I’ve tried yoga but I find stress less boring.

— Anonymous

Have you ever had a meltdown? You know what I mean… extreme stress, the heebie jeebies, sour stomach, wanting to scream and/or beat on someone. Your mind is a jumble of useless thoughts ricocheting all over the place from one catastrophe to the next one – none of which have actually occurred.

Some days, we seem more susceptible to mental meltdowns. The really uncomfortable part is the feeling that there’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to let it run its course and then, once it passes, you’ll feel better. I have an alternative suggestion – Re-Boot!

Ctrl-Alt-Delete

Having spent a significant part of my life as a computer nerd, there’s one thing I know how to do really well: Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Anyone who’s used a PC is familiar with this little lifesaver. When your PC gets stuck in some awful loop or is just sitting there doing nothing, you depress the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys all at the same time. At that point, you can force your system to shut down or you can try to stop the problem program. Ctrl-Alt-Delete is the PC equivalent of a 2×4 upside the head. It says, “STOP” and pay attention to ME. It’s your get out of jail free card. (I realize that there are problems with re-booting, lost work, etc., but the opportunity to restart is what I’m talking about.)

The thing is, just like choosing to re-boot your PC, you can choose to re-boot yourself.

Re-Boot!

The beauty of re-booting is that two things occur. First, the computer halts and shuts down. When it shuts down, you have, in essence, emptied its brains. No electricity – no brains. Because you’ve emptied its brains, you now have the opportunity to reload its brains with good stuff so that it will behave again. When you start your computer, it loads all the important information from its boot file. This is where the essentials are stored. The boot file tells the PC:

• Who it is.
• Who is attached to it.
• How big it is.
• What to use for brains. (Yes, some machines get to make a choice.)

(And you thought I’d get too technical for you…) It has no memory of whatever happened that was driving you crazy before you shut it down. This is an almost perfect system. It goes crazy, you shut it down and reload it with sanity. Priceless!

Your Personal Re-Boot

What does this computer stuff have to do with you? I think it’s the perfect metaphor for how to handle a mental meltdown. Meltdowns are usually caused by the fear of something happening in the future. Maybe something happened today which you naturally projected into the future. The future got gloomier and scarier and you got more afraid. The next thing you know, adrenaline is running rampant through your system and you’re an anxious mess. This is very uncomfortable both mentally and physically. You know you need to get it under control – but how?

DELETE the Chemicals

To start the re-boot process on your PC, you press three keys simultaneously Ctrl-Alt-Delete. When you’re under attack by a mental meltdown, your body is being flooded with adrenaline. Unlike your PC, you can’t just unplug, so you need to start by “deleting” the adrenaline from your system. It’s the only way to get rid of that icky feeling of wanting to jump out of your skin.

Since adrenaline is what gives you the fight or flight feeling – getting moving physically is the way to remove it from your system. It doesn’t really matter whether you run, walk, or jump rope – just do something that helps your body bleed off the adrenaline.

Alt(er) your Thoughts

Part of how you’ve gotten into this mental meltdown is that your thoughts have taken you on a journey that you never chose. You’re in a runaway vehicle and you need to get back in the driver’s seat. If you don’t take the wheel back, your thoughts will continue to flood the system with adrenaline and you won’t be able to run fast enough to get ahead of the adrenaline. So, while you’re moving, make a mental list of all the things that are going well. Deliberately change what you’re thinking about. This helps in two ways; it stops you from continuing to flood your system with fearful ideas and it gives you something to use later when you consciously re-boot your brain.

Ctrl (control) the Way Forward

When you’ve worked off the adrenaline, sit down and build your re-boot file:

1. Document the list of things that are going well that you created during your walk/run/jump rope.
2. Make a list of all the people who care about you.
3. Create a gratitude list.
4. Describe yourself in empowering terms, i.e. “I am a creative, energetic, strong, vibrant, loving person.” I don’t care if you believe it right this minute. Write it down.

Once you’ve built your re-boot file, perform the following ritual or design one of your own:

1. Sit in a comfortable chair in a pleasant environment.
2. Breathe in for a count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 7, breathe out for a count of 8. (repeat four times)
3. Now, reload your brain with the empowering items in your re-boot file. Remind yourself of:
   • What is going well.
   • Who cares about you.
   • What there is to be grateful for.
   • Who you really are.

Once you’ve created your re-boot file you can always use it any time you need to stop a mental meltdown. But, I recommend that every time you perform this ritual you create a new list of what is going well. It gives you something to focus on while you’re working off the adrenaline and, hopefully, your new list is longer than the last time you used it.

Earlier I described what happens when you re-boot your PC: “It goes crazy, you shut it down and reload it with sanity. Priceless!” Now you have a re-boot ritual to let you do the same for you. It takes a little longer than re-booting your PC but we’re more complex than PCs and we’re actually re-booting both our hearts and our brains.

There really is nothing good about a mental meltdown. We go crazy and we want to get back to sanity. Using this re-boot process can help you reliably stop the meltdown and refocus where you need to focus. It can help you get back to sanity and that’s: Priceless!