I got in my car, breath shallow, head aching, shoulders tense — that familiar feeling right before I cry, when I don’t know what to think or do.

These moments aren’t rare lately. I’ve been managing an intense chapter that leaves me treading water just to keep my nostrils above the surface. The unlikely thing that’s become my lifeline? My 33-minute commute.

Usually, my drive time is spent listening to a podcast, audiobook or music. To check out or entertain myself in one way or another while I autopilot my way to my destination. But, recently, I’ve found myself anxiously running through to-do’s, trying to problem-solve or ruminating about what has gone wrong — basically white-knuckling my way through another day.

This was making everything worse. So I started experimenting — turning my c

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