Wake-Up Check-In

Mornings can be one of the hardest times of day for anxiety, when the mind starts running before the body has even caught up. This brief check-in offers a moment to connect with your physical reality, the simple, immediate facts of the body and the room around you, so the thinking mind's stream of predictions and worries loses some of its grip. It's not about calming the thoughts down or arguing with them, just noticing what's actually true right now instead of what the mind insists might happen. A few moments here can be enough to meet the day from steadier ground.
Please note that this content is educational and not a substitute for professional mental health care.

Transcript

My name is Carrie. I am a licensed professional counselor and a mindfulness teacher. And I'm also someone that struggles with anxiety and obsessive thinking. So this is just a daily or a morning check-in. A morning connection check-in. For individuals like myself who. . . Sometimes wake up with that jolt of anxiety in the mind. Already playing a movie of whether it's despair or uncertainty. So first. . . Get out of your bed. Get out of your bed. Stand on your feet. And take a breath in. Feel. Whatever is beneath your feet. And feel whatever is around your body. Maybe it's clothes, Maybe it's a blanket. Maybe it's just the air. And I'll look around. Look at the colors. Look at the shadows and the shapes. Can look outside. Can you see the sky? I can. It's blue. But maybe yours right now is gray or white. Maybe it's still dark out and you can see the sky, But it's not lit. Okay, And stay there. Stay connected to your physical reality. Not because the thinking mind is an enemy, It's not. But it's also not the master. It can be demoted to annoying fan that sometimes oversteps its role. But only through this discipline of attention. And I'm going to continue disciplining my attention into the here and now. Into what's finite, Into what's physical. Into what is around me. And I encourage you to do the same. Allow this day to be one defined by the simplicity of connecting to what is in your immediate surroundings. And then I'll look forward to seeing you again tomorrow.