collect yourself
Steady your nerves
To collect yourself is to regain composure after being scattered by emotion, surprise, or confusion.
The image is of gathering dispersed pieces back together—steadying your breath, organizing your thoughts, calming your nerves: She took a moment to collect herself before answering.
Often appears as a command or self-instruction when someone needs to settle down.
- composeCreate or arrange
- steadyFixed, not fluctuating
- breatheExchange air through lungs
- take a breathInhale once deliberately
- calmFree from agitation
gather · regroup · get a grip · center · focus · pause · count to ten · inhale · exhale · stillness · grounded · nerves · shaky · keep it together · overwhelmed · shake it off · recover · settle
- self-controlself-control, restraint, willpower, composure, moderation
collect yourselflose it
Succumb to overwhelming emotion
fall apart · panic · freak out · lose control · break down
collect, yourself, collection, collective, collectively, collector, collectible, collected, collecting