NYC woman shares her ‘happy brain routine’: ‘This is so real’
One woman is sharing what she’s dubbed her “happy brain routine.”
On July 3, Madison Wild (@madisonxwild), a 23-year-old fashion influencer based in New York City, took to TikTok to share the ways she prioritizes her mental health.
“I think there are people who are born happy and people who have to do things every day or consistently to maintain a happy level of homeostasis,” Wild begins. “It’s taken me my whole life to develop these things, but I know they work, because as soon as I stop doing them, I go right back to my, like, brain telling me everything is horrible and terrible.”
Wild’s first tip is to exercise — even if it’s just for 20 minutes a couple times a week. Going for a walk in the morning also makes a difference, she says.
“A 20-minute walk in the morning before you do anything changes your goddamn day,” she says. “Bonus points if you can journal in the morning and not go on your phone.”
Experts also agree that journaling is a helpful strategy when it comes to mental health.
“Journaling is a healthy coping strategy that includes mindfulness of emotions and insight building, which can happen when we start to write down our thoughts and feelings,” Bisma Anwar, a licensed mental health counselor based in New York, wrote for Talk Space.
‘Find the thing that gives you chills’
Maintaining a willingness to learn new things is Wild’s next tip.
“Find a random photo, journal, book where someone’s doing something cool in the world. So even if you can’t see meaning in your own life, you can see that it still exists out there and someone else is doing something beautiful and cool,” she says. “And that the world still has meaning, even if you feel like yours doesn’t. Learning and reading is something that gives me chills. Find the thing that gives you chills.”
It’s likely that Wild is describing a psychological response known as “aesthetic chills.”
“Aesthetic chills are embodied emotional-hedonic responses evoked by, among others, experiences with music, poetry, videos, beauty in nature or art, or even by eloquent speeches,” Giacomo Bignardi, a doctoral candidate at Max Planck School of Cognition in Leipzig, Germany, and his colleagues from Goldsmith University of London and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, wrote in a 2022 study. “They are frequently self-reported by individuals during peaks of hedonic and emotional experiences, such as sadness and happiness, being moved, feeling touched, and the sensation of awe.”
Fighting the inclination to avoid human contact, according to Wild, is imperative, too.
“Please don’t isolate yourself,” she says. “Hang out with people. We’re social beings, and we need human connections to be happy people. That’s a real thing. I know you don’t want to see people, but please just see one person.”
Getting ready and putting effort into your appearance is Wild’s final tip.
“Shower and get ready every day,” she says. “Put on cute outfits. When you look in the mirror, you can see someone that you are taking care of and that you love.”
Tracy Thomas, an emotional scientist, interventionist and psychologist also notes the benefit of getting dressed up.
“If you’re dazzling and sparkling, even if it’s just putting on a necklace with your tracksuit, you actually will feel more dazzling and sparking in life,” Thomas told Huff Post.
‘This is so real. The world is absolutely all yours, choose to make it a beautiful one’
TikTok users have taken to Wild’s comments to express their gratitude for sharing this routine.
“feels extremely validating knowing other ppl go thru this,” @mangosrule wrote.
“This is so real,” @frannyfarts6969 commented. “The world is absolutely all yours, choose to make it a beautiful one.”
“The big secret is that there is no other group of people who were born happy. There were just people raised by people who implemented these things,” @boseraphina wrote, to which Wild replied, “My parents totally did tho! But I know people who can just exist doing none of this and have never dealt with mental illness.”
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