To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them:

There are many ways to respond to stress. You can drown yourself in books and tea; go for a run; practice yoga; add several new piercings to your collection; eat delicious foods and/or whatever snack is within reach; have dinner with friends; lift heavy things; punch bags; ride bikes; go to church or mosque or synagogue or temple; worship at the altar of other gods; whisper positive affirmations in the mirror; take deep calming breaths; avoid everyone; throw yourself at new projects; buy more notebooks; register another domain; see a therapist; not leave your couch for an entire weekend; you can do all of these things or none of these things or some of these things.

But a key to dealing with stress is acknowledging that your circumstances are not unique in the history of the world; your story is not the first story even if it is the only story you can ever really know.

It helps to further attempt to name just what it is you are running towards and away from; what haunts both your dreams and your waking hours. To go from the shape of a feeling to a thought to an articulation. To know and to know that you know.

Add a healthy helping of empathy and a dash of realism; shake well and serve chilled. Which is not to say that one must be chill (especially if one believes that chill is a “garbage virtue that will destroy the species”).