"I Hope This Helps Someone, Too": People Are Sharing The One Thing They Always Turn To When It Hasn't Been Your Day, Your Week, Your Month, Or Even Your Year

Although the end of the year is a fun one, it can also bring up a lot of different emotions for people — overwhelmed, sad, lonely, and especially stressed. It's been a long year all around, and I know many of us just want to close our eyes, and it is 2025 already. In the meantime, I asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share with me their healthy (and maybe unhealthy) ways of handling this hectic time of year. Here is what they shared:

1."I go for anything that gives me that dopamine hit and distracts me. My usual go-to is watching something funny, having a glass of wine, and then masturbating."

2."When my dog passed, I watched Friends and only Friends for about a month straight. I was so devastated. I usually read when I'm stressed, but I couldn't focus. So I would turn Friends on. Sometimes, I'd pay attention. Sometimes, I would stare without really taking it in. But it gave me my first laugh after. I plan on having Friends on all day tomorrow."

—whygirlsareweird

3."I have a couple of things I use to deal with stress. The first is preventative care. When I know that I'll be dealing with a lot of stress soon, I make extra time to meditate in the morning. Sitting in silence and staring at the floor for 20 minutes while just focusing on clearing my thoughts and breathing really impacts how I feel for the rest of the day. I find myself having more confidence and feeling stronger when I have to deal with difficult things."

"If I've had a stressful day and want to wind down, I usually like absorbing myself in a fictional story — a show, movie, or book. It gets my mind off of the bad day and also feels like a sweet reward at the end of things. Finally, sometimes, I'll pick at my skin if I'm stressed and dealing with it badly. Usually, I find that if I am stressed and don't know how to solve a problem, especially if that problem causes me to lose sleep or time for self-care, I'll mess with my acne."

—Anonymous, 18

4."Making lists. A lot of the stress can come from the fact that everything I need to do is bouncing around in my head, meaning I have to focus on remembering everything and trying to get things done. This way, I can dump some things out of my brain and onto a piece of paper where I can visually see them and put them in order."

5."I've never been one to feel stressed or anxious, but this has changed in the past couple of weeks because of the election, so I turned to weed. I was never a weed person, but it's much better than alcohol, so I didn't wanna use that for coping, so I got into it. Also, calling my parents helps because they always know how to make me feel better about something."

—izzy______

6."Whenever I need to have a stressful phone conversation with someone, I will usually do another activity simultaneously that is calming and relaxing to me. It could be a game on my phone or browsing for something I need. It usually helps the time go in a much more pleasant way and puts me in a better headspace to respond thoughtfully and not angrily."

—Anonymous

7."I drink. A couple of cocktails later, it takes the edge off."

—Anonymous

8."I focus on my breath when I’m out in public. Four beats in, hold for six, out for eight. In through the nose and out through the mouth, it totally works! When I’m home, I journal! I don’t think about grammar, spelling, etc.; I just write down the words coming to mind, and the second I feel better, I stop! Mid-sentence, mid-word, doesn’t matter. I just stop, rip it into a million pieces, and throw it away (or if you like watching things burn, light it up on fire in the sink so you can easily put it out). It helps get the feelings out and into words, and I watch it disappear as I throw it into the garbage. I’ve been doing these to manage my anxiety for the last 10 years. I hope this helps someone, too."

9."When I am stressed or anxious, I pray to God, and it brings me peace."

—famouslion39

10."Coloring apps on my iPad."

—pengispoon81

11."White cheddar Cheez-Its and Gilmore Girls."

12."Watching horror films. Life might be crap, but at least I’m not getting chopped to pieces."

—catieferrarer

13."I usually just hole up in my room and make a small mat/fort on the floor and just chill. I'll watch something or scroll on socials for a couple of hours and be away from people and my family."

—Alissa, 21

14."I watch Twilight, scroll through BuzzFeed’s old 'funny Tumblr' screenshots, and eat loaded nachos."

—Charlotte, 21

15."I've never had a drop of alcohol, never touched a cigarette or any type of drug, but I am a chickie nugget and Coca-Cola fiend. Whenever I'm sad or overwhelmed or just pissed off, I'm getting chicken nuggets and two large Cokes."

16."I typically do skincare and chill with my dogs for about an hour, watch TV, and then go and deal with my problems. If I start feeling stressed again, I watch TV for maybe ten minutes and repeat."

—Anjali, 16

17."A good Korean or Chinese drama calms my soul. I get lost in the sound of the words, and all my stresses wash away. I don’t speak anything but English but I do enjoy watching them. And no one else understands."

—Anonymous, 67

Do you have a self-care tip to share that helps you when you're having a tough day? Tell me about it in the comments below!