By Jill Sylvester, LMHC
None of us may be able to anxiety-proof our lives, but by placing a premium on our mental health, we will prosper. Some of the best ways to cope with anxiety occur even before we get out of bed. Here are a few simple steps I recommend taking each day to keep anxiety at bay:
Become the Designer of Your Day
If we are willing to set our alarms a little earlier — even five minutes earlier than usual — and dedicate time to just setting an intention for our day, we can become the director of our lives. Rather than charging into our lives as a person who puts out fires and bends to the demands and requests of others all day, we take control of the course of our day. Rising earlier may also mean selecting an activity that feels right, whether a walk outdoors, a yoga pose or meditation. What matters most is that the activity or intention speaks to you and your life and the way you want to live it, then aligning with that new routine each and every morning.
Jot Down Your Thanks
I recommend that my clients strive to begin each day by writing down 3 things for which they are grateful. By doing so, many find that they are able to rise above the negative chatter that often tries to take our minds captive. Gratitude is powerful and can cancel out the often berating and derogatory thoughts that bombard us from the moment we open our eyes. By embracing the habit of immediately focusing on what feels good and great about our lives, we direct our thoughts on the road we’d like them to go. And where thought goes, energy follows.
Block out days for mental health maintenance
Days off are nourishing if we allow them to be. Even staying home one morning, going in later to work, or taking the afternoon off to read, to fish, to go to the beach, to take a hot bath and nurture our soul, can do wonders for our physical and mental health, though an entire day is strongly recommended. To make sure this time happens on a regular basis, and to avoid hitting the previously mentioned wall, schedule monthly mental health days in your routine—a day to look forward to, in order to rest and refuel. Then, enjoy, every single moment.
Being the designer of our days and the master of our mental health does not have to require a new prescription or gym membership. By Incorporating simple strategies that require only an investment of time on a consistent basis can yield strong results for our mental health and our life.
Jill Sylvester is a licensed mental health therapist who combines traditional and alternative methods of treatment for a unique approach to the counseling process. Jill is also the author of Trust Your Intuition: 100 Ways to Transform Anxiety and Depression for Stronger Mental Health and the creator of Planting the Seeds products, a line of inspirational cards for children and their caregivers.
