What actually reassured me during a long stretch of no updates on my case

Had a multi-month stretch with zero status change or communication, which is apparently completely normal but didn't feel that way in the moment. Sharing what actually helped me get through that period without excessive anxiety. Checking the official processing time data periodically (not obsessively) and confirming my case was still within the normal expected range for my form type and service center did more to reassure me than anything else — having an objective, official benchmark to compare against, rather than just a subjective sense that "it's been a while," made the silence feel like normal process rather than a red flag. What didn't help, and I'd genuinely warn against: checking case status obsessively multiple times a day, which just repeatedly confirmed no new information and fed anxiety without actually providing anything useful. I settled into checking roughly weekly, which felt like enough to stay informed without turning it into a compulsive habit.