How to overcome morning depression
Morning depression is more common than you may realise. That feeling of having nothing to wake up for and no reason to fight or live another day, when all you really want to do is stay in your safe warm bed and maybe cry the day away…
It’s a painful thing to go through and it can feel like it will never end.
I want to tell you that these ‘down days’ are not abnormal. Don’t punish yourself any further by thinking that there’s something wrong with you for what you are going through.
Almost everyone goes through them at one time or another, especially when life gets overwhelmingly difficult.
But if this happens constantly and for weeks on end, then you may have a serious problem.
The first thing you should do is find professional help from a therapist, your doctor or a psychiatrist. Your problem may be deeper than you realise.
But, meds and therapy will only take you so far. To really beat morning depression for good you need to put in some effort into your own recovery.
Will it be easy?
No.
Will it be worth it?
Hell yes!
It’s like losing weight or bringing down your cholesterol levels. Yes, some pills may help, but to really see results you need to eat better, exercise and be more conscious of your lifestyle. You need to work on it.
When it comes to morning depression you need to be conscious of your mind and your thoughts throughout the day, but especially in the morning.
You'll need to learn how to redirect your mind when those negative thoughts come up, until it becomes second nature to do so.
How do you do this?
By having goals that excite you and get you out of bed each day.
Why is morning depression so destructive?
Before I get into the how, I want to tell you more about the why. Why is morning depression so destructive?
Morning depression is easily one of the worst parts of living with anxiety and depression. You feel like there is no point in even getting out of bed, not even to eat. But morning depression can be more destructive than we even realise.
The first 2 hours of your day tend to set the tone for the rest of your day. Let that sink in for a second. What you do in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day.
So, when morning depression takes over your mornings it ruins the rest of your day too. When morning depression hits you'll find it hard to be productive, even if you actually do manage to get out of bed.
And if this happens day after day, for weeks or months on end it …
...It will ruin your life too.
So how can you change this? First, you’ll need to take control of your morning routine. So how does a morning routine help you fix this?
Your morning routine
A routine is simply a set of actions performed on autopilot and out of habit.
Some of these routines and habits are good, like brushing your teeth every morning, while others can be bad, like getting up at 11am.
Either way we all have a routine we follow in the morning, whether we realise it or not.
Because these routines happen on autopilot and by habit, we will feel out of sorts if we don't do them.
Think of a day that started off ‘wrong’. Maybe you ran out of milk for your morning coffee, or you didn't have time to eat breakfast because of an early meeting, this little deviation to your routine probably had a ripple effect across your entire day leaving you feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
This is actually a good thing. It means that once you establish a routine that’s good for you, it will be easy to stick to it. It becomes part of your life without you even having to pay attention to it.
That’s why (and how) you can use morning routines and habits to your advantage when fighting morning depression.
A morning routine is basically a set of actions that help you get into the swing of the day. The idea is that the first 2 hours of the day set the tone for the rest of the day. So, if you do things that are productive and leave you feeling good about yourself, then the rest of the day will follow suit.
The tasks you set out don't even have to be that difficult.
You can do easy things at first like, making the bed, doing a bit of stretching to get your body feeling better, and eating a proper breakfast. These easy tasks will give you a sense of accomplishment, that you are taking good care of yourself, and loving yourself. This sense of accomplishment is addictive, so you’ll want to do more actions like these for the rest of the day.
As you start getting used to your new morning routine you can start adding more actions to it. I like to get one house chore done before breakfast.
Eventually you can start thinking about your life goals and add these goals to the mix. When you do that you’ll create a super morning routine that will inspire you too.
A goal- centred morning routine
Goals play a huge part in our lives, not just for our careers and jobs, goals should be part of every aspect of our lives, including how we feel.
Why?
Because goals are dreams with a deadline, and dreams keep us excited about life.
Without our dreams of where we want to be and what we want to do in the future, life becomes pretty meaningless and dull opening a door for depression to creep in.
Even something as simple as having a beautiful garden is an exciting dream you can work towards daily.
When you are excited about working on something, even just a little, you can focus on it so much that it helps break that morning depression mindset. You’ll start to feel excited about doing something towards that goal, and this will help you get out of bed in the morning.
Having a goal itself isn't enough though. To really break that morning depression you need to implement a goal-centred morning routine.
Your goal-centred morning routine
It’s like losing weight or bringing down your cholesterol levels. Yes, some pills may help, but to really see results you need to eat better, exercise and be more conscious of your lifestyle. You need to work on it.
When it comes to morning depression you need to be conscious of your mind and your thoughts throughout the day, but especially in the morning.
You'll need to learn how to redirect your mind when those negative thoughts come up, until it becomes second nature to do so.
How do you do this?
By having goals that excite you and get you out of bed each day.
1 - set some goals
2 - set a deadline
4 - work it into your routine
5- create a habit out of your morning routine
To effectively set a habit you need to do that same thing every day for 21 days. So for the next 21 days perform your goal-centred morning routine every morning. You may have to force yourself to do it at first, but as you get closer to day 21 it will become easier and easier, and even soothing to do so.
It’s important to note that your morning routine doesn't have to be super extravagant or take too much time either, you can pick 4 or 5 main things to do, and limit yourself to 30 minutes. If this feels too difficult, start with just 3 things, then after it’s become a habit to do them, add one thing at a time to that routine to build it up.
Why it works
When you perform a routine daily, especially one that’s emotionally rewarding in some way, it becomes a habit, and habits have a way of sticking. When you don't perform that habit you feel at odds, and uncomfortable. This feeling alone will make you want to get up and out of bed in the morning to get your little happy fix and sense of achievement for having completed the tasks in your routine. Eventually staying in bed all day will just feel wrong.
Doing things in your routine that give you a positive feeling or ‘achievement kick’ become addictive. Success is addictive and so you’ll want to do more.
But, that’s just the first step - the ‘getting you out of bed’ step.
To really overcome depression it helps to focus on some goals. By achieving something small first thing in the morning, you set the mood for the rest of the day. You’ll eventually actually want to keep that momentum going.
Focus on your goals to give yourself something positive to work and dream towards.
Morning depression can literally ruin your life as you let days, weeks and months slip away from you. This can have devastating effects on all aspects of your life, from your relationships to your health.
But when you create powerful, positive habits to break a bad one you take back your life.
Establishing the kind of morning routines that break that morning depression cycle can seem like a lot of effort at first, but it’s worth it if it means you get your life back. It's an essential form of self-care that you need to master if you want to learn how to manage you anxiety and overcome your depression.
If you’re ready to learn how to unlock the secrets to a happier, healthier you and living the life you've always craved using self-care, then you’re going to love my “Thriving from Within” ebook bundle.
Packed with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guides and invaluable printables, this guide to self-care will ensure that you're fully equipped to embark on this transformative journey – no matter where you start.
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