Time-Tested Ways to Protect Your Peace of Mind

A crossword puzzle is a modest kind of rescue. It gives the brain somewhere specific to go, which can be a relief when thoughts are scattered in too many directions. One clue leads to another, then another, and before long, you are concentrating on seven-letter words instead of replaying something annoying from earlier in the day. They are stimulating without being frantic, absorbing without being overwhelming. And there is a small, honest pleasure in finishing even part of one.