If you’ve followed me for a while you probably know that anxiety is a big part of my life, and after talking with a lot of you I’ve learned that I’m not the only one! I’ve spoken about my anxiety before (more on that here) and while there are certain things I do to help myself get through it, I’ve found that incorporating different daily practices into my morning routine has made a huge difference. Sometimes, anxiety just hits hard and it sucks. But when I’m not feeling anxious, these practices are simple ways I take care of my mental health. We all exercise to maintain good physical health, so why not do the same with our mental??

Obviously, everyone is different, but I thought it might be helpful for me to lay out a few de-stressing practices to add to your morning routine. I’m not saying I do every single one of these things every day, but even adding one to my morning routine always gets me in a better head space.

Avoid Your Phone First Thing

Starting my day without my phone/technology is one of the tweaks I’ve made that I reeeally notice makes a difference. I can’t say I’m able to do this every day, but when I can, I make it happen. Looking at my phone right when I wake up always gets me a little stressed out, and odds are I’ll be looking at a screen a LOT during my day. So I try to avoid it first thing in the morning.

Exercise

We’ve all heard it before- exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy. Getting in some sort of movement in the morning gets me feeling balanced and ready to take on the day. It’s a time just for ME and I cherish it. Even if it’s not a crazy hard workout- a walk, low-impact training, etc., I’m always so happy I did it after the fact. If you aren’t moving your body in the morning, try it out and see how it makes you feel.

Read or Journal

I LOVE a good book and am always so much happier when I make the time to read. I really like to do this during my no-phone time in the morning and I’ve found it really helps me relax. I read a lot of self-help books but I also love a good fiction book- they’re so fun and provide a bit of escapism. I’m not a huge journaling girl but I have friends that swear by it, so find your thing and carve out the time.

If you’re looking for a few self-help books to dive into, check out my full list of my faves here.

xx, Farrah