July 7, 2025 • 14 mins
You know that feeling—waking up already overwhelmed, anxious, and behind?
This episode is for anyone who's tired of starting their day in survival mode.
Jessica Davis, licensed therapist and creator of the C.O.U.R.A.G.E. Method, shares how one small shift in your morning (and evening) routine can have a powerful domino effect on your anxiety, mindset, and energy. Whether you’re still in bed scrolling, mentally spiraling before school, or dragging through your day, this episode gives you a realistic plan—not one that adds pressure, but one that brings peace.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why the first few minutes of your day set the tone for how anxious (or calm) you’ll feel
- Why it’s so hard to get out of bed when you’re anxious—and how to change that
- How to use affirmations and mantras when you feel flooded with negative thoughts
- The neuroscience behind morning mindfulness and dopamine
- Two nighttime habits that lower anxiety and help you sleep more peacefully
- How to build a routine that works for you—even when you feel like giving up
Got a question or feedback? Text us and share your thoughts—we’d love to hear from you!
RESOURCES:
Get your FREE Anxiety Survival Toolkit to help you when your anxiety is overwhelming!
Grab your FREE 90-Day Courage Challenge Cheat Sheet and start building confidence today.
📱 Follow Us:
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🎙️ Presented by Davis-Smith Mental Health
This podcast was created by Davis-Smith Mental Health, offering counseling for teens & young adults in Illinois (only). We accept BCBS PPO, Aetna PPO, and self-pay clients.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Block Out the Noise provides personal insights and practical strategies to help manage anxiety and self-doubt. The content is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional mental health care, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing a crisis or need immediate assistance, please contact emergency services or a trusted mental health professional immediately.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jessica Davis (00:07):
What if I told you, the first thing you do each
morning is like domino effect,and once that first one tips,
the rest of your day starts tofollow its lead.
This is not just a metaphor,it's actually how our brains
work.
Teens who start their morningswith one intentional action they
just don't feel calmer.
They build momentum, they stopfeeling like the day is already
(00:32):
ahead of them.
And teens with anxiety that canmake all the difference.
So if mornings feeloverwhelming, if it feels like
you wake up already anxious,already behind, this is for you.
By the end of this, I'm goingto walk you through a morning
routine that's simple andcustomizable and actually doable
(00:53):
.
Not something to add pressure,but something to give you peace.
This one change, it might justchange everything.
Just change everything.
(01:13):
Hi, and welcome back to BlockOut the Noise.
The go-to podcast for teens andyoung adults who are ready to
quiet anxiety, self-doubt andoverthinking.
I'm your host, jessica Davis, alicensed therapist, mindset
coach and the creator of theCourage Method, a signature
framework designed to help youtake control over your thoughts,
trust yourself and buildconfidence in the face of fear.
Before we dive in.
(01:34):
This podcast is here to supportand guide you, but it is not a
replacement for talking tosomeone in real life.
If you're struggling with yourmental health, please reach out
to a therapist, and if you're incrisis, contact emergency
services or a local helpline.
You don't have to go through italone.
All right, let's cut throughthe noise and get started.
(01:55):
Let's be honest Our brainscrave predictability and routine
.
Especially when you'restruggling with anxiety, your
nervous system is already onhigh alert, so when your
mornings feel chaotic, rushed oroverstimulating, you're not
starting from calm, you'restarting from survival.
(02:15):
A morning routine can set youup for success.
So often teens roll out of bedand, honestly, not even rolling
you guys kind of lay.
Then teens roll out of bed and,honestly, not even rolling you
guys kind of like not justminutes, it could be hours.
But by the time you actuallydecide to put your feet on the
ground and get out of bed, itcan already feel like your day
(02:36):
is behind.
You feel as if there is nomotivation to move because
you're struggling with all thethings that you're thinking
about and haven't done yet.
This is why I think a morningroutine is vital to fighting
anxiety.
When you start your day off onthe right foot, you can feel
that carry on throughout the day.
