7 Things That Will Make You Feel Better When You’re Having A Horrible Day

Call your Mom. No matter what it is that has you upset, pissed off, or downright miserable lying in the fetal position on the floor clutching your favorite stuffed animal, your Mom always knows what to say to make everything seem not so bad. The woman really is a miracle worker, choosing just the right words to dry up your tears instantly. She could be 1,000 miles away and talking to her healed your soul more than your neighbor, dog and best friend combined did. After all, she does know you better than anyone in the entire world and has since become a professional at cleaning up your scrapes and bruises by now. She’ll probably reassure you that you will get through this and everything will be okay. If she believes that than it must be true.

Scream it out. I don’t mean a little scream that might be loud enough to startle your dog, I mean a full-blown enraged yell where your vocal cords rattle at its highest pitch. If you have an overwhelming urge to shout your feelings from the rooftops, go do it. Find a place to be alone and scream your lungs out. Go to a secluded area or sit in your car with the windows rolled up in the parking lot, or even just release a scream into your pillow in your bedroom. Anywhere that will allow you to let it out and make you feel that much better about your crappy day.

Walk outside. Walking in nature could be one of the most relaxing things to do in the universe. If you live near a beach, you have the ultimate therapy right around the corner. Take a stroll around the block by yourself, with a pet, while a podcast plays in your ear, anyway that will relax you and maybe help you forget about when the day turned on you. It may have been when you spilled your first cup of coffee of the day all over your blouse in the car, or when you got ripped apart in your morning meeting for missing an important deadline because you were too overwhelmed with another task that got thrown your way at the last minute. Let it all go and use this time with nature to really pay attention to the beauty that surrounds you. If you are on the beach, listen to the calming sound of the waves crashing against the shore. If you are in the park, notice the couple eating ice cream on the bench or the person reading a book under the tree. They are all doing the same thing as you are: trying to escape the worries of the day. When you arrive back home, your mind may feel a little lighter than when you left.

Blast your favorite song. Turn that volume up. Whether your fancy is the latest romantic ballad from Lewis Capaldi or you need to put Drake on blast, do what your mood needs. Grab your headphones and just zone out to the music, and the lyrics that for some reason make more sense to you in that moment than they ever did. Go for a long car ride while listening to your favorite Spotify playlist, or go for a run and let Nicki Minaj get you in the mood to go that extra mile. Even if today was not a day that made you want to crawl under the covers and shut out the rest of the world, blasting your favorite song would still make the best of days even better.

Put on makeup. First, rummage through your makeup pallet through all the pastel green and aqua blue eyeshadows that have never been touched and choose the color that will make your eyes pop the best. Have fun with it like your face is an empty canvas and you are the painter that is going to transform the melancholy vibe it is projecting. Give it life and have no fear like you are back in your 12-year-old bedroom experimenting with your creative self for the first time. Even if you want to tone it down and go for a more subtle look wary not to mimic 13-year-old at heart, Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30, just applying a coat of red lipstick to your lips will give you the confidence and energy you’ve been lacking all day.

Break something. Punch something. Hit something. Do whatever will make you feel good and allow you to release some anger. Before you go destroying dishes or any valuables you find throughout your apartment that you are surprised you haven’t broken already, sign up for a kickboxing class. Participate in an activity where it is encouraged to punch and kick your hardest at a sandbag or spar with a fellow classmate. Go axe throwing at one of those trendy studios that allows you to literally throw an axe at a wooden board while envisioning your ex-boyfriend’s head as the bullseye. Or in some locations you can pay money to demolish an entire room of breakables with a sledgehammer for an hour – which is probably the most rewarding and fun of all these options. You’ll not only be exhausted afterwards, but you’ll feel liberated and probably excited for the next time you have a bad day to do it again.

Look at old photos. Make a scrapbook highlighting all your favorite girls’ trips with your besties or scroll through your Facebook photos back at your college years when if you didn’t document the moment in a photo, it didn’t really happen. True, this could have the opposite effect and make you feel sadder if you come across a photo of an ex-boyfriend or a crew you lost touch with, so tread lightly when doing this. But, reminiscing on old photos could also make you smile when you see an album from an event you totally forgot about and happened to be one of the most fun nights of your life. Or it could entice you to reach out to your old roommate that you haven’t spoken to since you both handed your keys into your landlord upon moving out. Bringing up the photo would be a good ice breaker! Whether these photos bring up good memories or not-so-great memories, on the worst of days, it’s nice to be reminded that things will get better.