"You need to learn to let things go."

When people say that, I feel like saying...

"Yeah, but in order to learn something, it needs to be taught to you, you ######6 jackass. So instead of patronizing me, how about some actual advice on how to go about starting to learn to do that?"

Obviously I would have by now if I knew how.

I actually have a poster on my wall that the psych ward gave me that gives you tips on how to do it. Let me give you some of what they say and some of my own personal tips.

Alright, I took my laptop off of my desk and brought it over to my bed. The poster is above my pillow, in case I wake up angry (which has happened before). Right, here we go.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

1. Begin with your facial muscles: Frown for five to ten seconds.
2. Work other facial muscles by tensing them for five to ten seconds and then relaxing them
3. Move onto your jaw and then other muscle groups.

Deep breathing

1. Relax your arms and your shoulders.
2. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and exhale. Repeat
3. Concentrate on your breathing - put aside all your stressful thoughts

Visualization

1. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position
2. Imagine a pleasant, peaceful scene, such as a lush forest or a sandy beach, picture yourself in that setting
3. Focus on the scene for a set amount of time, then gradually return to your other activities.

Other tips

1. Keep a journal (worked wonders for me)
2. Learn to accept what you cannot change.
3. Cope with stress through humor
4. Take care of yourself by eating healthy, getting plenty of rest, and exercise.

That's word for word what the poster says. Now, my personal tips.

1. find that relaxtion food or drink (no alcohol). Mine's Gold Peak Raspberry tea.
2. Find that piece of music that relaxes you. Mine is pretty much any classical music piece.
3. Quotes. Find them and remember them. Happy quotes.


There are a lot of ways you can cope with stress and help with these sort of things. Trying Googling ways to cope.

Best of luck.