That's why I love the dominoeffect analogy or metaphor,
(02:58):
whatever.
I didn't study English, so whenyou start the day off, right,
you feel it throughout the day,but when you have a rough
morning, it feels as if you'reconstantly behind and you can
never catch up.
It's not true, but it justfeels that way.
That's why I think a morningroutine is so key.
So what does that look like?
(03:19):
I think a morning routine isgoing to be different for each
person and each personality.
To be honest, what works forone won't work for all.
There's people who will tellyou the first thing you should
do when you wake up is drink afull glass of water.
Some people will say the firstthing you should do is make your
bed.
Other people will tell you totake a very cold, shivering cold
(03:40):
shower, and some will tell youto meditate.
Honestly, I think the best thingyou can do the first thing out
of the day is do something thatwill make you feel like you've
got to win.
So what does that look like?
For some it might be making thebed, for some it could be
drinking water, but for anotherperson it could be going for a
walk.
It could be packing yourbackpack for the day, but there
(04:04):
are situations where you willjust struggle doing something.
There's those days where youjust don't want to get out of
bed and you feel as if the worldis against you, or you feel as
though being in your room is asafer place than being out in
the world.
When you're in those situations, I think the best thing you can
do to start your day is saysomething kind to yourself.
(04:25):
Instead of focusing in ontrying to do something and get
that early first win, you couldjust focus in on doing
affirmations and mantras.
I think these are a great wayto start your day, especially
because when you struggle withanxiety, it can feel as though
you're flooded with negativethoughts, tons of negativity
that are just starting off whenyou open your eyes.
(04:47):
Sometimes you haven't evenopened your eyes yet and it
feels like it's already starting.
So by adding in thisintentional piece, it can really
help you fight those negativethoughts and feel more at ease
when you start your day.
So you're probably wonderingwhere am I going to get these
affirmations, mantras to startmy day one?
You can make them up yourself.
(05:09):
It doesn't have to be huge.
It doesn't have to be this likelong drawn out thing.
It could be small, it could be.
I am grateful to be alive today.
It could also feel like it's ablessing.
It could be I am strong, I amcaring, I am loving, I am kind,
(05:30):
but if you're like me, who isreally particular about things,
or I struggle with, whatintentionality do I want today?
I look up differentaffirmations, mantras that
really connect with me.
You can find these on Pinterest.
You can find these throughGoogle.
You can find them throughYouTube videos.
(05:51):
The goal, though, is just toplay it, or see it and read it,
so that you can see that you'resetting this intention for
yourself to start off the dayright.
I think that's a major win tostart your day no matter what,
so that's something you can dobefore you even step out of bed.
It's something that everyonehas access to.
Everyone can do.
It doesn't have to be big.
(06:13):
Even if you don't have a phonebecause your parents took it
away for the umpteenth time, theone thing you can do is come up
with a mantra or affirmation.
It could be as simple as today.
I am going to work on beingpositive.
Or I want today to be a daywhere I practice self-care and
self-love.
(06:33):
Or yesterday wasn't the bestday, but today I'm going to be
intentional with my time and myenergy.
Whatever it is, whatever youcome up with, all that matters
is that you're trying.
Morning mindfulness andgratitude boost dopamine, which
improves your mood andresiliency.
So if you're struggling withthis and you feel like, ah, I'm
(06:57):
getting even this wrong, youcan't.
It doesn't matter what yourwords are.
As long as you're trying togive yourself that positive
boost, not beating yourself up,you do that enough.
This is about being intentionaltowards yourself, towards your
energy and towards helping boostyour mood right in the morning,
before you start your day.
(07:19):
I'm a firm believer Routineswill happen, no matter what.
So whether you are thinking Idon't want a routine, you
already have one.
You've already established it.
So why not just make changes,small shifts that you can make,
to have a better way of startingyour day or even a better way
of ending your day?
(07:39):
Before we dive into eveningroutines, I want to give you a
quick reminder.
If your anxiety feelsoverwhelming and you don't know
what to do next, please downloadthe anxiety survival toolkit.
