The ECG Blog
This Morning Routine Will Improve Your Mood And Change Your Life, Part II
Now, if you’ve read Part I, you are fully on your way to a solid morning already. You’ve prepared for your busy day ahead and you’ve had adequate sleep. So let’s jump in to the various parts of my own personal morning routine!
A Positive Thought
I don’t remember who told me this, but somewhere along the line I was told to start the morning with a positive thought. My thought? “That’s so corny!!” But, on second thought, I realized I do consistently start my day with negative mantras and self-fulfilling phropesies like “Oh no way, I can’t do this again”, or “Today is going to be terrible”. I realized I already have the routine in place, and man was it working… just in the wrong direction. I challenged myself to practice saying the opposite. (Because it’s true, pain is inevitable, but suffering is a choice.) I challenge you to start the day with a positive thought. Something you can believe, at least partially. I like to say the simple, but corny line, “today is going to be a good day”. On the surface that may sound like toxic positivity, but for me it is truth and I have found it to be helpful. At my core, I know each day has many hidden gifts, should I choose to notice them. And a day with gifts is just inherently a “good day” in my mind. But feel free to pick something that resonates with you!
No Snooze!
“But, I need a few minutes to wake up!” I can hear you say. And yes, I get it! I need a few minutes, too. The problem with hitting snooze is 1) it isn’t quality sleep you are getting 2) you reinforce to your body that it should sleep through the sound of your alarm, and 3) when falling back asleep you begin a new sleep cycle, and interrupting a sleep cycle is the surest way to feel tired, grumpy, and just bad. (Mel Robbins has a great short video with more information). The solution I have found is to set two alarms. Because I can’t stand the obnoxious beep of most alarms, and am such a nature girl at heart, my first alarm is a lovely recording of bird songs that starts softly and increases in volume. This first alarm is set for 5 minutes before my second, obnoxious alarm, at which time I get up. This gives me a nice transition from sleep to awake.
Turn Down The Bed
As soon as I get up, I pull the sheet and blankets down to air out the bed. This is a hack I think I learned from my biology professor way back when, if I remember correctly. A study at Kingston University found that making your bed immediately traps moisture and warmth, the perfect environment for dust mites! I have found that it also makes it less inviting to jump back into in a weak moment…
Water, Times Two
Now that Im up, I use a tongue scraper and splash cold water on my face. Cold water on your face is great as a nervous system restarter, as well as great for depuffing your eyes! Now that Im awake (thank you, freezing cold water), I guzzle at least 16oz of water. By the time you wake up in the morning, your body is in a pretty intense state of dehydration, even if you did a good job of hydrating the evening before. Did you know 75% of Americans are in a chronic state of dehydration?! And did you also know that dehydration significantly negatively affects your mental health!?!?! Getting rehydrated first thing in the morning sets up your body and mind for an emotionally stable day.
Movement & Morning Sunlight
For me, this looks like taking an hour walk first thing in the morning, boosting my energy and creating a clear and grounded mind. If you are someone who relies on coffee to wake-up, you are likely missing several things in your evening and morning routines. Morning sunlight and morning movement will be important habits for you to incorporate. Early morning sunlight jump starts your melatonin production (i.e. your sleep hormone), which your body will need at night in order to fall asleep. Morning sunlight also resets your circadian rhythm! This puts you on track to have energy and feel tired at the appropriate hours of the day. For those who prefer to lift weights or go to a gym in the morning, just make sure you turn your face to the sun and take in those early morning rays!
Make My Bed
Once I return home, I make my bed. Check out Admiral William H. Raven’s commencement speech about the importance he sees in this simple task! In life’s chaos, I have found this habit to have a surprisingly positive ripple effect throughout my day. Its the easiest dopamine hit you can get and makes you feel good about yourself fist thing in the day!
