Put your hand on your belly. You should feel your stomach expand as you breathe in. This is called diaphragmatic breathing, and it helps you calm down.
Talk to someone you trust. It can be difficult to say you’re having a hard time if you’re worried the person will judge you or make fun of you. Find a trusted friend, family member, teacher, or counselor to share your thoughts with.
Tell the people you’re with what you’re doing, if you’d like. You can say something such as “I need to take a break right now. I’ll be back in five minutes. "
Notice what’s going on in your body. For example, anger may make you frown, feel red or hot, or make your muscles feel tense. Sadness can make you feel “down” or “slow. "
Instead, try being accepting of yourself. For example, if you feel angry, tell yourself, “I feel angry right now. That’s a natural emotion. It’s okay to feel that way, but I can control my response to that feeling. I don’t have to cry. "
For example, if someone has made fun of your new haircut, it would be natural to feel angry or hurt. Try reminding yourself that others’ opinions of you don’t matter; what matters is how you feel about yourself. You could say, “I feel hurt that my friend made fun of my haircut, but I like it. I don’t have to feel bad that someone else doesn’t like it. " Tell yourself nice things in the mirror every morning. This will help build up your self-confidence, which can help you keep those tears in check. You’re strong and smart, and you can do this!
The best way to say “no” is to just keep it simple. That is, don’t offer explanations, just say “No, I’m sorry, I can’t do that. " You don’t have to justify why you don’t have the time to commit to something. [4] X Research source You don’t have to say no all the way. For instance, if someone asks you to bake cupcakes for a bake sale, you could say that you don’t have the time to bake them, but you would be willing to buy some if that was acceptable. [5] X Research source
If you don’t know where to begin, ask yourself what moments you enjoyed and what moments you didn’t enjoy in your day. Look at what emotions contributed to each situation.
For instance, one type of meditation involves repeating a mantra over and over. A mantra is a short word or phrase that helps focus the mind, such as “om. " However, your mantra can be whatever you want. Concentrate on letting your thoughts go, concentrating on repeating that phrase over and over. [8] X Research source
It may be hard to get the words out, but the words don’t need to be anything special. All you have to say is, “What you [did or said] hurt me, and I would appreciate it if you don’t do it again. “[12] X Research source
Someone uses his or her power over you to control or hurt you. For example, a much larger kid at school pushes you around, or someone uses personal information about you to get you to do things you don’t want to do. A bully might also isolate you from friends or keep you from getting to do things at school. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social. Physical bullying includes things like hitting, pushing, and tripping. Verbal bullying includes things like teasing and name-calling. Social bullying includes things like leaving you out of things, telling other kids not to be friends with you, and intentionally embarrassing you. [15] X Trustworthy Source StopBullying. gov Website run by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services providing information related to identifying and preventing bullying Go to source If these things happen to you on a regular basis, you may be being bullied. Talk to a trusted parent, teacher, or counselor for help. Don’t try to confront the bully yourself; you could put yourself in danger. Even your “friends” can bully you. Good friends will be kind and supportive. Teasing will be playful, not malicious, and real friends will stop teasing if you ask them to. If you generally feel bad when hanging out with your friends, it may be a sign that they aren’t really your friends.
You might also be more anxious in general and find yourself getting angry at people more easily. [17] X Research source You could also have physical symptoms, such as not being able to sleep well, having headaches, feeling extra tired, and being more susceptible to sickness. [18] X Research source
If you feel like you cry too much and you have other symptoms for long periods of time, talk to a doctor about it. Symptoms that could be more serious include pervasive anxiety, constantly feeling afraid or like something bad is going to happen, feeling detached from life, feeling continually sad, or always feeling bad about yourself. [22] X Trustworthy Source National Health Service (UK) Public healthcare system of the UK Go to source
