Flat, not folded, so the gel spreads even. The pouch is why it never picks up the freezer smell — no naked caps on the fish drawer.

Freezer-cold is too much for some heads and most ears. Fridge-cold is gentler and still works. If you don't know which you are yet, start with the fridge — you can always go colder.

Eye pillow in the fridge or freezer beside the cap. Ear band on the nightstand. Water within reach of the bed. Future-you will not be up for a scavenger hunt.

The rotation only works if the second one is already cold. One on, one waiting — that's the whole system.

Curtains shut, screens off, phone on silent. Don't wait to see how bad it gets — the earlier the room goes dark, the easier everything after this is.

Seat the V of the hem at your nose so it sits properly, then pull the front down until the light is gone. The gentle squeeze is part of it — let it settle rather than fighting it.

Over the cap's edge, covering your ears. It softens sound and holds warmth where the cold shouldn't reach.

If you can manage it: feet into water as hot as you can comfortably stand (or a hot-water bottle at your feet under the covers), while your head stays cold. Sufferers and hydrotherapists have sworn by the hot-feet-cold-head pairing for generations. Try it once; you'll keep it.

Slow breaths. No clock-watching. The pain doesn't have to vanish for this to be working — you're aiming for "something I can be a person through", not a miracle.

The cold fades around then — every gel cap on earth, ours included. If you run a rotation, swap to the cold cap and put the warm one back in the freezer. If you have one cap, rest it in the pouch for a spell and use the eye pillow in between.