Fuel Your Body, Support Your Mind
I aim to eat a protein heavy breakfast within 90minutes of waking up, and never consume caffeine on an empty stomach. If you wait longer than 90minutes to eat, your bood sugar levels can plummet, triggering increased cortisol, adrenal fatigue, mood swings, anxiety, and a whole host of other problems. (Here is a short blog post with more information.) Starting your day with protein is particularly important for those who experience anxiety, fatigue, or mood swings. It gives you sustained energy and healthy fat your brain needs to function well.
A Note On Phone Use
You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned my phone, checking social media, or answering emails. That is because I haven’t even turned my phone on yet! Wild, I know. I experienced a huge positive shift in my life when I began setting boundaries around phone use, and putting boundaries between my priorities and others priorities. This shifts your from a reactive mindset, to a proactive mindset. Once I have taken care of my body and mind, Im ready to shift my focus to others from a healthy, grounded place. While waiting 1.5 hours to turn on your phone may not feel possible just yet, I urge you to start small and work your way up to at least 30minutes.
Workday Startup Ritual
Im currently working on creating my own Startup Ritual, but find it helpful 1) set 3 manageable goals 2) review my schedule, 3) start with the tasks I most dread so that I can knock it out fist and move on! One you have entered your work station (whether it is a corporate office setting, or simply your dining room table) take a moment to take a deep breath. Take a moment to close your eyes, settle your nervous system, and bring a moment of mindful awareness before stepping into your work day.
Conclusion
Crafting a morning routine tailored to your needs and preferences can significantly impact the trajectory of your day. By incorporating simple yet effective habits, such as starting with a positive thought, avoiding the snooze button, and hydrating your body, you set yourself up for success from the moment you wake up. Embracing movement and sunlight not only energizes your body but also aligns your circadian rhythm for improved sleep quality. Making your bed and nourishing your body with a protein-rich breakfast increases your sense of accomplishment and mental clarity.
Remember, consistency is key when building a morning routine. Start small and gradually incorporate additional habits that resonate with you. By investing in your morning routine, you invest in your overall well-being and set the stage for a fulfilling and productive day ahead, moving your from a stressful and reactive mindset, to a grounded and proactive one!
This Morning Routine Will Improve Your Mood And Change Your Life, Part I
I remember all too clearly the chaos of waking up tired and late, running out the door feeling unprepared, and wondering why I never seemed to have enough hours in the day. Little did I know at the time, it had a whole lot to do with my poor boundaries and my lack of an established morning routine. I knew I needed help, so like many of us, I turned to Google, and thus began my trial and error journey to finding my PERFECT morning routine. I knew I needed help in improving my mood, and little did I know it would change my life!
Don’t worry, Im not one of those (unrelateable) people who gets up before the sun and crushes a marathon and an icebath before breakfast. It turns out, the perfect morning routine does not start at 5am. It actually starts… the evening before! Though my experience as a therapist, I have again and again found that being proactive is the cure to being reactive, and going through your day reactive and rocked back on your heals is no way to live. So, follow along for Part-1 to learn the crucial proactive first steps to a solid day. This is my solid, researched based, Nero-informed, therapist approved routine that you can begin implementing right away!
So let’s get to it. Before I go into the why’s and how’s, let me share with you my AM and PM routines, as it stands now:
How to Make a Lifestyle Change: Using a Wellness Wheel (Part III)
There always comes a time in life where we know we need to make a change. We may feel either totally exhausted, or like we aren’t doing anything with our time, or that we have no purpose at all. But it may be very confusing, daunting, and overwhelming to find out how to actually make a lifestyle change. Using a wellness wheel may be a practical and useful tool to help you figure out where to start. A wellness wheel, pictured below, includes all of the 9 areas of wellness (links to other blogs) in a sort of pie chart. The size of each slice is indicative of how much time and energy you are putting into that area as well as how much you are getting back from it.
