12 Journal Prompts For Anxious Mornings

If our day were a book, the morning would be the cover of that book. I think it’s pretty common knowledge that there are a lot of terrific books out there with absolutely terrible covers (thus the old proverb). If we decide just from the cover that the book is not worth our time, then we’d never know what the interior might have contained.

An anxious morning can leave us feeling drained, overwhelmed, and unprepared for the rest of our day. Like a book with a particularly bad piece of cover art, we can wind up writing off our entire day just because of one anxiety-wracked morning.  These journal prompts are to help guide you through the treatment of an anxious morning, and see past the bad cover and through to the better story that’s waiting within. 

“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest taken between two deep breaths.”

Etty Hillesum

Why Am I So Stressed Each Morning?

When we first wake up, our bodies undergo a spike in cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that regulates stress, metabolism, and of course, sleep. It’s natural to feel a spike in stress during the morning time, in fact it’s part of what causes us to wake up in the first place. But our stress can be impacted by a number of factors, either heightening or reducing our load of stress in the process. 

• What Is Causing Me Stress? Make a list of the things that have been stressing you out in the recent past. Which of these have been on your mind this morning? Is there anything you can do to put your mind at ease about these subjects? 
• How Am I Taking Care Of Myself? Often the source of our stress is a lack of self-care. What have you been doing to prioritize your self-care? How have you been taking care of yourself? What is something new you could try to bring comfort to your mornings? 
• Am I Catastrophizing? Catastrophizing is the act of making a mountain out of a molehill. In the throes of our anxiety, we often jump from one anxious thought to the next without considering whether those thoughts are connected or reasonable fears to have. Think of a time when you’ve catastrophized in the past. Are you doing anything that resembles that this morning? 
• What Is My Routine? Make a list of activities that could be a part of your morning routine. Part of what soothes us when we experience that morning spike of cortisol is our morning routine. If we don’t have a morning routine, that means we don’t really have a reliable way to soothe ourselves each day. Activities like:
  • Listening to music. 
  • Taking a shower. 
  • Brushing your teeth. 
  • Brewing and drinking your coffee/tea. 
  • Eating breakfast in the same spot. 
  • Going for a walk.
  • Doing yoga or stretching.

How Does Morning Anxiety Affect Us? 

Recognizing our anxiety is often half the battle. With recognition of our anxiety, we can put it in the backseat, but when our anxiety exists without awareness, we wind up letting it drive the car. When we know the signs that we are experiencing anxiety, we can start to treat ourselves for it. These questions are to help you recognize the cognitive symptoms of your anxiety: 

• Am I Stressed Because Of Something In My Past? Our past can echo into the future through the rippling interruption of our anxiety. Is there a painful or traumatic memory that is coming up particularly strong this morning? Are you afraid that without your worry that it might happen again? 
• What Does My Internal Monologue Sound Like? The most important person we talk to everyday is ourselves. The tone of our self-talk sets the mood for our interactions with the rest of the world, and that starts in the morning. Write down some quotes and think about how those statements could impact your morning anxiety. What sort of things have you been saying to yourself? What could you say instead? 
• Am I In A Bad Mood? Sometimes we just wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Perhaps we’re annoyed with circumstances outside our control, perhaps we’re in pain, or perhaps this is just our assumed natural state in the morning. What are you feeling grumpy about? What has been making you angry lately? How could you look at these factors from a more positive perspective?  
• What Am I Doing To Calm My Nervous System? At times, the unconscious processes of our nervous system can make it feel like a separate entity from ourselves, but this is no excuse for neglect! What have you done in the past that has helped to calm your nervous system? What could you do in the future? 

How Can I Stay Calm In The Morning? 

You have a lot of options when it comes to improving your mornings. Anxiety is treatable when we know how to manage it. These questions are to help guide you in shaping your mornings into a time where you can treat your anxiety and look between the covers to the beautiful day that might be waiting for you.

• What Are Your Morning Rituals? Human beings have been undergoing rituals around the clock for the past few thousand years. This is because these rituals give our lives comfort and meaning. So, to make your mornings more comfortable, think about how you could incorporate ritual into your wake-up routine. How are you incorporating your spirituality/faith into your morning? When are you setting time aside in the morning to be mindful and fully exist in the present moment? 
• How Do You Manage Your Anxiety? Make a list of ways that you could cope with your anxiety, specifically in the morning. As functioning adults (or at least something close to it), it becomes necessary to have a set of coping tools when it comes to your anxiety. If we don’t have a reliable set of tools, it’s hard to know what to do when the emotions are running high and the pressure is on. What has worked for you in the past to cope with your anxiety? What tools would be easiest for you to use in the mornings? 
• If You Could Start Over, What Would You Do Differently? When we experience anything, including anxiety, it can be educational to think about how we could have done things differently. How could we have talked down our anxiety in a more effective way? Did we skip out on a piece of our routine? 
• What Intention Are You Setting For The Morning? Because our mornings are the cover of the book, they are an opportunity to make a promise. An intention is a promise that you’re making to yourself. What would you like to accomplish? What would make your day more fulfilling? What promise might tomorrow hold?

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Sunny Ebsary is an educator, multi-modal artist, and writer specializing in the intersection of myth and mental health. Sunny’s writing walks the line between poetic and logical, giving readers a chance to interface with the mind and imagination. Sunny’s been putting pen to paper since he was a child, writing everything from albums, novels, and plays, to essays, interactive games, and of course, many articles! While studying both psychology and writing, he realized his real passion in life was helping others unlock their creative spark. Whether he’s leading a D&D game, directing a production, or diving deep into the brain, you can be sure Sunny will be ushering you toward finding meaning in your life.