“A long time ago in a physics class we did an experiment where you take a small spring and put it on a hook and measure its length. You hang a little weight on it and watch it stretch. Then you take the weight off and the spring returns to where it was before, ready for the next weight, which is heavier. And you repeat this process, the weight a little heavier each time and the spring stretches further, returning each time to its original length until suddenly it doesn’t. And that is its elastic limit… we all have an elastic limit and many of us find it by reaching it… But we can watch for signs in ourselves that we are approaching that limit – bad behaviour or tears, impulsivity or poor sleep, or being overwhelmed by small things… and when we recognise those signs we need to take some weight off that spring. Pg 226-7”