You can block the moon with your thumb. Size depends a lot on how close you’re standing.

Nearness does most of the work when something feels enormous. Hold your hand up and the nearest small object beats something vast, which is precisely what this week’s problem is doing to the rest of your life. Size is an unreliable reading when you are standing right against the thing.

When something feels total, ask how big it will look from a month away. Writing it in a single sentence helps, because the sentence usually turns out much smaller than the feeling was.