Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Take a break
• Part 2 of 3: Dealing with your emotions
• Part 3 of 3: Picking up the thread again
• Warnings

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, but making a big mistake can be very painful. You may feel angry, ashamed, sad or extremely frustrated afterwards! Regardless of how you feel after making a mistake, it is important that you calm yourself and get your emotions under control so that you can leave this unfortunate moment behind. There are a number of strategies that can help you with this.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Take a break

1. Take a break for a few hours. After it becomes clear that you've screwed up something important, it's wise not to take immediate action. Your emotions are probably running high and it is like having your thoughts on a roller coaster ride. Maybe even your heart rhythm has gone a bit crazy. Avoid making drastic decisions or taking steps right now that you might regret later.
   • You will probably feel that you need to take immediate action to mitigate the damage, but it is wise to resist this urge.
2. Find a quiet, lonely place for yourself. The last thing you'll need is noise, excitement, and unwanted social interaction. For example, go to your bedroom, a private area in the office or a basement and close the door. Consider turning off your phone and turning off your computer. This reduces the risk of taking impulsive, rash actions.
3. Concentrate on your breathing. After you seem to have messed up something important, you probably take short, shallow, and unconscious breaths from your chest. Try to change your breathing. Concentrate on long, deep, and conscious breaths of air from your diaphragm and stomach. In practice, this feels like you are breathing from your stomach instead of your throat.
   • By focusing on deep breathing, you will reduce your stress, lower your heart rate and supply yourself with more oxygen.
   • This breathing technique has been used by humans for thousands of years through yoga and meditation. It has been scientifically proven that you can better control your stress and anxiety with this technique.
4. Organize your thoughts. Don't constantly let your mind wander to the mistake you made. Make sure you are not in your mind preoccupied with the future consequences of your mistake. You need to focus more on the present, your immediate environment and your body. Be aware of your own sound, the temperature and what you smell or feel. You will relax more easily because of this.

Part 2 of 3: Dealing with your emotions

1. Try to express your anger in a calm way. Expressing your anger and rage by yelling, throwing things, or otherwise showing aggression will probably only make you more angry. Instead, try to calm yourself and express your anger in a non-aggressive way.
   • Try to put your anger into words in a journal or call a friend and explain what happened and how you feel about it.
2. Feel free to cry if you feel like it. Crying is a natural process in which stress hormones and toxins leave the body. After you let your tears flow, you may feel a lot more sober about the situation.
   • Remember that crying is not a sign of weakness, but a psychological and biochemical process for every human being.
3. Try to laugh off the situation. Mistakes are often embarrassing, and one of the best ways to deal with them is to laugh off the situation. Make up something funny related to the embarrassing or painful situation and allow yourself to laugh about it.
   • For example, if you messed up a presentation, try to laugh at it by asking yourself (perhaps out loud) how funny it must have looked when you couldn't decide whether to sit or stand.
4. Make a list of points that did not go well and try to provide a solution for each point. List making can be a powerful tool for overcoming anxiety. If you are concerned and anxious about what happened, put into words what you think went wrong on paper. With the help of this list, you may learn to deal with your feelings related to the mistake and you may also be able to develop solutions so that you can put the unwanted situation behind you.
   • For example, if you think you passed a particular exam badly, you can list the questions you had problems with during the exam. Using this list, you may then be able to develop a new learning strategy for the next exam. You may also be able to identify some steps you can take to minimize the effects of the exam on the final grade. Ask your teacher about the possibility of obtaining extra credits.
5. Don't be too hard on yourself. While it is important to recognize that you have made a mistake and learn from it, don't go into self-hatred. Deal with your emotions by recognizing that you are only human. Regardless of the seriousness of the mistake, you have to accept that you have made a mistake and that every person makes mistakes sometimes.
   • Many people find that repeating a certain mantra is a useful way to eliminate negative or hateful messages towards oneself.
   • For example, try repeating the following sentence: “I'm only human. I do my best and I can't do more. ”

Part 3 of 3: Picking up the thread again

1. Put things in perspective. Even if you've made a big mistake, remind yourself that everything is only temporary. You may feel very unhappy at the moment, but this will not be a lasting feeling. Keep reminding yourself that this feeling is temporary and with this in mind you will be able to pick up the thread again.
2. Ask friends or family members for help or support. Blowing up something important has happened to everyone. Perhaps someone you know screwed up worse in the past, and this fact may allow you to put your own problem in perspective. Even if their experiences don't quite match your situation, a conversation can be quite helpful. You can share your story with someone who has been through a similar situation and this can provide some relief.
   • If you are having trouble finding friends or family members who are willing to hear your story, or if you are not getting the responses you want, you might want to consider getting the help of a counselor or therapist.
3. You should apologize if necessary. In some situations, the mistake you made can have unpleasant consequences for others, so you may need to apologize. Do not wait too long with this, it is best to do this as soon as possible. Determine if you have hurt others with your mistake. If so, make sure you can apologize to this person.
   • You could say something like, “I would like to apologize for what I have done. I understand very well that my actions have also had unpleasant consequences for you and I feel very guilty about that. I hope you can forgive me. ”
4. Forgive yourself. Holding a grudge toward your own person won't make it easy to pick up again, so you need to forgive yourself for what happened. Forgiving yourself may not be easy for you, but it will likely get easier over time.
   • Consider writing yourself a letter trying to express that you understand what happened. Imagine you are writing a letter to yourself as a friend and be nice to yourself in the letter.
   • Repeat the words “I forgive myself” a number of times throughout the day. The more you repeat these words, the more you are likely to believe in them.
5. Make a new plan. You may have screwed up "Option X", but remember you have other options. Immerse yourself in the other options, this process can evoke a healthy feeling of tension. Make a list of new opportunities and an action plan for the steps to be taken. Allow yourself to dream about what it would be great to realize the points on your list.
   • Planning for the future is a constructive way to get back on track and may help you to get a better grip on the situation.

Warnings

• Do not seek refuge in alcohol or drugs in response to a mistake you have made. Resorting to alcohol or drugs will not solve your problem and may even make the situation worse.