A deep breath looks like doing nothing, and it has talked a lot of people out of sending a text they’d regret.

A pause does more work than it appears to. Standing still and breathing looks like nothing is happening, and in that gap the part of you that wants to fire back loses a little of its grip, and the message never gets sent. Nobody ever regrets the thing they did not type at eleven at night. Most of the damage people do to each other is done at speed.

Set yourself a rule this week. Anything written while angry waits until morning before you send it. Write it, keep it in drafts, and read it again when the room is lighter.