It is there just for you.
Inside of it, you'll get copingskills.
Emergency reset call guidedmeditation.
Courage calls things to calmyour racing thoughts in the
(08:03):
moment.
Download it now, use the linkin the show notes and if this
episode has been helpful so far,please like and follow us.
I think sometimes how you endyour evening can really set you
up for success for the next day.
And again, I'm not going totell you exactly what to do,
because everyone is different onhow they want to end their day,
(08:24):
how they're intentional aboutthat.
One thing I will tell teens todo is one thing please, please,
stop sleeping with earbuds inyour ear.
It's not good for you guys.
I know you guys do this superoften, especially from my
clients who tell me this, butplease don't sleep with those
(08:45):
things in your ears.
It's not healthy, not good foryour ears.
Yes, so, focusing in on eveningroutine, people are different.
Some people really like toshower to wind down before their
end of the night.
Some people like to set outtheir clothes so that they have
a better idea of what they'regoing to wear in the morning and
they don't have to stressthemselves out about that and
(09:05):
change clothes 25 times beforethey settle on that one gray
shirt that they wear all thetime To really set a good tone
for yourself for the next day is, honestly, just do two things,
and if two is too hard, do one.
One is to look back at your dayand just figure out maybe two to
(09:29):
three things that you arereally proud of for yourself for
the day.
It doesn't have to be bigthings, it's just the wins that
you can know.
If you stayed in bed all day,I'm sure you're thinking I
didn't do anything, I didn't getout, I stayed, I struggled, you
made it through.
You made it through a tough dayand that's a win.
And for the people who aresaying, oh, that's not big, I
(09:53):
think it's one of the biggestthings, because no one
understands what you're goingthrough when you're going
through a low.
And when you're going through alow, you have to count your
wins even more, and sometimesthe win is I got through.
Sometimes the win is I ate or Ishowered.
(10:13):
They don't have to be bigthings to count, they just have
to be acknowledging that you didsomething, and sometimes we
don't do that enough.
That would be one, but two.
I think the next thing isplanning your next day out this
one.
I feel like when I do it I seesuch a vast improvement on how I
feel about the day.
I'm excited to start the nextday, I know I have a plan,
(10:37):
whereas when I don't set thisintention of planning out my day
, I feel like I'm just runningaround, not knowing what to do,
where to go, how much time tospend on something, and it just
feels as if the day gets awayfrom me and before I know it
it's two o'clock and I'm alreadyfeeling like the day's gone.
I know, for a teen you're liketwo o'clock is probably when I'm
(10:58):
really starting my day, butstill, when you plan out your
day, it just leads to adifferent intention.
It gives you motivation, ithelps you to know what you're
looking forward to, and itdoesn't have to be big things
either.
I mean, when it's summertimeyou can literally say I'm going
to read a book, or I'm going togo see this friend tomorrow
(11:19):
because I've set it up, and nowI know, or I know that we're
going to go to this event andI'm looking forward to it.
Once you have an idea for thatnext day, it really does help
decrease that anxiety becauseyou already know what's coming
next.
So I'm going to challenge you todo a courageous moment.
I would like to challenge youto, just for five days, do the
(11:43):
domino effect.
Come up with one thing that youare going to do for the morning
and one thing that you're goingto do at the end of the night
to build momentum.
And by momentum that could looklike, I said, affirmations and
mantras, it could be reading abook.
Whatever intention you set foryourself five days of that, it
(12:05):
doesn't have to be the samething for the morning or the
evening.
I think you know, starting offsaying something positive
yourself and ending your nightsaying something positive is
just an easy quick win.
But again, you know, everyonehas their own plan, everyone has
their own idea of what a quickwin looks like.
So, whatever that means to you,I would love it if you drop it
in the comments just to evengive people different ideas of
(12:28):
things that they can do to getthat quick win.
I've kind of mentioned this afew times, but it's because I
really wanted to hit home.
I've kind of mentioned this afew times, but it's because I
really wanted to hit home.