The first step to consider when deciding how to make a lifestyle change is to assess you lifestyle now by reflecting on your engagement with each area of wellness (review the 9 areas of wellness blogs). Ask yourself how much of your time and energy are you pouring into each area as well as how much fulfillment you are getting from each area. Take a pencil and paper draw a circle (it does not have to be perfect!) and make your lifestyle come to life. The larger slices are the areas that most of your energy is currently going towards and the smaller slices are the areas you feel get little to no attention, or are depleted. If you feel that there is a lot of time you have no idea where it's going to (maybe tiktok scrolling or netflix binging) you can just label that the “abyss” Your wheel might then look something like this:
Now, take a look at your personal wellness wheel and use this as your guidance for deciding which areas you can make some changes. The first time I created a wellness wheel I was 17 years old and absolutely full of anxiety. I realized I had about two or three areas that took up my entire circle and everything else was minimal. I had no idea that there could be important areas of my life outside of school, hanging out with my friend, and babysitting. Getting active (running) and getting creative (painting) set me free to a whole new world and got me to feel way more balanced and less anxious.
Next, it’s time to start making those lifestyle changes. First, see what areas of your life you can set boundaries in (maybe you can’t say no to your friends or your boss) to reduce the areas of life that may be in excess. Then, you can start making some goals to increase the areas that could use some growth. Identify activities within that area that seem like something you would actually enjoy, appreciate, or get something out of. Then write down some realistic and measurable goals next to your wellness wheel. One goal might work for many areas! For example, walking over to your community garden every other Saturday might grow your spiritual, social, and physical wellness! It might even help with your financial wellness (brunch on Saturday is expensive)! Remember that there are many different activities and behaviors that can fit into each area of wellness. Creative wellness doesn’t mean you have to love water color and physical wellness doesn’t mean you have to hike 10 miles. It takes time to determine from yourself which activities you actually enjoy and how much energy you need to pour in to feel a difference. Every month create a new wellness wheel and check back in with your goals and adjust them as needed.!
What Is Wellness? Part II
As we continue to explore the 9 areas of wellness, we consider how practical areas can greatly impact the other areas in ways we may not recognize. If your financial wellness is low and you can barely afford to meet your basic needs, it can be much harder to attend to your other areas. Likewise, if your occupational wellness is out of whack, and your work life is consuming you, you won’t have the time or energy to grow your other areas of wellness. Similarly, physical and intellectual wellness have direct implications for our body and minds. IF our bodies aren’t physically and mentally healthy, it’s hard to have any energy at all!
6. Physical- Physical wellness is often the most highlighted area of the 9 areas of wellness. Physical wellness includes engaging in a wide range of activities that support and nourish our bodies. Yes, this does include diet, exercise, and tending to our illnesses, but.. that means approaching the way we move and feed our bodies with love, not with hate and rigidity! We absolutely benefit by taking care of our bodies because it supports our mental health, reduces stress, and improves our ability to think clearly and have the energy to complete tasks. Also, physical health and exercise supports our brain chemistry to make us feel happier. Exercise releases endorphins and overtime helps to increase our serotonin levels overall! Physical wellness can also prevent illness and improve our quality of life. Your exercise routine could range from 20-30 minute walks, to kickboxing, to pilates, to tai chi. Improving your diet can be as simple as eating less processed food and more vegetables once or twice a week to consume more nutrients. And, we can honor our bodies by taking vitamins or going to see a doctor annually and when we notice problems show up. Engaging in physical wellness can help you connect more with others by exercising and eating healthy together. And your self-esteem can improve when you learn what your body is capable of and see how much easier you move through the week when you feed it and move it with love.
