Gok Wan: ‘Smiling for 60 seconds is a great way to start each day’

The 47-year-old fashion guru has been open about suffering at the hands of bullies as a teenager and experiencing an eating disorder and depression, but has since come out the other side and is feeling stronger than ever. From breathing rituals to bright colours, Gok Wan reveals his tips for slowing down and feeling happier...

ENHANCE YOUR MOOD WITH A BOLD OUTFIT

Colour therapy, also known as chromotherapy, uses different colours and tones to boost your wellbeing. Gok suggests injecting colour into your wardrobe for feel-good fashion.

“Don’t underestimate the power of colour – it can massively impact your mood,” he advises. “When we wear bright, bold colours, they stimulate our brains positively. So if you’re lacking in confidence, or if you want to make a notable difference in how you present yourself to a group of people, then introducing colour, print and texture into your wardrobe will send out far more positive messages than dark tones or something subdued.

"I do wear a lot of black, but that was a conscious decision I made years ago because I never wanted to upstage the person I was dressing.”

SUPERCHARGE YOUR DAY WITH A SMILE

We’ve all heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but the same could be true of a smile. Scientific research shows that smiling spurs a chemical reaction in your brain that releases happy hormones, like serotonin and dopamine. It’s something that Gok does religiously when he wakes up.

“Every single morning, the first thing I do when I wake up is smile for 60 seconds – before I do anything else. Putting a massive smile on my face makes me feel happier, starts my day better and puts me in the right mindset. I’ve spoken to psychologists about this. Some believe it does nothing and others believe it does everything. It works for me, so I believe it does everything,” he explains.

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BE GENTLE WITH YOUR REFLECTION

As the host of the hit show How To Look Good Naked, Gok believes that accepting your reflection may not happen overnight.

“Don’t put yourself under any pressure that you’re going to feel any different in the future; on Monday, or next week, or whenever it is. You’ve got to have an honest relationship with the mirror. Understand why it is that you don’t feel confident about yourself and that’ll kick-start the change.

"Having 100 per cent body confidence isn’t waking up one day and loving your body – it’s waking up one day and not hating any part of your body. The goal shouldn’t be you being able to say, ‘Oh my god, I can stand here naked now.’ That’s an impossible task for a lot of people and can take a long time. It’s about you turning around and not being aware that you’re naked in front of the mirror, because you’re focusing on all the other stuff that’s far more important!”

Watch: Emma Kenny’s mood boosting tips

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REPEAT A POWERFUL MANTRA

Gok says, “I’ve got a few positive affirmations that I use as tools when I need them, but my main one is, ‘You can only do your best’. I was having a really tough time and my assistant said this to me when I needed to hear it most. It was almost like my brain suddenly stopped going into overdrive.

"Now, I repeat, ‘You can only do your best’ to myself constantly throughout the day and it helps control my anxieties and nerves. I say that to myself inside my head before I go live on air and it’ll always be fine! My other positive affirmation is, ‘Slow the f**k down’, because I’m constantly saying that to myself, too! I know that I race through my life and do everything too quickly.”

MAKE MEDITATION WORK FOR YOU

Gok says, “I’m probably the least spiritual person you’ll meet, but while I don’t do anything typically meditative – like using sound bowls or crystals – I do my own stuff to keep me in a decent headspace. During lockdown, I started running for the first time and did Couch to 5k. I don’t jog as much as I should after completing it, but something that I did pick up from it was regulating my breathing. I’m one of those people who lives on their nerves constantly and I’ve always got some form of low-level anxiety going on, so over the last 12 months I’ve started practising breathing techniques regularly.

"I’ve got a dear friend who’s a breathing yogi (Aicha Mckenzie – @aichamckenzie on Instagram) and I find her breathing techniques really meditative. I also use cooking to slow down. In the evenings, I use it as a marker – I know that I won’t go back to work after that. I’ll work up to 8-9pm at night and then cook for an hour, and it’s as valuable as doing something like yoga or Pilates because I just stop. I’ll have music on in the background and I’m purely focused on the food.”

STOP COMPARING YOURSELF

“Finding a sense of community and knowing that you belong to something – and you’re not the only person that feels the way that you do – it’s so important. Social media can be positive and negative. I’m always on Instagram, but sometimes I have to tell myself off and say, ‘Stop looking at other people’s lives and comparing’. We all do that,” Gok says. “When it comes to the people who you follow, you need to be in control of the stuff you’re being exposed to. If you follow an account that doesn’t make you feel great about yourself, then unfollow. Just stop looking. You have to police that yourself. There are lots of people out there spreading goodness and talking about good stuff, so start following those accounts instead and let those people become your inspiration. It’s got to be down to us – what we feel inspired by, and what we allow ourselves to be inspired by.”

Bling airs weekdays from 11 October, ITV, 2pm

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