i cried in the bathroom at work and almost quit

i wanna keep this short-ish bc im half embarrassed but maybe someone needs it.

so yesterday i sat in the tiny bathroom stall at work and cried for like 10 minutes. not full breakdown but the kind that makes your chest hurt and your brain scream “run, change everything, burn it down.” i almost sent a furious email, almost called my ex, almost quit on the spot. all the old me stuff.

then i remembered a rule i wrote down months ago when i was not a mess: “no big decisions for 72 hours.” i pulled my phone out, typed that into notes, told myself out loud. stupid right? but it paused something in me.

i did three tiny things in that stall before i left:

slow breaths til i didn’t feel like collapsing (6 counts)

drank a bottle of water (cold)

put my bare feet on the floor and stood for 30s (weirdly grounding)

i walked back to my desk and instead of an angry email i sent myself a two-line note: “do one small task. sleep on it.” i told my roommate once i got home: “i’m low today, not leaving.” he hugged me and made dinner. no drama, no “you always” fights.

it didnt fix everything. but it stopped the avalanche.

ok here’s the thing i actually want to give you the stuff that saved me and you can use right now:

EMERGENCY 4 STEP (use it in a stall, car, bathroom, wherever)

breathe slowly 6x

drink 250–500ml water

stand barefoot on the floor for 30–60s

do ONE tiny physical thing (fold hoodie, open a window, walk to the bin) do this and your brain will calm enough to not invent tragedies.

72-HOUR RULE

when you’re shaky, no life-changing calls, no quitting, no haircut, no major purchases for 72 hours. write it in your notes now. then obey it. temp feelings make permanent messes.

SCRIPTS to use (copy-paste):

to partner/friend: “i care about you i’m just low today. i’ll check in when i’m steady.”

to boss/coworker: “i’m not at my best today, can we push non-urgent to tomorrow? i’ll focus on X.”

to self: “this is temporary. no permanent choices today.”

FOOD + ENERGY (do not skip):

meal formula: protein + complex carb + healthy fat (eggs + toast + avo / chicken + rice + veg)

craving hack: have the sweet after a balanced meal, not instead of it. it reduces the binge spiral.

MORNING 2-MIN ANCHOR (do daily): water → 1 min stretch/posture → write one tiny win for the day. repeat. this stacks so fast.

CONFIDENCE 60s TRICK:

shoulders back, chin up, smile for 3 secs, add one small detail (necklace, tuck shirt), step out. posture buys you time to feel it.

WORK SURVIVAL (if you’re burned out):

do focused sprints 10–25 min, micro-break 5. protect afternoons for lower energy stuff. batch the big brain stuff for your good days.

if you do all that for one week, you will see a pattern. tracking one sentence each night helps a lot: mood | energy 1-10 | sleep | cravings | note

i’m not saying these are magic but they’re tiny engineering moves that stop huge mistakes. they stop you from making your low day into a permanent new problem.

i just wanted to share because i almost made so many stupid permanent choices yesterday and maybe someone reading will not. simple helps.

[Check the pinned post on my profile]