Identity crisis used to be a popular phrase describing a state people found themselves in when facing a stressful situation - before stress was the in-word, more easily classified and measured . An identity crisis applied to a midlife crisis: move to another city or country, retirement, divorce, and so on - major events that didn't happen too often. Easy to see why it had to be replaced, or proliferated. When I had four young chlldren, the youngest challenged, while I was challenged as the unpaid hostess/cook/chatelaine for my husband's position, all the while trying to reserve some time to write, I used to say I had an identity crisis every week, much more frequently than the accepted norm, if such a state was normal. It is now. Or it is if it hasn't fallen out of favour. As I say stress is much more common these days. Not to me. I didn't have a stressful day today; I had three identity crises.

Oh dear. I've come this far and I don't want to talk about it any more.

So.

Did you have a nice day today? Actually I don't care. I don't want to talk about that, either.

Instead, I'll tap dance a little and tell you that Jack Reacher and Qi Gong have taught me how to fall asleep instantly. I am a great fan of Jack Reacher, the thriller hero created by the writer, Lee Child. Big Jack doesn't carry but he fights. After pumping adrenaline in a hand-to-hand battle, he'll settle for the night, taking three breaths and falling asleep. I was impressed. And then I discovered Qigong, "a holistic system of coordinated body posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for health, spirituality, and martial arts training." i took a course last winter and among other things I learned its technique of breathing, lower and upper.

Take a big breath in, from your stomach, to a count of four. Hold your breath to a count of four and then exhale slowly, to four. Do the same from your chest, with the magic number.

That's all. Three of those and I fall asleep even in mid-day for my half-hour nap (complete with REM). No stress.