Some of the most successful people such as Benjamin Franklin had daily morning routines which helped them wake up ready to take on the day. But when you’re in the midst of anxiety surrounding your adoption wait, the thought of your morning routine may be the last thing on your mind. By organizing and adjusting your morning routine, you really can decrease your level of stress and anxiety as you wait to be chosen by a birth mother.
Your current “morning routine” (or lack thereof) probably sets you up for more anxiety throughout the day. You wake up, hit snooze a couple of times, then check Facebook and email from bed. After that, you take a quick shower, drink coffee, and hurry off to work. A morning like this has no purpose or structure. So why follow a morning routine? Because it can really reduce anxiety!
Here’s an Easy 6-Step Morning Routine to Heal Your Anxiety Naturally:
1. Get up between 5:30 and 6:00 am
When you wake up earlier, you’ll have plenty of time to get ready for your day leisurely. Instead of rushing, you can get where you need to go calmly. Plus, you will have more time to focus on reading and self-care, which you don’t even think about when you’re rushing out of the door every morning.
2. Make the Bed
Making your bed is powerful because it allows you to finish a task first thing in the morning successfully. This builds your drive to continue doing more the rest of your day. No matter how stressful your day gets to be, you can always make your bed. If that’s all that you get done in the day, it’s still a success.
3. Pray
Morning prayer is a great way to focus your attention on seeking God’s plan for the day ahead of you. When your adoption wait is making you anxious, morning prayer can provide you with peace, encouragement, and strength. Seek out His presence every morning, before your attention is pulled to the tasks you need to get done. Lifetime Adoption’s Founder & adoptive mother Mardie Caldwell has designed some gorgeous prayer bracelets, which can serve as a handy reminder for your morning prayer session. See the design options and order a bracelet at AdoptionPrayerBracelet.com.
4. Hop in a Cool Shower
We know, this sounds awful. But there’s science to back up the benefits to cold exposure: it helps improve circulation and treat anxiety and depression. The easiest way to get the psychological lift that cold exposure provides is to ease into it. Start your shower off at normal temperature, then finish it with a couple minutes of cool water.
5. Go on a Walk
Instead of downing coffee after you’ve dressed, go on a short walk. It gets you out of the house so you can enjoy nature. Plus, it helps increase blood flow and mood. If you give this one a try, make sure to leave your phone at home. Simply enjoy your surroundings and be grateful for all you have.
6. Practice Gratitude
Write down the three things you’re most grateful for today. Instead of repeating that you’re thankful for your spouse, God, and life, consider the smaller things in life too. This allows you to appreciate life and cut down on anxiety and depression. Think about people you’re grateful for, something you’d miss if it were gone, and tiny things like the sun on your face.
This list is simply a roadmap to help you reduce your adoption wait anxiety by creating an empowering morning routine. It is full of strategies and scientific research on which habits are the most effective to lower anxiety. But, the best routine is one that you can stick to. So, please pick and choose from these ideas to find out what works for your own confident morning routine!
Founder of Lifetime Adoption, adoptive mom, adoption expert, and Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P).
Since 1986, adoption expert Mardie Caldwell has been dedicated to bringing couples and birth parents together in order to fulfill their dreams.
“Many years ago, I was also searching for a child to adopt. We didn’t know where or how to get started. Through research, determination, and a prayer, our dream of a family became reality. I started with a plan, a notebook, assistance from a caring adoption consultant and a lot of hard work; this was my family I was building. We had a few heartaches along the way, but the pain of not having children was worse!
Within weeks we had three different birth mothers choose us. We were overwhelmed and delighted. Many unsettling events would take place before our adoption would be finalized, many months later. Little did I know that God was training and aligning me for the adoption work I now do today. It is my goal to share with our families the methods and plans which succeed and do not succeed. I believe adoption should be affordable and can be a wonderful “pregnancy” for the adoptive couple.
I have also been on both sides of infertility with the loss of seven pregnancies and then conceiving by new technology, giving birth to a healthy daughter. I have experienced first-hand the emotional pain of infertility and believe my experience allows me to serve your needs better.
It is my hope that for you, the prospective parents, your desire for a child will be fulfilled soon.”
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