Had a Bad Day?

DOS

1) Leave the area!

The first step that you absolutely must do is move to an area clear of all people or pets. Perhaps a long trip to the more desolate stretches of the Lost Desert would do the trick, but the absolute preferred place has got to be the Tiki-Tack shop, located on Mystery Island. Now, are you free of all people? Are your pets safely booked in the Neolodge? Good! Now you can let out a nice, long scream/series of unprintable words without fear of attracting unwanted attention. You should feel just a little bit better now.

2) Go on! Have a cuppa tea!

Now that members of the public are no longer in immediate danger of having piles of dung thrown at them at random, I would advise a trip to the food shop, where you'll be able to buy a nice hot drink, which is terrific for relieving tension. If you miss the restock, or still feel like ripping the head off a Von Roo Plushie, I'd go for the shop wizard instead.

OK, you are probably feeling a lot better compared to a few minutes ago, so congratulations! But the guide is not over yet, and failure to complete all of these steps can often result in catastrophic relapses, possibly of world-destroying magnitude. :P

3) Games

Games can be a good way to relax your mind - but only if you pick the right games to play! You don't want to play a stress-inducing game that means you have to repeat all of these steps again. Try the "zen" mode of Destruct-O-Match, as because you cannot lose, it takes away the source of stress. Or play the game that you're good at (and that preferably doesn't make you bang your head on the keyboard). If you are the type who can become well... a bit angry when you lose a game of Volcano Run or Feed Florg - don't worry, this group of people includes me - it's best to stick to games with a "Zen mode".

4) Distract yourself!

Listening to music or watching a film is a fantastic thing to do while you are stressed. It distracts you from the source of the stress, and gives you time to cool down. So distract yourself - of course, you'll never catch me distracted... *runs outside chasing a Meepit*

5) Retail Therapy

If shopping is something that can de-stress you, then please do buy a few things for yourself, for the sake of Neopia! But stick to buying items for yourself; don't buy them for putting in your shop. Doing this means that if the item does sell out, you'll probably be a lot less stressed about it.

6) Neomail

Neomailing is of course a good way to relieve stress! There's nothing like a good friend to cheer you up when a greedy Kadoatie steals 5000 of your hard earned Neopoints - especially if the same has happened to them! ;-)

Do nots

Until now, I've focused mostly on the "DOS" and less on the "do nots". These "do nots" should be followed if you are already stressed, but can also be applied if you want to avoid stress in the first place. There are only a couple here so it shouldn't be too hard!

1) Neoboards

It's best to stay away from the Neoboards if you are stressed - it's stressful enough on the Neoboards, having to tell all of those n00bs that "Jelly World" doesn't exist (How ridiculous!), without already being stressed out about other things. If you want social contact, neomailing a friend may be a better option as they are more likely to be able to cheer you up.

2) Restocking

We've all been in the situation: you are in your favourite shop, and a restock comes. You hastily scan through the cornucopia of items, and to your surprise, you see an item that could be worth thousands, tens of thousands, millions! You click on it, and get to the haggling screen; you type in the price, and in your haste, you click on the wrong place in the picture. By the time you can correct your mistake, the item is sold out, and you're left with nothing! This alone is enough to infuriate you, so if you are already angry, you're going to have a tough time containing yourself. This piece of advice is only applicable for full out restocks, if it cheers you up to buy the odd item for yourself or your pet, that's fine, but when you're stressed, try to just buy one or two items for yourself and not for your shop. :-)

3) Think negatively

By thinking negatively, you risk getting yourself caught in a downward spiral of frustration - and risk having another item stolen from you by the pant devil! Of course it's difficult to think positively when Sloth sludgifies yet another item of your inventory, but don't let yourself dwell on it! "How on Neopia do you think positively?" I hear you ask. Well, *drum roll* it's as easy as following the steps in this guide!

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to read my guide on Neopian stress relief! Hopefully by now you should be feeling a lot calmer and more relaxed, and this means you'll have a better Neopets experience - who knows, with that positive state of mind you may just find that paint brush you've been saving for, or even get your article accepted into the Neopian Times! ;) So take your Neopets out of the lodge if you haven't done so already, and enjoy the rest of your day!

Acknowledgements: Thank you idyll_wilde for proofreading my work thoroughly! Thank you to batgrl988 for helping me out with the "Retail Therapy" section. (I'd be lost without you. :P) Thank you to selina_ann for helping me with ideas! Thank you coco_cornucopia for helping me out with the title! ^_^