Don't brush off your progress.
You will not have the perfectroutine every single day.
You are not going to have itevery single night.
You may have it for a few daysand feel like you're
backtracking, and yet all you'resupposed to do is get back on
(12:52):
the horse you make.
One day you don't do what youthink you wanted to do.
Try the next, just keep trying.
That's the goal in life, in allhonesty.
It's to push yourself to keeptrying to keep moving, and when
you do that, you're winning.
(13:12):
Whether the routine goes howyou want it to or not, it's a
win.
If this helped you feel seen,heard, please like it and share
it with someone who needs tohear it Also.
Grab that anxiety survivaltoolkit.
It is here to support you whenanxiety hits.
Thank you for staying this long.
I truly appreciate it.
Until next time, keep movingforward.
(13:34):
Trust yourself and never forgetyou have what it takes to block
out the noise.
What if I told you, the first thing you do each
morning is like domino effect,and once that first one tips,
the rest of your day starts tofollow its lead.
This is not just a metaphor,it's actually how our brains
work.
Teens who start their morningswith one intentional action they
just don't feel calmer.
They build momentum, they stopfeeling like the day is already
(00:32):
ahead of them.
And teens with anxiety that canmake all the difference.
So if mornings feeloverwhelming, if it feels like
you wake up already anxious,already behind, this is for you.
By the end of this, I'm goingto walk you through a morning
routine that's simple andcustomizable and actually doable
(00:53):
.
Not something to add pressure,but something to give you peace.
This one change, it might justchange everything.
Just change everything.
(01:13):
Hi, and welcome back to BlockOut the Noise.
The go-to podcast for teens andyoung adults who are ready to
quiet anxiety, self-doubt andoverthinking.
I'm your host, jessica Davis, alicensed therapist, mindset
coach and the creator of theCourage Method, a signature
framework designed to help youtake control over your thoughts,
trust yourself and buildconfidence in the face of fear.
Before we dive in.
(01:34):
This podcast is here to supportand guide you, but it is not a
replacement for talking tosomeone in real life.
If you're struggling with yourmental health, please reach out
to a therapist, and if you're incrisis, contact emergency
services or a local helpline.
You don't have to go through italone.
All right, let's cut throughthe noise and get started.
(01:55):
Let's be honest Our brainscrave predictability and routine
.
Especially when you'restruggling with anxiety, your
nervous system is already onhigh alert, so when your
mornings feel chaotic, rushed oroverstimulating, you're not
starting from calm, you'restarting from survival.
(02:15):
A morning routine can set youup for success.
So often teens roll out of bedand, honestly, not even rolling
you guys kind of lay.
Then teens roll out of bed and,honestly, not even rolling you
guys kind of like not justminutes, it could be hours.
But by the time you actuallydecide to put your feet on the
ground and get out of bed, itcan already feel like your day
(02:36):
is behind.
You feel as if there is nomotivation to move because
you're struggling with all thethings that you're thinking
about and haven't done yet.
This is why I think a morningroutine is vital to fighting
anxiety.
When you start your day off onthe right foot, you can feel
that carry on throughout the day.
That's why I love the dominoeffect analogy or metaphor,
(02:58):
whatever.
I didn't study English, so whenyou start the day off, right,
you feel it throughout the day,but when you have a rough
morning, it feels as if you'reconstantly behind and you can
never catch up.
It's not true, but it justfeels that way.
That's why I think a morningroutine is so key.
So what does that look like?
(03:19):
I think a morning routine isgoing to be different for each
person and each personality.
To be honest, what works forone won't work for all.
There's people who will tellyou the first thing you should
do when you wake up is drink afull glass of water.
Some people will say the firstthing you should do is make your
bed.
Other people will tell you totake a very cold, shivering cold
(03:40):
shower, and some will tell youto meditate.
Honestly, I think the best thingyou can do the first thing out
of the day is do something thatwill make you feel like you've
got to win.
So what does that look like?
For some it might be making thebed, for some it could be
drinking water, but for anotherperson it could be going for a
walk.
