You’re exhausted. You know you need to sleep. But the second your head hits the pillow, your brain decides it’s time to replay every embarrassing thing you’ve ever said, spiral about the future, and plan the next ten years.

Sound familiar? Same.

Rest doesn’t come naturally to all of us—especially if you’re neurodivergent or just prone to anxious overthinking. But rest is a skill you can practice.

Here are a few ways I trick my brain into letting me actually chill.

Not every day needs a mental health emergency kit. But when the bad days hit—the ones where getting out of bed feels Olympic-level hard—I’m glad I have one.

Think of it like a first-aid kit, but instead of Band-Aids and Advil, it’s filled with things that help patch up your brain and heart when they’re in crisis mode.

Here’s what I keep in mine, and how you can build your own.

Anxiety is a natural and often beneficial emotion. It’s a normal reaction to stress and can be helpful in some situations. For instance, anxiety can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. However, anxiety disorders involve more than temporary worry or fear. For people with anxiety disorders, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time. These feelings can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, school work, and relationships.

Your lifestyle can play a part in how your anxiety affects you. If you’re staying up late, eating poorly, and stressed. Then you’re contributing to how your anxiety affects you. Our lifestyle choices are a simple yet powerful tool in combating anxiety and depression. Paired with professional help, healthy lifestyle changes can help relieve anxiety. It puts you in a better position for managing your anxiety. Your anxiety doesn’t have to control you, instead, you can control it by living a healthy lifestyle.

Do you often find yourself waking up with no sense of direction and feeling overwhelmed by the day ahead? Or your body feeling on edge? If the answer is yes, then you may want to think of making changes to your morning routine. How we start the day sets the tone for the rest of the day. So having a healthy morning routine can reduce anxiety and set you up for a happy, healthy, and productive day. Let’s take a look at how we can decrease the symptoms of anxiety and take control of our mornings.