This is Why You Should Do Affirmations (or anything for your mental health) in the Mornin
A page from The Self-Healer’s Journal, my 90-day guided journal for self-love and acceptance!
For the last 12 days, I have been attending a holistic healing retreat in Mexico.
I came here after a massive breakdown in February—one that brought me as close to suicide as I’ve been in almost a decade.
Read more about my breakdown here.
I’ve been in and out of therapy since 2005, spent 4 months in Eating Disorder Recovery in 2015, and attended Graduate School to study Mental Health Counseling.
To say I know a lot about mental health is an understatement.
I often feel like a living breathing psychology-bot, and my thoughts, actions, and curiosity are in constant circulation around the central concept of what it means to be a human being.
For the last year, I have been struggling MASSIVELY with my depression, anxiety, and eating disorder.
As symptoms resurfaced after my divorce and amidst the tangible uncertainty and loneliness born in the pandemic, I started to deteriorate.
“How,” I thought, “can I know so much about mental health, and still be suffering?”
“What is so wrong with me, that even with all the tools and resources at my disposal, I choose to do the things that hurt me?”
I chose to attend this program because I needed a radical shift.
I needed to radically re-learn the lessons I’ve been resisting, and I needed to radically accept that there is more for me to learn.
I needed a radical reminder that my wellness is not just about psychology, but that it is a deep dive into the spiritual, physical, and collective.
So far, all of the above and more has occurred.
What I’m Learning
I’m re-learning that without community, connection, and co-regulation, my skills mean squat. Humans survive because of relationships—this is not a theory—it’s literally a necessary function of our biology and physiology.
I’m learning where I still resist change, and how deeply engrained the programming is in my subconscious around my worth, my appearance, and what makes me loveable.
I’m discovering that, despite what my ego tells me, I don’t have all the answers, I don’t have all the knowledge, and I don’t have all the wisdom.
And, I’m discovering that my intuition—my higher self—does have all the answers. That all the knowledge I need to self-direct lives in me. That the wisdom I constantly seek from external sources is in fact in me, and when I quiet my mind, tune into my body, and listen, I know.
On a grander scale, what I am learning is not necessarily tangible or concrete—it is a conscious awareness, an experiencing of, and a state of being. It’s a blanket I’m being slowly covered in, and each day I feel safer, warmer, and more held.
On a smaller scale, I am learning little factoids and tips--small “aha’s” about the science of our bodies and mind, seemingly obvious grains of information that fill the gaps between “I know this helps” and “why”.
Though it may seem silly, one of those little factoids that has stuck with me is about brainwaves, and how our brainwaves impact our subconscious mind, and ultimately, how we feel about ourselves and the world.
Ready to have your mind blown?
Why You Should Do Your Affirmations in the Morning
Please note: I am not a neurologist/neuroscientist, nor am I a medical professional of any kind. This is not medical advice, this is merely me passing on something I learned in hopes that it helps radically shift your life the way it has mine.
Last week the neuroscientist on staff led a workshop on sleep and dreams. She talked to us about different brainwaves, and the reason why popular psychology is so adamant on doing your affirmations (or any kind of positive-focused journaling) first thing in the morning.
The basic rundown is this: Our brainwaves occur at various frequencies, and our brain will use specific brainwaves to process different situations.
THE BRAINWAVES:
Beta: Active state (conscious mind, stimulation, thinking)
Alpha: Present state (relaxed, peaceful)
Theta: Trancelike state (“between sleep & wake” state, subconscious mind)
Delta: Inactive state (deep relaxation & sleep)
She told us how the Theta state is that “in between” feeling we get when we are falling asleep—where we start to doze off and feel like we are dreaming but also know we’re still awake.
What really got me, though, was when she told us that young kids, from about age 2-6, are almost exclusively experiencing life in a Theta brain state.
Why did this hit me so hard?
Because what I already knew about the brain from my childhood development class (thanks grad school!) is that in that same age-range, human beings are like sponges.
Their brains are absorbing everything around them—from sounds, sights, words, experiences, tones of voice, to facial expression—and storing it as facts in their mind.
From the ages 2-6, we soak up any message we receive as truth.
Our conscious mind (the mind on Beta, as I like to say), has not yet been developed, meaning we don’t have the ability to question, interpret, or refute the words we’re absorbing.
We literally store the information into our subconscious.
As a result, much later in life, our subconscious mind is operating from a set of “truths” that potentially cause suffering, pain, or relational turmoil.
If in this time period, we hear a parent say over and over to us, “you’re making me nervous,” we absorb this message into our subconscious as a fact: our existence makes our mother nervous. Therefore it is our job to protect her from worry, because our presence and existence alone causes her strife.
We may find ourselves as adults constantly feeling as though we are responsible for our mother’s emotional wellbeing, or feeling tremendous guilt if our choices or actions are not in line with what she thinks is right for us.
How does this relate to affirmations or my wellbeing as an adult?
Because I still have access to this subconscious mind.
Theta brainwaves—those same brainwaves that put our brains in a sponge-like state—are the window to our subconscious.
And these are the same brainwaves that my mind is in immediately upon waking.
By harnessing this window of time first thing in the morning, I have the power to give my brain new messages and store new truths into my subconscious.
How do you apply this?
Mantras
Whatever your goals are, make one or two mantras about that goal that you really want to believe, and right when you wake up, repeat them to yourself over and over until you start to feel fully awake.
example: I am capable of what I set my mind to, I am powerful.
Audio Affirmations
You can also find a recording of affirmations you like and play it first thing when you wake up in the morning.
tip: find a guided affirmation sound on Spotify and save it to your library so it’s ready to go—this way you don’t have to go into beta-brain to find a sound when waking.
Apps for Morning Routines
Practice a structured morning routine that includes journaling, meditation, or breath work.
This programs the subconscious into trusting that these activities are simply part of daily living, rather than a task you have to perform.
I hope you found this little nugget as useful as I did. The more I learn, the more I will share.
If you’re stuck or need more guidance, I am here. I love you so much, and I hope you know how proud of you I am.
Happy Re-Programming,
XX
-Rachel
>>Learn more about Rachel’s journey with Eating Disorder recovery, depression, divorce, & finding comfort in the discomfort of living in her memoir, Where the River Flows.
>>Subscribe to Rachel’s Substack publication, The Messy Middle to read honest stories of living with uncertainty, mental illness, & life in the messy middle.
>>Follow Rachel’s daily life on instagram, and get inspired daily with reminders to dance & embrace being a messy human.