10 Things To Do When All Else Fails
We’ve all had our fair share of mental breakdown moments – we get speeding ticket, an undeserved bad grade, major attitude from our boss – and before you know it, a simple spill of coffee on our shirt has lead to a groundbreaking realization that we can’t stand anyone around us and have zero tolerance for life anymore. Whatever may be the cause, life has its times where even the most painfully optimistic of individuals have decided they’ve reached their breaking points. But keep hope alive, because these instances are simply that – instances. They come, and they go, and eventually the joy of life returns. It’s the roller coaster of living, and it has its perpetual ups and downs. However, adhere to this strict plan of alternatives when all else fails, and triumph the downs by showing life who’s boss.
#1) Go to brunch with your best friends.
I like to stick away from the notion of eating to cure anything, because although it’s popular and undeniably satisfying in the moment, consuming feelings in carbohydrates is never the answer. HOWEVER, there is one exception to this rule. And that exception is brunch. Brunch is like the best of everything – allowing you enough time for beauty sleep yet giving you purpose to wake up and get yourself together while still experiencing the morning glory that is breakfast food. Throw your best friends into the equation, and there is nothing that this mid day meal cannot conquer. And I mean nothing.
#2) Talk to your parents.
We often forget that these are the people who procreated us, meaning we have the same genetics. As much as it may not seem like it sometimes, they get us. They were us at one point in time. They love us, they want what’s best for us. They are there to help. And surprisingly, the more we acknowledge this, the more we may realize that they are wayyy cooler than they ever get credit for. No matter how severe your problem may be, and even if you can’t include all the details of said problem – remember that your parental units withhold the superpower of making everything okay at the end of the day.
#3) Nap.
Not the kind where you numb yourself via sleep for hours on end. The simple, short, kind. Allow yourself to recharge your mind and forget for a little bit. Treat your body to a break and then re approach whatever qualms you may have afterwards.
#4) Give your pup some lovin’.
Or cat, or bunny. Whatever animal it is that you own, there’s never a time when they won’t be the ultimate source of happiness for you. It’s basically their job. In fact, studies have shown that the act of petting your dog can release endorphins. There’s something very optimal about an adorable, fluffy being who loves you unconditionally and doesn’t speak.
#5) Run.
You don’t have to be fast. Or even coordinated, for that matter. I am certainly not the latter. However, running is simple as long as you put one foot in front of the other and move. It allows us to zone out, releases happy hormones and built up adrenaline, and provides us the opportunity to, quite literally, run away from all the bad stuff – if only for a little while. I’d give a money back guarantee to anyone willing to try that you will feel better at the end than you did at the start. Not to mention, it’s good for you. So why not do something good when faced with something bad?
#6) Think about the universe.
It’s easy to want to cry when your boss was a superdouche to you – when that’s the spectrum you’re thinking on. But when you think about your boss being one of 7 billion people on Earth, which is one of 8 planets, and the one itty bitty galaxy we live in out of the 100’s of billions of galaxies that exist, and like, black holes and stuff – you get the picture. Space is cool, life is weird. A majority of our issues are small potatoes, invisible specs on the large scale of this life.
#7) Clean.
Sometimes, we harvest restless, anxious energy inwards – causing us to go insane and just generate more stress. Learn to push it outwards for a little by doing a mindless task like cleaning. You’ll be so focused in what you’re doing physically that you can actually take some of your anger and anxiety out, and the outcome is a clean, happy environment. This gives you not only a sense of accomplishment, but the added bonus comes with the fact that in the aftermath, thinking and de-stressing is best done in a cleanly atmosphere. So, que the angry scrub of the bathtub in which you take out your frustration with the world on a sponge.
#8) Read.
Whether it’s a simple article online, your favorite book that you’ve already read a million times, or something brand new. Reading is a universal cure for a very broad range of problems. Reading provides an escape while simultaneously expanding your mind, thus dulling your worries of life’s complications. George Martin once said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” George Martin was correct.
#9) Organize your life.
This goes hand in hand with #7, and it will always remain true that a clean atmosphere is a happy atmosphere. Organization is the key to life; through organizing externally you simultaneously do so internally, cleaning up your messy thoughts. It provides a distraction, allows you to have a sense of attainment, and makes living easier on all sorts of levels.
#10) Dance it off.
Humans very frequently forget that we were made to dance. It’s fun, it’s in our nature. We should be spending at least one song’s worth of time per day moving to good music. With your friends, while brushing your teeth, while making your eggs, in that (now super clean) shower of yours – anywhere. It’s as easy as that. You pick the song, and jam it out. Dance that pain away. Turning into Taylor Swift for 3 minutes and 45 whole seconds can provide a lot more healing than you’d think. So, shake it off. Whatever “it” may be.