Real Strategies to Help You Calm Down

You know what never helps me to calm down? When someone says, “Don’t get so upset,” or “It’s not as bad as you think,” or the worst: “Calm down!” In fact, telling me to calm down when I’m not feeling calm feels dismissive; it almost always irritates me a little. We can’t calm down on command as if we aren’t having real feelings.

I realize that when people tell us to “calm down” it’s usually because they don’t want to see us suffer. They want the best for us. Even still, finding our own ways to self-soothe is always more effective.