It could be packing yourbackpack for the day, but there
(04:04):
are situations where you willjust struggle doing something.
There's those days where youjust don't want to get out of
bed and you feel as if the worldis against you, or you feel as
though being in your room is asafer place than being out in
the world.
When you're in those situations, I think the best thing you can
do to start your day is saysomething kind to yourself.
(04:25):
Instead of focusing in ontrying to do something and get
that early first win, you couldjust focus in on doing
affirmations and mantras.
I think these are a great wayto start your day, especially
because when you struggle withanxiety, it can feel as though
you're flooded with negativethoughts, tons of negativity
that are just starting off whenyou open your eyes.
(04:47):
Sometimes you haven't evenopened your eyes yet and it
feels like it's already starting.
So by adding in thisintentional piece, it can really
help you fight those negativethoughts and feel more at ease
when you start your day.
So you're probably wonderingwhere am I going to get these
affirmations, mantras to startmy day one?
You can make them up yourself.
(05:09):
It doesn't have to be huge.
It doesn't have to be this likelong drawn out thing.
It could be small, it could be.
I am grateful to be alive today.
It could also feel like it's ablessing.
It could be I am strong, I amcaring, I am loving, I am kind,
(05:30):
but if you're like me, who isreally particular about things,
or I struggle with, whatintentionality do I want today?
I look up differentaffirmations, mantras that
really connect with me.
You can find these on Pinterest.
You can find these throughGoogle.
You can find them throughYouTube videos.
(05:51):
The goal, though, is just toplay it, or see it and read it,
so that you can see that you'resetting this intention for
yourself to start off the dayright.
I think that's a major win tostart your day no matter what,
so that's something you can dobefore you even step out of bed.
It's something that everyonehas access to.
Everyone can do.
It doesn't have to be big.
(06:13):
Even if you don't have a phonebecause your parents took it
away for the umpteenth time, theone thing you can do is come up
with a mantra or affirmation.
It could be as simple as today.
I am going to work on beingpositive.
Or I want today to be a daywhere I practice self-care and
self-love.
(06:33):
Or yesterday wasn't the bestday, but today I'm going to be
intentional with my time and myenergy.
Whatever it is, whatever youcome up with, all that matters
is that you're trying.
Morning mindfulness andgratitude boost dopamine, which
improves your mood andresiliency.
So if you're struggling withthis and you feel like, ah, I'm
(06:57):
getting even this wrong, youcan't.
It doesn't matter what yourwords are.
As long as you're trying togive yourself that positive
boost, not beating yourself up,you do that enough.
This is about being intentionaltowards yourself, towards your
energy and towards helping boostyour mood right in the morning,
before you start your day.
(07:19):
I'm a firm believer Routineswill happen, no matter what.
So whether you are thinking Idon't want a routine, you
already have one.
You've already established it.
So why not just make changes,small shifts that you can make,
to have a better way of startingyour day or even a better way
of ending your day?
(07:39):
Before we dive into eveningroutines, I want to give you a
quick reminder.
If your anxiety feelsoverwhelming and you don't know
what to do next, please downloadthe anxiety survival toolkit.
It is there just for you.
Inside of it, you'll get copingskills.
Emergency reset call guidedmeditation.
Courage calls things to calmyour racing thoughts in the
(08:03):
moment.
Download it now, use the linkin the show notes and if this
episode has been helpful so far,please like and follow us.
I think sometimes how you endyour evening can really set you
up for success for the next day.
And again, I'm not going totell you exactly what to do,
because everyone is different onhow they want to end their day,
(08:24):
how they're intentional aboutthat.
One thing I will tell teens todo is one thing please, please,
stop sleeping with earbuds inyour ear.
It's not good for you guys.
I know you guys do this superoften, especially from my
clients who tell me this, butplease don't sleep with those
(08:45):
things in your ears.
It's not healthy, not good foryour ears.
Yes, so, focusing in on eveningroutine, people are different.
