What to do when overwhelmed

How to Take Care of Yourself When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

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By Mental Health First Aid USA on March 17, 2021

Let’s get real: there are times in life when you’re going to feel overwhelmed. Whether it be with work, school, social obligations or just life in general, we all feel overwhelmed, anxious, or stressed at some point. It’s important to give yourself grace when you have these feelings. Try not to brush them off or push through whatever is causing you to feel anxious – your mental health matters and if you’re feeling the squeeze, understand that you can take a step back.

We understand that recent events along with the COVID-19 pandemic have made things complicated, and it can be difficult to juggle all of your responsibilities at the same time. When you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, remember that you can always revisit your self-care plan. Self-care plans are personal, which can be just the thing for when things feel like too much. Try some of these tips when you’re feeling overwhelmed:

Take a deep breath and step away. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious, a quick way to begin to alleviate those feelings is by doing breathing exercises. If the thing that’s overwhelming you is in front of you, try taking a step away from it to create some separation between you and whatever is making you feel this way. Deep breathing exercises are a great way to promote relaxation and lower your stress response. Need some breathing exercise guidance? We’ve got you covered.
Create a “no” list. Protecting your time and space can help give you a sense of control over your schedule. If you don’t want to do something or have been dreading that virtual happy hour, don’t feel like you have to go. Replace the activities you don’t want to do with something that you’ll enjoy. Healthy boundaries are crucial for your wellbeing!
Be kind to yourself. Remember that feeling overwhelmed is OK, especially now. It also helps to remember that feeling overwhelmed doesn’t have to last. Give yourself some grace – if you don’t get to that chore or have to ask for an extension at work, you can. Your mental health should be a top priority.
Ask for help from a loved one. Your social support network is there for you to lean on if you need to vent or talk things through. Reach out to a friend for a virtual chat or pick up the phone and call a family member.
Write it out. Writing down why you feel overwhelmed or anxious is another great way to help alleviate those feelings. It helps to do this unstructured – having a written stream of consciousness allows you to express yourself freely and getting those thoughts out of your head will be a relief.

If you need more inspiration, take a look at this extensive list from Upworthy containing 101 things to try if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Remember that the feelings you’re having are temporary and with the right coping mechanisms and support, you can take care of yourself when things feel overwhelming.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) can also help – here are some blogs to read if you or a loved one is feeling anxious or stressed and needs some support:

How to Help Someone With Anxiety
4 Self-care Tips for How to Deal with Anxiety
How to Create Your Own Self-Care Plan
Five Ways to Support a Loved One with Anxiety or Depression

Resources:

Kelly, M. (2021, February 11). 10 easy breathing exercises for anxiety. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/breathing-exercises-for-anxiety-5088091.

MHFA. (2020). Mental Health First Aid USA for Adults Assisting Adults. Washington, DC: National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

Wright, A. (2016, June 20). 101 ways to take care of yourself when the world feels overwhelming. Upworthy. https://www.upworthy.com/101-self-care-suggestions-for-when-it-all-feels-like-too-much.

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What to Do When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

By Christy Wright

Sometimes life feels like a never-ending to-do list. We rush to our busy jobs every morning only to rush back to our homes, which—if you’ve got kids like I do—often look like disaster zones. We’re balancing our health and our work and our friendships and our errands . . . It feels like a treadmill we can’t turn off.

You know what I’m talking about, right? Unfortunately, feeling overwhelmed has become our new normal. Chalk it up to our overbooked schedules, competing commitments and a Pinterest-perfect standard of life.

But nobody wants to live each day feeling like they’re treading water in the deep end of a wave pool. The black hole of things you need to do quickly zaps the energy, productivity and joy out of your life. So, when the feeling of overwhelm sets in, let’s talk about a few things you can do to take back control.

Why Do I Feel So Overwhelmed?

You’re probably feeling overwhelmed for one of three reasons: You’re doing too many things, you’re doing the wrong things, or you’re just in a busy season.

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Doing too many things quickly leads to overwhelm because we cram way too much into our schedules. We don’t give ourselves any breathing room or time to rest. Doing the wrong things, however, is more subtle. You might not be super busy, but the commitments you do have drain you—like being stuck in a toxic job. You feel anxious and stressed because you don’t enjoy your life. The overwhelm could also be the natural result of being in a busy season—like planning a wedding, taking more responsibility at work, or having a baby.

