Your Pause Button

Just stop for a moment. You don't have to do anything, just breathe in and out. This is your pause button for the world. You're safe now. There's nothing you need to do or say, no need to worry or stress. Everything can wait. Right now you can just take a minute to stop and relax and recover. Everything is going to be alright.

You are strong, and brave, and smart and capable, and you can get through this.

Even though things might be hard, you can persevere, adapt and keep going, because you are a human being, and that's what human beings do. Throughout the course of human history there has been so much hardship, so many people having experienced terrible things, but they kept going.

That's what we do as a species, and you are no exception. You have the strength and the courage to persevere and no matter what your brain tells you, you can do this, you can get through this, and everything is going to be alright.

It's okay to falter sometimes, it's okay to need a break, it's okay to push pause and listen to this and collect yourself whenever you need to, regroup and recharge your strength. It's okay to need help from other people, and there are always people who care about you and want to help, so reach out when you need it. Pause, when you need it. Keep breathing, keep going, and whenever you need to, take a break.

Don't focus on your standards or expectations, don't call yourself a failure or put yourself down, focus on your successes, on your accomplishments, however small they might seem. The little things matter too, especially when you're struggling. The small victories are so important, and you should be proud of them. You listened to this audio and did something good for yourself, took care of yourself when you were struggling, and that's something to be proud of.

You deserve to feel good about yourself, you deserve to feel proud of your accomplishments, you deserve to treat yourself with love and sympathy and compassion. Don't think yourself a failure because you don't meet the standards of when you feel you were at your best. Treat yourself the way you would anyone else in your situation, with understanding and compassion. Things are tough and you're trying your best. That's not easy. That is truly an accomplishment, don't minimise that. You have worth, you have value, and you have the strength inside you to keep going.

So take as long as you need, and whenever you feel ready, you can unpause the world and do what you need to do. You can do this.