Morning Mental Health: How to Start Your Day

Mental health stigma holds a strong presence, despite how common the symptoms. Even for those who walk through without having a mental illness, we all struggle with depression or anxiety, eventually. While I believe this to be unavoidable, I believe we can better our situation. Perhaps hard times will come, but perhaps we can lessen the effect on our day. Start your morning with your mental health in mind.

Mental Health Morning Routine

• Hearty breakfast. Having a high protein breakfast can help reduce ADD/ADHD, and making sure that you get some healthy fats directly impacts your brain health. I eat protein oatmeal, and include Omega pills in the morning. You can also add eggs or avocados, if you have the time to make breakfast.
• Water bottle. Hydrating yourself in the morning can wake you up and jumpstart your metabolism. Make sure you stay hydrated throughout the day– I have to carry around a huge water bottle to make sure that I drink enough water.
• Moment of quiet. Before you review your phone, or start the car radio, take a moment of solitude, with meditation or prayer, to center your mind.
• Surround yourself with influence. I listen to podcasts on the way to work, to start my day off with an intentional mindset. I choose people I find aspirational and energetic. Some of my favorites:
  • Steven Furtick from Elevation Church
  • Conversation with Lisa and John Bevere from Messenger International
  • Havilah Cunnington
  • Andy Stanley Leadership
• Review daily goals. First thing when I sit down to work, I review my day planner to get a snapshot of what I need to do that day. It also gets me in the mindset to be productive.
• Have a mantra. As many of you may know, I am an advocate of utilizing mantras. I use this any time throughout the morning that I need to reset my mind. If I know the day is going to be busy, I start saying it over and over in mind as soon as I wake up.
• Journal and leave it. During those difficult times, I keep a journal so I can quickly jot down my stresses and then move on with my day. This allows me to know that I can return to the issue when I have a moment, but it also removes the distraction.
• Social Media. I have a serious problem with looking at anything on my phone that will have a notification, so I have intentionally turned many of them off. I’ve also made sure that I follow inspirational people, as well as things that make me smile… yes, I follow quite a few animals on Instagram.
• Quick devo. I have a quick devo that I can read in the morning. Maybe this is a hard habit for you– I suggest signing up for a quick devo to be emailed to you, or an app. Something that you can read in a few moments with a one-sentence take away. Some that I would suggest:
  • First Things First by Christine Caine: will email you a daily devotional
  • First 5 by Proverbs 31 Woman: an app with a daily devotion option

These are the ways that I try to be mindful of my mental state in the morning and the influence my routine has on my wellbeing. These are by no means a cure-all for mental health or struggling throughout the day. But it might surprise you how much difference a few simple, yet intentional tasks will have on your day.