TRIAGE (RUN / BUFFER / STOP-ESCALATE)

Before adjusting anything, sort the moment into 3 outcomes: proceed because access is fine, support first because 1 function is fragile, or stop and get safety or care because self-help isn't the right tool.

Deadline morning. You sit down to finish the board deck and notice you feel awful: foggy, keyed up, chest a little tight. The question that decides your next hour is not "how do I feel better?" It's "which of three situations am I actually in?"

Triage sorts the moment into exactly three outcomes before you adjust anything. RUN: the mental functions the task needs are available enough, so proceed, because feeling rough is not the same as being impaired, and no calming ritual is required. BUFFER: you're safe enough to help yourself, but one function is genuinely fragile, say you can't hold the deck's storyline together, so you take one bounded support, or pause with a named condition for reopening, or grab a practical accommodation, then retest. STOP-ESCALATE: self-help is the wrong tool entirely, because there's real danger, a possible medical issue like chest tightness you can't explain, or a crisis, and the move is safety or care, not a cognitive trick. Run the sort in 30 seconds by testing the actual function, not your mood. The classic error is buffering when you could run, turning ordinary discomfort into an endless pre-work ritual. Stop-escalate signals always win the tie.