How To Relax (How To Be Okay)

• Lie down and close your eyes.
• Look at soothing dog pictures.
• Drink something warm.
• Stare at a candle.
• Let yourself feel your feelings.
• Hold a fuzzy toy, pillow, or piece of clothing. Concentrate on how it feels to touch.
• Focus on the present. The past is irrelevant because you can't change it, and the future is irrelevant because you're not there yet.
• Go for a walk and feel the air move around you.
• Remember that you are not the same version of you that existed in every previous moment. You are a composite and a new, different you.
• Remember that all the things that make you feel awed exist. Sunsets and Scandinavian pottery and Space Raiders.
• Imagine yourself as a body of water or a beam of light.
• Gather a smell you're really fond of if you can (I like lavender or cinnamon).
• Scribble or doodle something. It gives your hands a mindless thing to do, which can be calming.
• Listen to rain or fireplace or thunderstorm sounds.
• Build a blanket fort.
• Take a bath or shower just for the sake of it. Let the water warm you. You can use nice smelling things or candles.
• Tidy or clean something.
• Feed yourself, clean yourself, and generally look after yourself. Make yourself do it.
• Write a journal entry. Get all your feelings out. Don't hesitate or think about what you're writing, just write.