Life can get messy often, and everyone has different ways of coping with the stress. Although, there seems to be common trends in things people do when life goes awry. All of which seem to also turn one life crisis into another life crises, so does the madness ever really end? I don’t know, but hopefully the things you shouldn’t do will steer you into the right direction of what would be the most beneficial for you. Some of the things you shouldn’t do during a life crisis are:

1. Dye your hair

This is very common when life seems to be going sideways, we change our hair because we can’t change something else in our life. I don’t know the actual psychology behind it, but I do know that a drastic change in hair color during this crisis will seem great and you’ll probably love it. Then when life is going smooth again, you’re going to hate it. Then you’re going to damage your hair more, and it will just be a never-ending messy cycle.

2. Cut your hair

If you want to hit a double whammy of regrets, you can do number one along with cutting your hair. Cutting your hair is something almost every girl does after a bad breakup, and I know that Miranda in your philosophy class looks really cute with a bob, but how sure are you that you look cute with a bob? Also, do you know how much hair extensions cost? You probably don’t want to know, so you probably shouldn’t cut your hair either. That’s a decision you should spend some time thinking about, and not do in the moment.

3. Max out your credit card

I’ll admit that I’m guilty of retail therapy, but when I buy the same lipstick shade for the third time because life sucks I usually regret it as soon as life doesn’t suck. Maybe breaking the bank works for a little, but maybe saving your money works for a while. I couldn’t tell you, we can all use a little learning to practice what we preach. We could also stop learning our credit card numbers by heart.

4. Quit your job

I get it, your boss is a total douche and makes your life ten times more stressful, but quitting your job in the midst of a life crisis may end in another life crisis. The world revolves around money, and you’re going to need money for basic survival so if you don’t have a job waiting for you or don’t have the financial support — don’t do it. You’ll get through it, and once things are better you can find a new job, and tell your boss to F off.

5. Buy a puppy

I love puppies a lot, and while those sweet little faces, tiny paws scraping against the floor, and their small tongues kissing your face are definitely therapeutic — cleaning up after them and training them is not. Also, puppies are expensive. You really have to think about the time and money you’ll have to put in, because although it will feel nice getting love from them you have to make sure you have the means to love and care for them correctly.

6. Communicating with your ex

I don’t care how “hot” Chad is, he broke your heart a million times already, and for some reason every time your life goes downhill you try communicating with him. Don’t. He doesn’t actually care about your problems, and he’s just going to ghost you again like he did last month when your fish died. It was his loss, and you don’t need Chad. It’s time to be a strong, independent woman. Go buy a new fish alone.

7. Making a big decision

Need to make a big decision? Not today, Satan. You’ve wanted that car for over a year, you were thinking of buying that house, or you’re planning to travel cross country by yourself. Anything that is determining a part of your life or is a big financial decision is something you should wait for when your head isn’t being pulled by all of your emotions.

8. Drinking your problems away

If you want to drink away your problems with water then I say go for it (your liver will thank you too), but drinking on a Tuesday night because you just failed your midterm and are now failing the class will do nothing for you. Going out on the weekends or when you’re not busy is okay, but drinking to fill some void in your life will not fill that void. It will just give you a hangover, and you’ll still be failing your class.

9. Sleeping with other people

Your sex life isn’t any of my business, but have you seen every romantic comedy where the girl goes through a bad breakup, sleeps with some random guy at the bar, wakes up the next morning and is in a total panic, and regrets it all? I have, and I have had friends that asked, “Why did I hook up with him?” the morning after. My advice is that if you don’t have casual sex consistently, then this rough patch is not the time to start.

10. Rebelling against your childhood

When your parents said they would not tolerate any drinking in their house, you probably blew it off and thought, “That’s not unreasonable.” You probably had a few arguments when you wanted friends over, or maybe wanted to celebrate a birthday with a little extra bubbles. During a life crisis is not the time (nor is any time really) to say, “Screw you mom” and down a bottle of wine in front of her. It would probably be funny if it were in a movie, but your life is not a movie and your parents still won’t tolerate it. Don’t make a stupid decision just because everything else is going wrong. Your parents said what they said for a reason.

When the going gets tough sometimes it’s hard to find what is causing so much chaos in your life, and you don’t know how to fix it. It is human to do impulsive things and to make bad decisions, but if you can avoid some of the most regrettable things you might find yourself saving yourself in the long run. One life crisis might end up causing another life crisis, and then your entire life ends up being a crisis. Nobody wants that, so think things through, find a good balance, take deep breaths, don’t text Chad, and everything will be okay.