Today, readers pass on lessons they've learned the hard way, from keeping a journal, to laughing at themselves, to getting off the couch.

NICK: I look funny when I run, but I've learned to laugh at myself. People are going to laugh at me whether I like it or not, and I'm much happier if I laugh with them. If I were on a date and the situation called for running and my date didn't laugh at me, I'd seriously worry that she was too politically correct or too humorless to see something obviously funny right in front of her. If I'm too sensitive about my funny run to not laugh along, then I have to wonder whether I'm ready to date.

I've also learned that exercise helps me move forward in life. I do step aerobics and kickboxing four times a week. Exercise boosts my mood, helps my weight regulation and gives me extra energy, confidence and stamina in my dating life. Heck, it even helps reduce the sleep problems that held me back at work, so it has boosted my career. Exercise has improved my life. Being sensitive about people laughing at me has never added anything to it.

ALLY: Learning to deal with my anger has made my life calmer. The first step was realizing that anger was my reaction to other people not living up to my expectations. Then I had to identify who I was angry with. Was it the other person, or was I angry with myself for having those expectations?

If I was angry with the other person, I had to identify whether my expectations were justified. If they weren't, I could drop them or change them, and that would help prevent me from getting angry in the future. If the expectations were justified, I could ask the other person to meet them. Either they would or wouldn't. If not, I could accept that although my anger was justified, the person wouldn't change and I couldn't make them.

These few steps have cut down the amount of time I spend being angry by about 90 percent and taken almost all of the anger-related stress out of my life.

BILL: I've been practicing law for 23 years and repeatedly seen the impact that stress, fear and depression have on people.

My first and best piece of advice is to journal. There is something extremely therapeutic about the act of writing in a diary or a journal each and every day. Doctors are finding out just how helpful it can be with post-surgical patients or those with chronic or even deadly diseases. No one knows why, but it works.

My second piece of advice is to get help. There's professional help, and there are things like clubs for the newly divorced, church groups and hobby clubs. Any one of these will get you out of the house and into the public.

Regular interaction with other people makes one heal faster than almost anything else. Humans are social creatures, and frankly, when we're depressed or under stress, we think we lack the energy to go out and talk to others. Yet, once out there, you begin to see the world in a slightly better light.

What advice have you learned the hard way? Send it, along with your questions and problems to cheryllavinrapp@gmail.com. And check out my e-book, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front."