A workbook for falling-apart seasons, from someone who's survived a few.
Surviving a Personal Crisis is a free workbook of eight small, doable steps for the days when getting through is the whole job. Written by someone who has needed every one of them.
(No cost. Just tell me where to send it.)
A shower's been on your to-do list since Tuesday.
There's a stack of texts you keep meaning to answer, all some version of "thinking of you," and you can't find the words for a single one. It's four in the afternoon before you realize the only thing you've eaten today is half a granola bar you found in your coat pocket. And if one more person tells you to "stay strong," you might quietly lose your shit in the cereal aisle. Sleep would help. Sleep, naturally, is nowhere to be found.
Here's what nobody posts between the sunrise workouts and the color-coded meal prep: some seasons are just brutal, and getting through one doesn't make you weak. You're a person carrying something heavy without nearly enough hands to help. And the thing that actually helps on a day like this isn't a fresh start or a grand plan. It's one thing small enough to actually do. One thing today that leaves you 5% steadier. Then one more tomorrow. And the day after that.
That's all this is. Eight steps I reached for in my own worst seasons, written so you can actually use them on the days when thinking straight is too much to ask. No pep talks. No "everything happens for a reason." None of the silver linings you'd cheerfully javelin across the room if you had the energy to lift them. Just eight small, doable things, and permission to start with whichever one you can reach today.
You don't have to do all eight, and you don't have to do them in order. On the hardest days, one is plenty. Think of them as eight small doors. Today, you only have to open the one you can reach.
8 small steps. Pick the one you can reach.
01 Basic Self-Care
The bare-minimum version of eating, washing, and resting, for the days when the full version is asking way too much.
02 Go Outside
How a few minutes of air and daylight can quietly change your whole afternoon, even when leaving the couch feels like a lot.
03 Ask For Help
What to actually say when you need support and "I'm fine" keeps falling out of your mouth instead.
04 Spiritual Practice
Small ways to reach for hope and meaning, whether that's prayer, a slow walk, or just sitting still for a minute.
05 Invest in Your Future Self
The tiny things you can do today that future you will be grateful for (no grand plans required).
06 Embrace Joy and Laughter
Why laughing at a dumb video at 2 am isn't a betrayal of what you're carrying, and how to let a good moment be a good moment.
07 Express Your Feelings
Ways to let out what you're holding, because keeping it all in is costing you more than you realize.
08 Practice Self-Compassion
How to turn down the inner critic that always picks the worst moments to pipe up, and talk to yourself like someone you actually like.
Nothing here takes more than a few minutes. You're not behind, and you're not doing it wrong. You're just beginning.
(I'll send the workbook, plus the occasional note from me. Unsubscribe anytime, no hard feelings.)
“You‘ll never hear me tell you to stay strong. What I’ll do instead is hand you the tools that kept me going when I wanted to give up. I don’t offer them as theory. I offer them as someone who has needed every single one. My hope is that this gives you something real to hold onto, something you can actually use when everything feels like too much.”
This isn’t a magic wand.
And I'd be lying if I promised you'd close the last page all fixed up and glowing. Here's what it does give you: footing. Something solid underfoot on the days the ground won't hold still. Small steps for when the big ones are out of reach. And somewhere in the doing of them, proof of something you might have lost sight of… you’re already carrying yourself through this. You have been all along.
This is a companion for the hard seasons, and it isn't a substitute for professional care. If you're in crisis or something feels unsafe, please reach out to your doctor, your local emergency services, or the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline, available by call or text, anytime, anywhere in Canada. Real help exists, and needing it is nothing to be ashamed of.
Wherever you are as you read this, you can start right here. One small step, then the next.
(Free to download. Yours to keep.)