing a thought. You are not making it happen by writing it down.

What am I most afraid will happen?

What makes this feel possible? What else may also be true? If it happened, what would I do first? What would I say to a friend with this fear?

05 · Act, ask, wait or release

Choose the kind of response.

Some worries need action. Some need another person. Some need time. Some ask you to carry responsibility that was never yours. Choose the closest response for today.

ActThere is one concrete step I can take. AskI want information, company or practical help. WaitThe next information will arrive later. ReleaseI can set this down for now.

What would that response look like?

Release is a pause in carrying

Releasing a worry does not mean approving it. It does not require certainty. It can mean, “I have given this enough attention for now. I will return at 3 pm.”

06 · Help the body

Choose a small signal of safety.

Reasoning can feel easier after the body receives care. Pick one or two ideas. The useful choice is the one you can actually do now.

BreatheLet each breath stay comfortable. No forcing. WalkGo outside, use a corridor or circle the room. Listen to musicChoose something familiar. Let it hold the next few minutes. Find something steadyHug a tree. Hold a cushion. Lean against a wall. Water or foodChoose something simple and familiar. Reduce inputDim a light. Leave the busy room. Put the phone face down. Find a personAsk for listening, company or one practical thing. RestLet ten minutes have no productivity target.

Add something that works for you

My remedy Why it helps

Optional one-minute pause Breathe in your own rhythm 01:00

07 · Your personal remedy

Build a card for this moment.

Your card gathers the parts you chose. It does not need to fix everything. It only needs to make the next part of the day kinder and more possible.

Anything you save in sections 02–06 can appear here. You can build a card from one saved section or several of them.

Saved in this browser

Your remedy history.

Your saved cards stay on this device and in this browser.

Your saved stress remedies will appear here.

When more support would help

You deserve support before things become unbearable.

If stress keeps returning, changes daily life or feels hard to carry alone, consider speaking with someone you trust, your GP, a counsellor or your university support service.

In England, use NHS 111 online or call 111 and select the mental health option for urgent mental health help. If you or someone else is in danger, call 999 or go to A&E.