Michael McClellon
The Positive Psychological Effects of Destroying a Bookshelf

There are many strategies of coping with mental stress that can prove to be effective at alleviating one’s emotions. Some involve breathing exercises and meditation; others involve seeking therapy, and others simply involve talking to close ones about your problems. These methods should be considered and can be vital to stabilizing your anger, sadness, and other struggles.
But what if you don’t want stability? What if you’re just tired of every single pain the neck that has surmounted themselves over your burdened shoulders? In cases like these, one of the best coping methods is just absolutely destroying a bookshelf. This method of dealing with stress has long been overlooked by conventional therapy and it outright deserves much more recognition. Not only does it allow you to transpose your anger on something as stagnant as a bookshelf, but it also gives you the added confidence of now being able to demolish all your stresses that have absolutely no business constantly invading your own happiness.
It all starts when you realize you forgot to do that ridiculously pointless assignment on a Monday morning and all you can taste is bitterness and failure in the air. This feeling intensifies when you remember about the other assignment that you also forgot to do for the same day. You then float by the first two periods in school and then take the test you’ve been studying for endlessly. It seemingly goes very well, and your teacher that never grades things actually runs the scantrons that same day. This moment of levity is then quashed by the single digit number that reads at the top of the scantron when you get it back. Your day ends with coming home, accidently falling asleep, and then waking up realizing that you’ve just academically screwed yourself.
Now, these issues can definitely be coped with by applying the therapeutic methods mentioned above, but you also need something new. Something that is fun, physically demanding yet not strenuous, and extremely satisfying. What you need is a bookshelf.
There are numerous benefits to destroying a bookshelf. Let’s focus on the physical benefits first. Destroying a bookshelf provides a great cardio workout to the body, and the added joy of smashing the wooden boards together leaves you motivated to continue doing so. This proves to be excellent for heart health and allows you to exercise without even leaving the house. However, it should be stressed that necessary precautions should be taken to avoid hurting yourself in the process. You can wear oven mitts and knee pads to stay unscathed. This activity could result in minor bumps and bruises at the very worst, however the adrenaline pumping through your body will be enough to counteract this pain for the small amount of time that it has to sustain itself.
Destroying a bookshelf is immensely good for your mental health. Everyone dealing with stress is yearning to aggressively release it in ways deemed “freaky” by society. In reality, society is the freak that you’ve just been too nice to realize. However, most of these methods of angrily releasing that stress involve other people, such as splashing water in that annoying student’s face, or pulling the chair of that pretentiously critical customer away right before they sit down. You know what won’t punch back or get your fired after physically assaulting? That’s right, the tall, simple collection of wood that’s unable to speak for itself known as a bookshelf. The sheer direct deviation from our mundane world produces intense satisfaction and gaiety and it allows you to express anger without hurting anyone else. Building up anger or sadness for too long can make you progressively more defeated and lost. Think of it like purposely holding in a sneeze that would have felt great just letting happen. Releasing these emotions without any repercussions can put you in a positive environment where you now know that your stress is behind you, and that you’re better equipped to deal with obstacles in front of you.
If you don’t have a bookshelf or don’t feel like destroying the one you already have, then you can easily buy one online for a low price. Just make sure it’s an extra ugly one so you can feel even better destroying it. You can also do it someplace outside to avoid damaging the rest of your home. Don’t worry if someone sees you. Just simply wave and then continue what you were doing. That person will now be blessed with the same idea that freed you from emotional entanglement. Additional things you can do while going about this process include listening to music or screaming. This may dilute the delightful noise of smashing the bookshelf, but whatever is better for you should be done.
You will never be able to do the amazing things you do everyday without going through stress, and I hope this solid piece of advice is enough to skyrocket your confidence and leave you feeling invincible. Life is hard. You mess up. So, for once, forget about it and destroy a bookshelf.