Just Relax.

I know, I sound like I'm commanding you to do something that's really hard to do. Trust me, I KNOW how hard relaxing is. And how frustrating it is when people tell me that. Trust. Me. I couldn't "just relax" if you paid me a million dollars. And if we're getting personal, the past two weeks for me have been the epitome of stressful. I almost felt like God was laugh at me from above.

Yep, that bad.

In a nutshell: got broken up with, my anxiety about school shot through the roof, I spent two days in a car, moved my sister into college, hopped on a plane to get back up north to move my self back in, got my connecting flight canceled, met a random stranger in Philly, drove back to school with him for classes Monday, and got my car towed.

I couldn't have planned all of that happening in a row if I tried. What a time to be alive.

Now, you may have stopped reading this piece because you think I'm going to grumble the entire time. Psych! I'm actually not here to complain about being down on my luck, I'm here to share what these weeks from hell have taught me:

Just relaxing is the best thing for you.

Sometimes, life just gets in the way, and you gotta roll with the punches, or get rolled over. Just relaxing and going with the flow is the only thing that can keep a person sane in times like I experienced. I could have had a complete and total mental breakdown in the middle of the airport when I was running on next - to - no sleep, hadn't eaten since the morning I left Florida, and I got the notification that my flight was canceled. I could have.

But, I didn't.

Honestly, I don't know what came over me, but for the first time in my life-- I didn't completely lose my shit when I had the perfect opportunity to. I just relaxed. (Actually, to be perfectly honest, I think I was so mentally and emotionally fried, and so sleep deprived, I couldn't process anything else...) And it showed me that how dramatic I can be.

Screaming and yelling and crying may make you feel better, but it sure will not solve the problem at hand. So, why do it? Why not just take that five second breather and make the situation work for you?

High stress situations put us to the test. They force us to think on our feet. Relaxing in times of high stress brings clarity; clarity of the situation, clarity of all the viable options-- it separates what's actually happening from what you think is happening. This is utterly important to remember, as what you think is happening may just be in your head. Like, when you were freaking out that one time and you thought you had terrible sweat stains, and everyone saw them-- relaxing would have showed you that even if you did have those sweat stains, some deodorant and creativity in the bathroom would have solved your problems.

Freaking out about everything makes a totally solvable situation a 1,000 piece puzzle that needs to be completed in 5 minutes. Taking a few deep breaths, assessing the situation, and doing what's best for you in that moment not only brings your stress levels down, it shows you that you can handle anything.

You are a strong, independent person that can handle everything that's thrown your way. Sure, life can get ridiculously crazy, but it's nothing you can't handle. It wouldn't have happened to you if you couldn't handle it. Ever think of that?

Maybe life needs to throw everything in your face, and make you feel like you have totally lost your marbles to show you that you didn't. Maybe life is taking the negatives out to show you the positives you have. Heck, maybe life just wants to keep you on your toes!

All I know is relaxing solves problems. Crying doesn't. It's up to you to choose which one you want to do.