Define the problem

When everything feels like too much at once, the most useful first move isn't a solution — it's naming one problem in a single sentence. A tangled "everything is falling apart" becomes "I can't get Dad to his Thursday appointments," which is something you can actually act on.

This is the front of the problem-solving sequence used across caregiver interventions: name it, separate urgent from not-urgent, pick one goal, then choose the smallest safe next step. It is not therapy and not advice — it's a way to make an overwhelming day legible enough to move on.