Some people really like toshower to wind down before their
end of the night.
Some people like to set outtheir clothes so that they have
a better idea of what they'regoing to wear in the morning and
they don't have to stressthemselves out about that and
(09:05):
change clothes 25 times beforethey settle on that one gray
shirt that they wear all thetime To really set a good tone
for yourself for the next day is, honestly, just do two things,
and if two is too hard, do one.
One is to look back at your dayand just figure out maybe two to
(09:29):
three things that you arereally proud of for yourself for
the day.
It doesn't have to be bigthings, it's just the wins that
you can know.
If you stayed in bed all day,I'm sure you're thinking I
didn't do anything, I didn't getout, I stayed, I struggled, you
made it through.
You made it through a tough dayand that's a win.
And for the people who aresaying, oh, that's not big, I
(09:53):
think it's one of the biggestthings, because no one
understands what you're goingthrough when you're going
through a low.
And when you're going through alow, you have to count your
wins even more, and sometimesthe win is I got through.
Sometimes the win is I ate or Ishowered.
(10:13):
They don't have to be bigthings to count, they just have
to be acknowledging that you didsomething, and sometimes we
don't do that enough.
That would be one, but two.
I think the next thing isplanning your next day out this
one.
I feel like when I do it I seesuch a vast improvement on how I
feel about the day.
I'm excited to start the nextday, I know I have a plan,
(10:37):
whereas when I don't set thisintention of planning out my day
, I feel like I'm just runningaround, not knowing what to do,
where to go, how much time tospend on something, and it just
feels as if the day gets awayfrom me and before I know it
it's two o'clock and I'm alreadyfeeling like the day's gone.
I know, for a teen you're liketwo o'clock is probably when I'm
(10:58):
really starting my day, butstill, when you plan out your
day, it just leads to adifferent intention.
It gives you motivation, ithelps you to know what you're
looking forward to, and itdoesn't have to be big things
either.
I mean, when it's summertimeyou can literally say I'm going
to read a book, or I'm going togo see this friend tomorrow
(11:19):
because I've set it up, and nowI know, or I know that we're
going to go to this event andI'm looking forward to it.
Once you have an idea for thatnext day, it really does help
decrease that anxiety becauseyou already know what's coming
next.
So I'm going to challenge you todo a courageous moment.
I would like to challenge youto, just for five days, do the
(11:43):
domino effect.
Come up with one thing that youare going to do for the morning
and one thing that you're goingto do at the end of the night
to build momentum.
And by momentum that could looklike, I said, affirmations and
mantras, it could be reading abook.
Whatever intention you set foryourself five days of that, it
(12:05):
doesn't have to be the samething for the morning or the
evening.
I think you know, starting offsaying something positive
yourself and ending your nightsaying something positive is
just an easy quick win.
But again, you know, everyonehas their own plan, everyone has
their own idea of what a quickwin looks like.
So, whatever that means to you,I would love it if you drop it
in the comments just to evengive people different ideas of
(12:28):
things that they can do to getthat quick win.
I've kind of mentioned this afew times, but it's because I
really wanted to hit home.
I've kind of mentioned this afew times, but it's because I
really wanted to hit home.
Don't brush off your progress.
You will not have the perfectroutine every single day.
You are not going to have itevery single night.
You may have it for a few daysand feel like you're
backtracking, and yet all you'resupposed to do is get back on
(12:52):
the horse you make.
One day you don't do what youthink you wanted to do.
Try the next, just keep trying.
That's the goal in life, in allhonesty.
It's to push yourself to keeptrying to keep moving, and when
you do that, you're winning.
(13:12):
Whether the routine goes howyou want it to or not, it's a
win.
If this helped you feel seen,heard, please like it and share
it with someone who needs tohear it Also.
Grab that anxiety survivaltoolkit.
It is here to support you whenanxiety hits.
Thank you for staying this long.
I truly appreciate it.
Until next time, keep movingforward.
(13:34):
Trust yourself and never forgetyou have what it takes to block
out the noise.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com