27 Calming Rituals You Should Try When Everything Is Going Poorly

1. Make a bunch of iced tea with fresh mint leaves. Just trust me, fresh mint is worth the splurge.

2. Floss. It’s like a massage for your gums.

3. Organize your bookshelves by color. All color-coded errythang.

4. Cut up a t-shirt. Show that side skin, baby. You know you got those cute bralettes for a reason.

5. Give yourself an at-home DIY facial. Like this one.

6. Watch a comedy special. You know who makes everything better? Hannibal Burress. John Mulaney. Ali Wong. Bo Burnham.

7. Work on your handstands or headstands until you get dizzy and need to lie down.

8. Find a farmer’s market and get your produce for the week there. Eat a piece of fresh fruit every day for a week. And beyond that, try going sugarless for a week.

9. Get rid of all the random shit in your wallet, purse, and on your key ring.

10. Sort through the entire contents of your closet, donate shit, and then go thrifting for things you actually need (instead of just random junk you “want”).

11. Visit an animal shelter. Spend the day among the pups. Try not to adopt them all.

12. Make an old pair of jeans into a new distressed pair of jeans. You’ll need: kitchen scissors, a serrated knife, Google, and a slightly reckless spirit.

13. Take inventory of the entire contents of your fridge, and write down things you can make from your random-ass assortment of foods this week. Look up some recipes, and make yourself a meal plan using what you already have.

14. Find yourself a go-to affirmation, and repeat it to yourself 15 times whenever you commute.

15. Watch a very shitty reality TV show and judge everyone in the cast.

16. Then creep the people on said reality show and gain fashion and makeup insight from their Instagram because, hey, you’re only human.

17. Find new music instead of listening to the same three monotonous playlists you’ve had on repeat. Make a bunch of new playlists that actually excite you.

18. Take a boxing class. Getting aggression out in a productive way? What a novel idea!

19. Talk shit on someone with one of your best friends. Catharsis. Getting aggression out in a not-so-productive way is good too.

20. Stop asking yourself for permission. This isn’t necessarily a calming ritual, but it’s a necessary for keeping it together when everything else feels like it’s going up in smoke.

21. Make a fire and grill on top of it. Or if you don’t have any means of stoking a fire, but you have a grill, maybe go that route. Buy some s’mores fixings and go to town.

22. Watch a YouTube tutorial about learning an instrument that you abandoned once upon a time.

23. Buy a beautiful potted plant or flower for your apartment. Actually water it every day.

24. Do three stretches every morning — the same three stretches. You can even pick three yoga poses. Try a butterfly stretch, child’s pose, cobra pose, or downward dog.

25. Once a day, make a concerted effort to smile. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a smiley person, or you have ~resting bitch face~, just take the time and remind yourself to smile. Coaxing your lips upward really can improve your mood.

26. Write your friend across the country, or across the world. Don’t even tell them you’re writing them, just buy some stationery and stamps and send the letter.

27. Redecorate a wall in your apartment. Paint an accent wall, hang a tapestry, or do a mood board with framed quotes and images.