Learn How Clear Your Head From Worries Using The “Morning Pages” Exercise
Majority of the people dealing with anxiety wakes up in the morning with an overwhelming feeling that everything is wrong. They have to face tons of anxious thoughts right from the very beginning of the day and this influences their mood and performance throughout the rest of it. Without doing something about these thoughts they literally doom themselves to another day full of failures and misfortune (caused by their attitude).
A great tip on how to deal with anxiety that I want to share with you here is to implement the technique presented by Julie Cameron in her book “The Artists Way”. This exercise was originally meant to help people release their artistic side but can be used with equal benefits as one of the most effective cures for anxiety.
Write down every single anxious thought that’s in your head
The first thing you need to do is to prepare a notebook or a set of clean sheets of paper, together with a folder where you will hide them when you’re done with the exercise. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just make sure it’s always at hand and, at the same time, none of your housemates can access it.
Every morning, right after you wake up, you will sit down and write down all of your thoughts onto the sheets prepared. And when I say all, I mean ALL. You can start like this:
“It’s 6 a.m. and I didn’t get a proper sleep again. I feel exhausted and I have to go to work. Hope there is something to eat in the fridge so that I can at least have a proper breakfast. Oh, thank God the weather looks good, I might do a bit of jogging today…”
As you can see I want you to write down ALL of the thoughts that are running through your head. Keep doing it unless you fill 3 full pages. If you have a clear head and don’t feel like there is anything that worries you simply jot down:
“I don’t have anything to write today."
When you’re done put your work into the folder and lock it. You’re not going to read this stuff in the future because there will be no need to. I encourage you to use pen and paper as many people report that this has a more cathartic effect on them than writing on a computer keyboard.
(Remember that you can also use this exercise as a treatment for panic attack, providing that you perform it regularly.)
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Why does the “Morning Pages” exercise clears up your head?
By practicing this exercise on a daily basis you will notice that it clears your head from mental garbage and frees your mental processes for the rest of the day. It will allow you to focus more on the work you have to do and have greater clarity when it comes to performing your daily tasks. This is because the act of writing down your thoughts “removes” them from your head. They will not disappear entirely, but you will notice that your emotional reaction to them is much weaker.
If you want to deal with anxiety attacks this exercise should be one of the first steps you take on your path to recover.
Be persistent and repeat this exercise every day
It is important to perform this exercise regularly and be patient. Nothing happens overnight and you need to wait for a few weeks to see significant results. Give yourself additional 30 minutes each morning and protect this time from others selfishly. You can only proceed with your everyday tasks when you’re finished with filling in your notebook.
Combine this method with anxiety natural remedies and you will quickly reduce the amount of stress experienced everyday and shift your mood by 180 degrees.