So I've been dealing with a rather... stupid situation lately. I'm dealing with a person who is immature, self-obsessed, and has on more than one occasion shown sociopathic tendencies. They are attempting to bully me, and get under my skin, and I am trying very hard not to react. I've tried counting backwards from 10 and keeping my breathing slow and deep, but sometimes that just is not enough.

So, how do you stay calm?

hmmm well for me playing with my dog helps. or listening to metal. I love metal and screaming along to the music tends to help lol... but i would try working out or something. you can use up alot of energy. or a bubble bath! :D

Wow, what an idiot. I can't stand people like that. I've had a couple in my lifetime as well. You just can't let it get to you, and try to ignore it by keeping yourself occupied. That and cut contact with the person/people. That always helps. I try to keep as much drama out of my life as possible. Cut the ties.

It's hard to cut ties with them when I live with them... :XD

I deal with it by being civil in front of everyone, and just ignoring him the rest of the time.

The way I deal with crappy things in life...is getting online or reading a book...or anything else that gets me busy and helps me to get my mind off of everything. My brain can be like a vcr sometimes rewinding and playing moments over and over. I am constantly thinking about things...even more so when something bothers me though. So doing something with myself keeps me busy and helps me put things away. Even if it is only for a little while. ^_^

That sucks big time. For me I try to breathe in for eight seconds, hold it, then slowly breathe it out. However, if I don't want to do that or it doesn't work, my number one resource is always music. I go to my room or put my iPod in and turn it up as loud as possible. I listen to whatever I'm in the mood for, space out, and just forget everything. It seriously works, even if you're in a crowded place. I also go on the Internet, read a book, or just go for a walk. I have to keep preoccupied though and I have to hear noise, otherwise I can't drown out my thoughts. If you ever feel like you're going to punch the person, just go outside and punch a tree (this can have bad consequences though, trees are very short-tempered) or punch a pillow inside. Bury your head in the pillow and scream if needed. Sometimes it's good to let everything out and not keep it all bottled up.

By singing. :3

They're coming to take me away is one of my favorites to sing, gets people to leave you alone real quick when you sound creepier then they are and rather serious.

Blargh. I know it's terrible, but when I get stressed out, I smoke or drink.
When neither option is available, though, getting away from the people causing the stress & listening to music helps me out.

I'm with ya' there. I have a VERY hard time staying calm when it comes to other people. Especially the bratty little girls that think their all that because their hair stays straight (I'm not reffering to all people with straight hair, I'm sure most of you are lovely =3). I stay calm, honestly, by ranting to a nearby friend about it. If you havn't done this, I hope it helps!

When the situation is happening, I try my best to ignore it. But now, I love to mind fuck people 8D, I'll say something that makes THEM feel like shit if they are the ones bullying me. And the funny thing is, I can say it with a straight face and then smile at the end. And the person will just stand there speechless owo

But if it's something that I got away from, and I didn't do anything. I'll usually go listen to music, draw, or read. Mainly draw, seeing as I can draw my emotions in a way that leaves people confused. I can be totally pissed off, and draw something happy, and vice versa. I'm a very weird person 8D

I usually can't! I have a bad temper, and it gets destructive. I broke my bed once (I don't know how!), and my mirror, and ripped some clothes (etc...). I wish I had something that helped, but nothing really seems to work.
I know this sounds stupid, but when I was bullied at school, my number one weapon was any authority figure. If it gets worse, or to a dangerous level, maybe you should make sure that someone else sees it happening? I know things aren't as simple as primary school anymore, but maybe it's worth a try? ^^;

Hmm... I think I either talk to my fiance (if I need to vent then rationalize everything or visa versa) and videogames help too... or mene =3 friendly people are calming

@ Melon - wow... o.o I have a very hard to get temper... very few get my blood boiling... and only 1 has actually felt my temper... >.>" luckily they missed the stairs...

hmmmmm to stay calm.......depends where sora is
if sora's at a place where there's tv or internet or something, then sora will watch a comedy or an anime and feel better
if sora is with someone, sora will keep it in and try not to get a headache.........mehbeh concentrate on something else XP

i pray to god. i think thats my only way, and it always works for me though.

Wow. That's really extreme.
I calm myself by..
Drawing. I draw people who bullied me and there's a knife sticking up their heads. D:<
and pinching myself.

I always find the best ways to stay calm is do some sort of activity, usually physical like working out, to get my mind off of the thing/person that is trying my temper. I was always known in school for keeping my cool, though I was almost always running up and down the stairs on my spares just to keep from beating the crap out of some of the idiots who tried my patience.

It's hard for me to keep calm because I have a horrible temper but I work hard at it because when I'm angry, I say a lot of hurtful things that could wreck relationships/friendships. Usually, I just blank out my mind so I'm free of all emotion. When my mind's blank, it keeps away the anger but if I start thinking of anything, it somehow leads back to what made me angry in the first place, so I have to try really hard to keep it blank for a while.

I also tend to stay away from people, if possible, because although I've never struck anyone or anything when I'm angry, it's one of the first things that jumps into my mind and I'll usually just fold my arms to prevent me from acting on my frustrations.

I just go to my happy place......XD

Have you tried just walking away from the situation. I know that's hard, but trust me, if you can do it, it works wonders. Leaving the situation and going somewhere that makes you feel safe or comfortable always helps you deal with the things that are going on around you better.

I usually try to walk away from it and find a place where I can listen to some good music or read something before I go back and try to deal with it.

I guess you could call it going to your happy place, even though that sounds really strange.

I work on my pc and try to do things right away that my mind tells me to do when I first think of it and hold a kitty to calm down. At times I try to listen to music on my pc to help be calm. I have OCD so at times when I am upset, or all the time, I have to reclean myself to make myself calmer and that helps relieve some of the stress that I have. Mostly I clean myself, breath deeply and work on my pc and try to ingore what is going on.

If something is upsetting me, I deal with it by singing. Or I do other things such as read, write...watch a movie of every now and then I find a friend or two to get together with and just chill out for a while. :)

Take slow, even breaths, sit down, and try to cool myself off. I have a fan in my room that's on constantly. Cold air makes me more mentally comfortable.

advice for OP: look at things from their point of view, or put yourself in their shoes.. why are they lashing out at you this way?
my conclusion would be that they are severely insecure and are wanting to bring you down to their pit of self loathing.
just laugh it off and don't let that person make you miserable as well.

and that is what i do to remain calm. in any situation i look at the direct opposite. and if the opposite is a good alternative i strive for it. if it is negative i count myself blessed to be where i am. that usually relaxes me.

Music, music, and more MUSIC :3 lol, that usually calms me down XD whenever I get pissed, my back muscles tense up and then I get cramps and hurt every single time I move XP the pain sometimes eases my anger, but then again when I get pissed enough that my back muscles start cramping, I tend to be to tired to do anything other than physical labor so that I can work off my anger....slowly....like, helping lift tables, moving stacks of chairs, carrying heavy stuff, those types of things :d

But then again, if something causes me to cry, it tends to wash all of the anger away XD and once I start crying I have a hard time stopping though :d Also, patience and anger control are "learned" so you have to learn how to calm down when you're pissed as hell - or at least somehow control your anger :d

The only way I know how to stay calm is to smoke a cigarette. :/