Your emotions should never be something that you bottle up and decide to never open back up. Dear lord, that causes so much more damage than just letting it out! All of that pressure just within you will eventually burst. Whether you’re alone or not, it doesn’t matter! Listen to me when I say this: Release. Your. Emotions.
I remember when, as a kid, I bottled up my emotions and thought that everything was cool. Then one day, I just blew up. And even as a kid, I realized that this is something that I shouldn’t do. This isn’t how I should handle emotions if it leads me to blowing up. Luckily, nothing drastic happened. But, that day was a very valuable lesson that I’m grateful I learned at a young age. Hopefully, you can learn from my years of trial and error of the ways I keep calm and carry on!
#1 – Take a walk!
There’s something so nice being around nature. I mean, minus the mosquitos and the HOT sun. But, if you time your walk right, then you’ll be good. There’s something relaxing when it comes to being able to listen to the birds conversing with each other. They’re singing their songs as you’re adventuring through a small part of the world. Then, you’re getting Vitamin D by the sun, which we love.
I don’t know if I can put into words why it’s so relaxing to be out in nature and take a walk, but it IS! Walking peacefully and enjoying your music or just the music of nature is so relaxing. You can be distracted by the joys of nature. Squirrels, just make sure that you’re not walking your dog, different birds, and even other people.
I know that for me, I like to imagine what that person’s life is, what they’re going through that day, and what they’re thinking. People watching can be fun! And, sometimes, it’s just nice to be in your own thoughts and be at peace. Whenever I walk, I like to walk at least 2 miles. And some of you may be thinking 2 MILES. But, hey, walking is excellent cardio as well. So, as I’m decluttering my mind, people watching, bird watching, I am also getting my steps in and getting some cardio.
#2 – Journal! Mindlessly write!
I was that person where, every year, I would say that I would journal. I would journal for 3 days, maybe, and then months would go by where those blank pages remained blank. Then, this year, 2025, I decided that I would ACTUALLY start writing. It wasn’t until July, yes, I know, before I started to write every single day. At first, it felt a little bit weird to write down my feelings and thoughts. I would think of those TV shows and movies where someone would “stumble” upon someone’s diary or journal and just straight up invade their privacy.
But, I realized that this is for me. As I started to get more used to writing, it felt much more relaxing to just write down everything. I would do updates throughout the day that I didn’t want to forget. And, sometimes, I would randomly flip through the earlier pages and see the progress of a situation that I thought was never ending! It was so surreal to see my thought process in one month and see it drastically change the following month.
There are some things that you want to keep to yourself, but you need to release it in some way. If you’re not that much of a nature person, then I would recommend journaling. I would recommend that you TRY to journal once every single day for a month straight. Then, you can journal however many times you want. And, trust me, it doesn’t take as much time as you think.
I would wonder how much time I would waste just thinking about what to write, but honestly, it really didn’t take that much time. I would set a timer for one hour where I don’t look at my phone. During that time, I would exercise, read, meditate, play a card game (like solitaire), and then journal. And during that one hour, I would be able to journal for at least 15-20 minutes. It’s truly something that, once it’s in your routine, it doesn’t take THAT much time.
#3 – Deep breathing exercises (MEDITATE)
You may wonder how the heck meditating can help you release your emotions. I’ll get a little sciency on you guys and explain why I believe this is very good for you, especially emotion regulation. When it comes to your brain, there’s a part of it that has a primary role in emotion regulation and is a processing center for emotions: the amygdala. When it comes to deep breathing and focusing on your breathwork, it’s been shown in studies that deep breathing reduces emotional responses in the amygdala.
You know what else it does? It also decreases the over-activation of the amygdala. And please know that this isn’t something that is a one-time fix. This is something that I believe should be implemented into your life whenever you’re feeling stressed OUT! I know that, for me, I have noticed that I have been able to calm myself down much faster once I start doing some deep breaths.
And what’s even better is meditation. Now, I’ll admit… I’ve been slacking on my meditation. But, I’m forcing myself to get back into it, and I know that it benefits me so much. Whenever I finish meditating, I feel so calm. It feels like the world is serene, peaceful, and my mind feels like a still, tranquil lake. And that’s so much of an improvement, because before, it was a lake that was being disrupted by rain.
#4 – Dive into your creative endeavors
I feel as if there’s some creative activity that everyone loves to do in their free time. It could be writing, drawing, singing, dancing, knitting, crocheting, etc. I’ll admit, I lost a couple of my activities during middle school. And those 3 years were a bit rough, but, nevertheless, we made it through! But then in high school, I brought back most of the activities that I loved to do in elementary school. I even added some activities as well!
And, honestly, those activities helped me throughout those 4 years of high school and my 4 years of college. I got back into my drawing, singing, dancing, and I started writing! Now, whenever I feel as if I want to express myself and my emotions creatively, I’ll just go and write out how I’m feeling. If not that, I’ll sing some songs that boost my mood. If not that, I’ll sing AND dance. I’ll get my boogie on. And I feel so much better afterwards.
And your creative endeavors don’t have to be mine either. I know, for my dad, that he likes to cook and bake whenever he’s feeling a bit stressed. And I wasn’t complaining either, because that meant that I could have all the best food and pastries. Who would complain?! Then, for my mom, she likes to garden. And she’s created a whole botanical garden. People compliment her flowers so much, and I know that those words mean so much.
So, figure out what your creative endeavor is and just throw yourself into it. Because, when you do that, it forces you to stop thinking about whatever is rumbling in your mind. And it might take some time for that thought to eventually blow out its steam, but it does.
#5 – Talk to your friends, family, therapist, etc.
I mean, humans are social creatures. I know that there are some topics that I feel unequipped to handle by myself. And, I want to say that I’m lucky to have family, friends, and a therapist that I can talk to unbiasedly. If you have the same privilege, then I advise that you use that! It feels so nice to let out your emotions to someone who you trust and know that they are there for you. Whether they’re there to be a listening ear, a hug to ease your emotions, a harsh reality checker, an advisor to get you on the right track, etc.
I’m lucky enough where I can talk to my parents about topics that some people would believe to be embarrassing. But, I know that I have a close relationship with my parents and I’m not embarrassed about that. I mean, what am I going to say? “Oh my god, I have a great relationship with my parents! What am I going to do!?” Come on. I’m extremely grateful, if you can’t tell, that I have this relationship with my parents. I mean, I knew friends that didn’t tell their parents ANYTHING. Their parents were clueless to what their child was going through, and how much they needed help. But, for reasons unknown to me, they wouldn’t tell them.
And, I couldn’t really judge either. I was that person at a point in my life. Luckily, circumstances occurred that allowed me to grow and nurture that relationship to be where it is now. If I don’t want to talk to my parents or siblings about what I’m going through, then I know that I have an amazing friend group that knows me and will lend me their listening ears. And, if anything, I have a therapist on dial that I can contact as well.
Releasing our emotions should be something that’s a normal thing. Don’t encourage people to hold it in and be strong. You know what’s strong? A strong person releases their emotions and allows themself to be vulnerable.
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