We’ve all been there. You drag yourself home after class, chuck your book bag on your messy floor, and fall face first on your unmade bed. You want to scream, but you’re too tired. You want to sleep, but you’re too stressed. You want clarity, yet somehow overthinking doesn’t help. Basically, you feel completely and utterly trapped by your own repetitive, dumb actions. I know the feeling, and it doesn’t feel too spectacular.
So here are a couple of ways I relax after a particularly crummy day:
1. Clean Up
I’m not really sure if I believe it, but it kind of goes with my point so (What the heck) I’ll include it. I had a friend in high school who always insisted “a messy room equals a messy mind.” To be honest, I’m don’t know if that’s true. However, what is true is that I feel a whole lot better after finally doing the dishes. And to answer the question that I know you’re asking, I’m not crazy. I don’t break out into spontaneous cartwheels after I’ve scrubbed and rinsed a pile of plates. I feel better because I know I’ve accomplished something. The point is, sometimes we all feel so, so overwhelmed. There’ll be so much to do and seemingly nowhere to start. So if you’ve ever been there, I’ll offer a piece of advice. Start by cleaning.
2. Take a Shower
I freaking love hot water. Even if my skin was being burned off, I’d still crank the temperature knob. Second, showers are the secret weapons that seem to vanquish terrible days. Showers simply wash them away. Still, it’s a little tricky. It can – cue horror music – trigger thinking. It’s like what happens when you’re trying to fall asleep. You’re cuddling a pillow. You’re wrapped up in a blanket burrito. You’re slipping into the sweet surrender of a good dream. Then all of the sudden your eyes shoot open and you wanna slap yourself. Hard. Unfortunately, you just remembered something unbearably awkward you did when you were thirteen and trying to impress a guy named Jake. Showers have the same unnatural effect. While it may be painful, sometimes we need to do a little thinking. Sometimes we need to be more real with ourselves. Either way, a clean, fresh face is more refreshing than you think.
3. Watch Some Netflix
There are many, many, many things that I do to waste my time. Being a college student, watching Netflix is clearly at the top of that list. However, I’ll be the first to admit that while Netflix may act like it’s got your back, it doesn’t. It’ll be nine at night and you have two exams in the morning. Let me be clear. I am not saying to binge-watch Netflix instead of studying. Definitely not. However, I am saying that Netflix is a different kind of medicine for a different kind of hurt. Netflix is for distraction. It’s a little ole thing called escapism. It’s when you wanna be anywhere except where you are right now. Whether you’re a fight with someone important to you (who’s annoyingly good at arguing) or just upset because someone is breathing way, way too loud. If that’s you, I have some good news: Netflix can help with that. The sound of Parks and Recreation is pretty good at drowning out the sound of heavy breathing.
4. Eat Your Favorite Food
Real talk, food usually always makes me feel better. This is probably not the right logic, but low key, after messing up pretty darn hard, I let myself eat whatever I want. Not because I deserve it, but because there’s such a thing as tomorrow. Meaning, I encourage you to treat yourself to Happy China, watch way too much Brooklyn 99 and then go to bed. When you wake up your problems might still be waiting, but, at the very least, maybe your anxiety is a bit more at bay because of those delicious spring rolls you just ate.
5. Lean On Your Friends
Sometimes what you need is a good distraction. I have amazing, highly competent friends. At the same time, these friends occasionally act like total ding-dongs (It’s why I love them). That’s friendship. You find people as weird as you. You don’t even need to talk. You don’t even have to tell them why you’re upset. Just let their goofiness make you smile. Just laugh and be grateful for those who have your back.
6. Talk it Out and Cry
Like I explained earlier, depending on the crappy day you’ve had, sometimes you need to laugh it out. I’m not talking about that dainty giggle you force in front of that cute guy in your recitation. I’m talking about that ugly laugh we all hide that ends in snot coming out of our noses. In the same way, and sometimes just as snot-filled, sometimes you need to cry. Recently, I didn’t do too well on an exam. My inner perfectionist was furious with me. To be honest, I was furious with me. There was a weird tension between the little voice in my head urging me desperately to do better and my thoughts which insisted that everything’s going to be okay. I was really, really upset with myself. Later on, I ended up calling my best friend. I didn’t even intend to tell her how I was feeling. It just came out. Then I cried. I cried like a lunatic at nine o’clock at night, in front of the Wiley Dining Court. And that’s when I realized something. Sometimes we really do need to talk it out. We’re so blinded by our emotions that we can’t even see the solution in front of us. We’re living under a veil and we don’t even know it. Maybe all we need to do is call a friend and ask her to lift it.
7. Create a Game Plan
Even I can’t mess up the magic behind planning. Yes, you can cry. Yes, you can eat (I definitely know I can eat). And it’s true. Most of the time, you’ll usually feel better. But sometimes what we need the most is action. Instead of basking in the feels, grab a paper and pencil. Personally, I like to journal. The first thing I do is organize my thoughts. If you’re like me, you have the hardest time defining your emotions. I could tell you countless times where I could articulate others’ feelings better than my own. So take some time. Figure out what you want to say. Try to understand what’s going on. It’ll help you distinguish the facts from the petty moments in life that you need to trash.
In the end, just remember that you’re not alone. We’ve all been through it. We’ve all gotten a cry-worthy haircut. We’ve all somehow dug ourselves into a social hole that we can’t seem to get out of. We’ve all had friends, family, and strangers wonder if we’ve hiked an inch too close to the border of crazy-town. Still, we get back up. We brush the dirt off our shoulders and move on. We try harder than before and succeed like no other. We got this.