On Thursday September 7th, I shared with our group my most recent presentation entitled “ The Importance of Structure in our Lives “ 

I began by sharing that I remember a time a few years ago, when I was struggling with my mental health. When thinking about it, the one common factor that contributed to my struggles back then, was a lack of structure in my life. I feel that structure is probably one of the most important parts of staying mentally healthy. 

Why is structure so important?

-A regular structure in your life can create a sense of control that can reduce stress levels, and you’ll feel more in control of your time.

– Having some structure helps to fight back against anxiety, because you start focusing more on your daily routine and improving yourself, and less on the feelings of anxiety. 

– Structure helps you to stay focused and to get things done 

– Structure is also necessary to create stability in your

How to structure your days when you struggle with anxiety ;

 1) Start out by waking up at the same time daily. Think about three things you’re grateful for before getting out of bed. 

2) Pick three things from your to-do-list. Nothing can make anxiety worse than a long list of things you have to get done. Instead, pick 3 things from your list that you can get done that day. This helps you keep up with things without getting overwhelmed. Or if you’re really having a difficult day, choose just one item on your to do list to complete.

 3) Set a strict sleep schedule. Sleep is very important in our mental and physical health. Work on getting between 7-9 hours per night. Try and go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Remember that the right amount of sleep will help keep your mood stay elevated throughout the day. This will also help keep your anxiety levels low. 

4) Slowly add new things into your routine. There are a lot of things you can start doing daily that will help with anxiety and depression. Such as: working out, eating anxiety reducing foods, reading a good book, walking, and journaling. Taking small steps is a great way to add new things into your routine. Start by doing it for 5 minutes a day, then the following week increase it to 10 minutes per day. 

5) Take it one day at a time…learning to take things one day at a time helps you to stay mindful and keeps you more in the moment. It also takes the pressure off. Try to enjoy the process as you are building up a new structure for your life. Focus on today, and remember what you are grateful for. 

6) Push yourself, but don’t overdo it. Work on putting yourself out there, just pull back before you reach the point of hating something so much that you never want to do it again. 

Routine….there are many benefits of having a routine. 

There are things that you can include in your daily routine that will help manage your stress levels:

– try and stay active and get regular exercise 

– making sure you’re well rested 

– when setting goals, make sure they are realistic 

– Remember to try and stay positive 

– It’s very important to stay in touch with family and friends, by texting at the very minimum!

– Set aside some time for things in life that you enjoy.

Making a list….. One idea that may help is to make a daily list of things you want to accomplish. Every night when I am getting ready for bed, I make my to do list for the next day. For me, there is something about the physical act of writing things down that seems to motivate me to get those things completed the next day. Include everything on this list from things you need to complete for your job, to household chores that must be done. 

There are a couple of things you can do on a Sunday night to get ready for the upcoming week

On Sunday, try going for a walk. This is a great way to clear your head for the upcoming week. 

This is an important one…plan something fun for yourself! Maybe going out to dinner with friends, a movie night, maybe even a concert for one of your favorite performers. Make it something you can get excited about! 

 Write down anything that’s bothering you…before you nod off to sleep, try journaling or writing down anything that you’re worried about. This will also help you go to bed with a relaxed mind. In closing, when it comes to structure in our lives, about four years ago I honestly wasn’t very familiar with this terminology . But now that I attend DBSA meetings most every Thursday, I totally understand the importance of structure and have learned to understand what it means in our lives. Just coming to this group every week is an important piece of the much needed structure in my own life. And it’s an important part of the structure in your life as well.