7. Financial- Financial wellness is an area of wellness that can also come with a lot of stress and can have big impacts on our other areas of wellness. Financial wellness implies that you can feel comfortable covering your necessities, like paying your monthly bills and unforeseen bills (ex: car troubles) and you can also manage to afford some of the extra things you want to be able to do or buy. It also means that you can approach finances and spending with some comfort while maintaining an understanding of the importance of budgeting. When we are struggling to make ends meet or have any spending money, we will often experience significant deficits in our ability to attend to the other areas of wellness. It’s unfair. While financial wellness is often improved with more wealth, the two are not directly related. Many people with much wealth may lack financial wellness because of the inability to ever find peace or relaxation with their money (this can have a lot to do with our childhood!) or with impulsive spending (buying those shoes might feel really good after you had a fight with a friend!). You can engage in financial wellness by regular budgeting and monitoring of weekly spending, carpooling, using public transportation, cutting back on expensive meals and drinks (why do espresso martinis taste so good but cost so much?), cooking with and buying groceries with roommates, spending more time outside to exercise vs paying for a gym, and taking advantage of free entertainment in the community. YNAB and EveryDollar are affordable apps and services that can help you budget and gain financial wellness.
8. Occupational- Occupational wellness is associated with the connection, purpose, and pride we may experience from our careers or the tasks, duties, or daily activities we complete in a day that contribute to our families or the world around us. If you are one of the lucky people that absolutely loves your job you probably are experiencing a great dose of occupational wellness! But if you are one of the many people that are feeling a lack of purpose or sense of passion at your job, like boundaries are constantly being pushed (more work, longer hours, moving expectations), or like you're stuck, you are likely struggling with your occupational wellness. Ways to improve your occupational wellness include finding the tasks and skills that you appreciate and enjoy and engaging in those as much as you can. If you aren’t passionate about the field that you are working on, maybe you can find tasks that you enjoy or get a sense of pride from. Maybe you love solving problems, building or creating things, networking, or working with numbers. If you’re feeling totally lost in your career or want to get to know more about what your strengths and areas of interest may be, check out O*Net to take a test that can match you with your career interests, strengths, tasks, and potential career options.
9. Intellectual- Intellectual wellness implies that we have activities or areas of interest to explore that mentally stimulate us. It also includes opening our mind and learning about new ideas or experiences. Intellectual wellness can include reading, completing puzzles or mind games, like sudokus or word searches. Or, it could include exploring our interests. If you love music, movies, makeup, history, mental health, current events, politics, or anything else, then researching or diving into these areas of interest can help stimulate your mind and make you feel connected to yourself and the world around you. Allowing your mind to engage in a mental activity that is not also tied with expectations (finishing a project at work or taking a test in school) can provide a liberating sense of ease. Also, if you’re overworked and your mind is constantly running, then this a good time to recognize your intellectual wellness may be exhausted. It might be time to look more into your other areas of wellness to seek fulfillment.
What Is Wellness? And Is A Face Mask Self-Care? (Part I)
“Self-Care” and “Wellness” are buzz words that get a lot of attention in today's media and influencer lifestyle. But what does it all really mean? What is wellness.. And is a face mask self-care?
Wellness has several definitions in research but they all roughly come to the same conclusion. Wellness is an active process of taking actions to improve your lifestyle in several different areas. Engaging in wellness can improve both your connection with yourself (helping you feel congruent in your identity) and your behaviors that impact your daily functioning (i.e. your lifestyle).
So, is a face mask self-care? It can be! Self-care includes any act that supports our growth, personhood, or daily appreciation of ourselves. Self-care can range from taking a bubble bath to doing our taxes, however, taking care of ourselves through acts of wellness typically requires more consistent and well-rounded behavior. So… yes, please enjoy your face mask! Just remember that it takes a little bit more work to practice wellness.
Practicing wellness has the potential to reduce or prevent stress, mental health symptoms, and burnout. Wellness can teach us better ways to deal with our stress and connect more with our authentic selves.
There are 9 areas of wellness that we can all engage in to help us have a more well-rounded lifestyles and more “whole” versions of ourselves. The 9 areas of wellness we will explore are social, physical, occupational, financial, emotional, cultural, creative, intellectual, and spiritual. You may associate wellness with the fancy, luxurious, and expensive spa in your area, but daily and accessible practices may be more likely to benefit you and your goals of self-improvement.
