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Corbis

Corbis

Life can be stressful. And sometimes it puts us in a place where anger is hard to shake. At first, it’s easy to point the finger at who or what sent you into “I just can’t today” territory. But when the stress won’t let up, soon everything sends you from 0 to 100.

Thankfully, when life hands you salty lemons there are things that you can do about it. Stick to these techniques and you will not only find a way to relax, but even help take the power away from what’s disturbing your peace.

Image Source: Shutterstock

Image Source: Shutterstock

Breathe Deeply

Slow breaths in and out can calm any situation down long enough for you to take a step back before you say or do something you will regret. Just breathe with this gif for a minute or so and you will feel those tense feelings slip away.

Image Source: Shutterstock

Image Source: Shutterstock

Try Not to Turn up the Heat

When you have to tell someone why you’re mad, try saying, “It makes me upset when ___. How can we find a solution so we don’t have this tension?” Doing so instead of directly pointing fingers goes over much better. It sounds corny, but telling other people why you’re mad instead of why they’re wrong is the best way to get your feelings across without starting a fight (and make them more likely to address the problem).

Image Source: Shutterstock

Image Source: Shutterstock

Practice Forgiveness

For you, not for them. Every time thinking about the situation makes you upset, remind yourself that you’re not going to let it affect you. Work on letting it go, even if you have to literally repeat “I won’t let their actions affect me” until what they did loses its power over you.