No matter the root cause, the problem is the same: We feel overwhelmed when we don’t have the mental, emotional or physical capacity to accomplish everything we’re trying to do.

How to Deal With Feeling Overwhelmed

When the panic of overwhelm starts to bubble up, we each have a choice for how we respond. Here are 12 ways to respond that will help you move forward instead of staying stuck.

1. Recognize the season you’re in.

During busy transitional seasons of our lives, like planning a wedding, buying a house, starting a business, or having a baby, it’s understandable to feel temporarily overwhelmed. Or even the regular, run-of-the-mill rhythms can pile up without you noticing it. When this happens, you need to remember: You’re not crazy. You’re human.

Separate yourself from your season. Just because you’re in a mess doesn’t mean you are a mess. Let me explain what I mean with an example. When I’m busy and I don’t have time to clean my car, it can stress me out. Before I know it, there’s a gross banana under the front seat and veggie straws in the cupholders. If I give myself a report card based on the status of my car, some weeks I’m an A and some weeks I’m an F. So, I choose not to get my value from the condition of my car.

Instead of piling on the guilt, learn how to make the most of this season. It won’t last forever!

2.

Focus on what you’re doing right.

It’s easy to start your day thinking of everything you didn’t do the day before, but that only leads to discouragement. So, do the opposite. Think about what you did accomplish yesterday and feel proud about it. You and I can’t do it all, but we can do a lot. When you spend time remembering what you’ve already done, you’ll be in a completely different headspace for the upcoming tasks.

3. Write it down.

If you’re overwhelmed by everything you have to get done, get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Everything feels more intimidating when you don’t know exactly what you’re facing.

David Allen, a productivity expert, says, “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” When you put your ideas somewhere else, it reduces the haunting, elusive feeling that something is escaping you—and stressing you out.

4. Keep two separate to-do lists.

As you write things down, keep two separate lists. The first list should be things you want to get done soon—as in today or this week. The second list is for things you can do if and when there’s time left over. By the nature of having two different lists, you give yourself permission to not do some things.

5. Control what you can control.

Spend some time thinking about the specific things that are stressing you out. In any given situation, there are things you can control and things you can’t. Identifying what you can control and actively letting go of what you can’t is one of the best ways to deal with anxiety.

For example, let’s say you’re swamped in your small business or side gig right now. What can you control in that scenario? Maybe you can decide to say no to a few clients or you can hire some seasonal help.

6. Put systems in place.

We all operate by systems, so it pays to make sure they’re good ones. Author and pastor Craig Groeschel puts it this way: “You have systems by intent or by default.”

Sometimes a good system is simpler than you’d think. For example, my family and I were having trouble staying on the same page about our plans. Then I bought a $20 magnetic calendar and put it on the fridge. All of our plans go on that calendar.

I didn’t know how well this was working until the other morning when my son Carter came downstairs dressed in his favorite pajamas. My husband, Matt, asked him, “What are you doing, buddy? It’s time for school!” and Carter said, “Look at the calendar, Dad. It’s pajama day!”

He was right. And we had no idea that our kids were paying attention to the calendar—but that just goes to show the power of a system. Try out a few approaches that can help solve the problems you’re facing and see what works for you and your family.

7. Rework your schedule.

If you’re consistently feeling overwhelmed, you need to make some major changes to how you manage your time. It’s time to revisit your priorities and make sure you create a schedule that reflects what’s most important to you. Figure out what you enjoy doing, what’s most important to you, and the commitments you can cut that leave you feeling drained and stressed out.

8. Learn to say no.

For most people, saying no and standing their ground is incredibly hard. We all want to be liked, and we want to help. But the good news is there’s a way for you to be kind and loving and still be honest and firm at the same time. You can learn how to say no.

If you don’t have boundaries, I can guarantee that life (and people!) will try to push you around. You’ll agree to commitments that you end up resenting and regretting later. You’ll take on yet another big project at work. You’ll volunteer to coach your son’s 4-year-old soccer team even though you’re five months pregnant because, well, they didn’t have anyone else. You’ll become a person you don’t like in a life you don’t like.

