New ways to start the day

It's been a rough few weeks with morning palpitations, panic attacks and night terror. It's been exhausting operating and trying to function on such a high frequency. I just can't ever seem to be anything other than highly strung, never relaxed. I'm up early. Working. Always on.

So, this week spurred on by an online weekly art course I'm doing, I've started each morning with a period of peace and quiet before the household awakes and the rigours of the day begin. On goes the indoor waterfall and the fairy lights, and I spend 20 minutes doing some gentle yoga, then I'll sit down and read (something non-work related currently Allan Jenkins' Plot 29) followed by a quick biro sketch of whatever is near me. I'm nearly a week in now, and I'm finding that it's helping. A calm start to the day is helping to stop the brain engine revving away constantly. I'm learning that the more my brain goes into overdrive telling me I've got more work to do, that the best thing is not to lean into that panic, but to actively remove myself, sit and allow the storm to break and then revist what work my calm brain is telling me to do. I often start things like this and then drop these habits when life gets in the way. But, at the very least these needs to be a simple tool to return to when my thoughts are spiralling.

#dycp #artandanxiety #mentalhealthrecovery