Social, Emotional, Cultural, Creative, and Spiritual (9 areas of wellness, Part 1)
There are a multitude of ways to help improve ourselves, our lives, and our dynamic with the world around us. The 9 areas of wellness (social, physical, occupational, financial, emotional, cultural, creative, intellectual, and spiritual) provide us with a road map to determine where we may be investing too much or too little of our time and energy.
Below, I will review 5 of the 9 areas of wellness by providing a potentially new definition of each with examples of different activities or actions that support building wellness in each of the areas.
Social- Social wellness includes having meaningful and balanced relationships with people in your life. Social wellness doesn’t necessarily mean having large groups of people that you know or “go out” with, although, having a solid and congruent community in your life can certainly influence a strong social wellness. You may have 2 friends that you feel like you can be your true self around. This might include being honest about your experiences or being able to be truly playful with. Or, you may have many friends that you enjoy sharing interests or activities with! One of the most exciting factors related to social wellness is that you can typically engage in social wellness by also engaging in all of the other areas of wellness. Exploring the other areas of wellness may even help you find some new activities to do with friends. Some examples of social wellness may include going to dinner or the movies, going on walks with friends, looking for sharks’ teeth at the beach, cooking together, making friendly relationships at work, and so much more.
Emotional- Emotional wellness is another area of wellness that easily blends into others. Emotional wellness includes consistently and genuinely expressing, sharing, and feeling your emotions as they rise and change daily. Sharing your emotions genuinely with friends, family, or even in professional relationships can help to build more authenticity with yourself and in your relationships. Practicing emotional wellness may also help you realize when you should set more boundaries and feel more connected with your aspirations. Journaling, therapy, and strong communication or conflict resolution skills are all very supportive actions that can improve your emotional wellness. You may also be able to build their emotional wellness through cultural, creative, spiritual, intellectual and physical activities.
Cultural- Cultural wellness is a unique and special area of the 9 areas of wellness. Cultural wellness includes connecting to your heritage, community, traditions, and family. The unique power of cultural wellness is that it can bring a certain zest and vitality to your life! You can grow your cultural wellness by exploring your family/ heritage and its traditions, food, and history. Cultural wellness may also include learning about the history of where you live and getting involved in the community. This may include learning about the systemic factors that affect you and the people in your neighborhood or city. Getting involved with your community, whether it’s fun community events or making a difference through local or larger politics, are both ways you can grow your cultural wellness. Cultural Wellness can help foster a deeper understanding of your identity and connect with those around you. Engaging in cultural wellness can easily influence your social, emotional, and intellectual wellness.
Creative- Creative wellness includes engaging in activities and practices that include innovation, building, art, intention, and self expression. When we think about creativity, we might think that we have to be blessed with artistic talent. But creative endeavors are not limited by drawing, painting, sculpting, and graphic design. We can get creative through cooking, baking, woodworking, makeup, building with blocks or legos, dancing, or through electronic platforms like minecraft (creating your whole world). If you are a lover of the arts, I hope you can practice your creations with compassion to yourself and expression of your ideas. For those of us who are not naturally gifted, putting pencil or a brush to the paper while freeing ourselves of expectations for how it turns out can be liberating, therapeutic, and definitely in support of our creative wellness.
Spiritual- Spiritual wellness is one of the 9 areas of wellness likely to elicit strong connotations. However, spiritual wellness can be practiced through endless ways. Spiritual wellness includes self reflection of, and connection to, our values and beliefs. It also includes the practice of mindfulness and acceptance. One can practice spiritual wellness by being in nature, meditating, going to or being a part of a church or religious group, having quiet time to engage in a mindful activity. You can grow your spiritual wellness by engaging mindfully through gardening, journaling, creating, or walking outside. You can practice spiritual wellness in any way that feels sacred to you.