Article: It’s a cliche, but it’s a cliche because it works. Often you’ll find that you’ve held your breath when reacting, or have begun breathing erratically. Take several slow deep breaths using your diaphragm and abdominal muscles when presented with difficult situations. Procrastination has not been shown to be an effective coping method, and neither has straight-up ignoring the issue. Think about how to handle yourself here and now. Often, the issues that work us up are small ones, piled up high enough to feel huge and important when they aren’t. Every problem or stressor can always be broken down into components you can handle; if it doesn’t seem like it can, that’s only because it hasn’t been broken down far enough yet! Releasing a little steam can sometimes keep from the whole kettle boiling over, so to speak. Overcoming oversensitivity doesn't mean you have to be meek or unfeeling. Sometimes it means you need to talk it out when it's still comfortable to talk about, before you have time to ruminate on an offhand comment and become overcome or despondent. Over a long enough time, dealing with the same distressing or aggravating issue can make it so that the smallest version of it elicits a huge and seemingly disproportionate response. Don't let the small things gnaw away at you. Bring them out into the open so they don't build up. You may feel yourself go numb and quiet as a balm to deal in an uncomfortable social situation, but don't let yourself be defeated. Try and take a quiet moment to see the situation as it really is. You're probably not debating nuclear disarmament deals before the U.N. You're in a passing, emotionally stressful moment. Physically excuse yourself from the situation as easily as you can. It may prove more appropriate to slip away unnoticed, but if you're in conversation at a social event let someone know you're going to step away for a moment; this token gesture of normalcy can help stabilize your perception of the situation, especially if this was a situation in which you felt embarrassed or vulnerable. "Getting some fresh air" or "going to the bathroom" are both time-tested excuses. Considering the ubiquity of smartphones, you won't even need anything beyond a gesture toward an iPhone screen to indicate why you need to step away. It's not about embracing unpleasant feelings, but about accepting how small of a moment that feeling was, and that you're moving past it; you'll move past it every time, because there's no other option.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Take a deep breath. Stay in the present. Express yourself. Hang in there. Distance yourself, literally. Accept that working on it is progress in and of itself.