9. Do something you enjoy.

Feeling overwhelmed will quickly extinguish your spark for life. Sometimes you just need to get back to you. Take a break and do something that brings you joy. Read your Bible or a good book to put some positive thoughts in your mind. Grab dinner with a good friend you haven’t seen in a while. Plan a scavenger hunt for your kids.

The bottom line is that you probably need to take a break from problem-solving mode. I know this seems silly, but when you choose to have fun, it brings lightness to your life when you need it the most. It takes your focus off the overwhelming things going on and instead puts it on the beautiful things right in front of you—like your toddler’s little laugh or a cup of coffee with someone you love.

10. Make sleep a priority.

Make rest a priority. It’s very difficult to see things clearly when you’re exhausted. Your to-do list will look even more intimidating because you don’t have the energy to tackle it. But isn’t it amazing how everything seems more manageable after a good night of sleep? You wake up with a fresh perspective of your life and fresh enthusiasm to do what’s in front of you.

11. Exercise.

If you know me at all or you’ve watched my show, you won’t be shocked by this. Y’all—grab a weight and do some curls. Go on a run. Do some jumping jacks. Do something to move your body. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone on a run when I’m feeling overwhelmed. I pound it out on the pavement, and when I come home, I just feel better. I feel less stressed, more in control, and more powerful.

12. Pray.

You may not be a person of faith, but I can tell you from my own experience that prayer will bring peace and calm in a way that nothing else will. God isn’t a distant being in heaven pointing a finger at you, angry and distant. He’s personal. He knows your needs, and He cares about them. He already knows what’s making you feel overwhelmed. He loves it when you come to Him with your prayers and fear and desires.

Take Back Your Time

It sucks to feel like a hamster running on a wheel—doing your best to keep up. One of the core problems with feeling overwhelmed is that we’ve got so many tasks and so little time. I want to do everything I can to help you get control of your time so you can spend it on what matters most to you. That's why I wrote my book, Take Back Your Time. It will help you prioritize and say no to what doesn't matter, walk you through each of the things you do want to accomplish, and schedule everything perfectly into place.

About the author

Christy Wright

Christy Wright is a #1 national bestselling author, personal development expert and host of The Christy Wright Show. She’s been featured on Today, Fox News, and in Entrepreneur and Woman’s Day magazines. Since 2009, Christy has served at Ramsey Solutions, where she teaches on personal development, business and faith. Learn More.

11 symptoms of overwork and what to do about it

Constant and difficult work that requires full dedication of energy, household chores, lack of rest and many other factors of modern life lead to the fact that the human body weakens and overwork occurs.

Causes of overwork:

- frequent stress that accompanies a person both at home and at work;

- lack of rest during daily long work;

- poor quality and lack of sleep;

- lack of physical activity with regular mental activity;

- unbalanced diet and eating disorders;

- long monotonous and monotonous work.

There are two types of overwork: physical and mental. The first develops gradually, and to eliminate it, it is enough to have a good rest, sleep, take a bath or massage. But overwork from mental work often comes unnoticed by a person.

There are four degrees of mental overwork: beginning, mild, severe and severe.

The main symptoms of overwork:

1. Reduced efficiency.

2. Decreased attention.

3. Slowness.

4. Difficulties in switching attention.

5. Fatigue and apathy.

6. Redness of the eyes.

7. Irritability, nervousness.

8. Headache.

9. Attacks of nausea, fainting.

10. Lack or increase in appetite.

11. Sleep disorder.

Of course, every person gets tired, but in order to avoid overwork, it is necessary:

— to properly organize your working day. You can pre-write a list of things that need to be done today, the main thing is to calculate your strength and not try to do more than is possible;

- enough sleep, the optimal duration of sleep for an adult is 8 hours;

- monitor nutrition, a balanced diet is the key to a healthy body and strong immunity;

- take rest breaks so that there is no overwork and work is productive;

- adequately use physical activity, walk more, go to the park for a walk, find time to do some kind of sport in order to change the situation a little, as a result of which mood and well-being will improve. But you shouldn’t go in for sports at night, thereby reducing sleep, by doing this you will only harm your health;

- find an activity that is interesting, the main thing is that you get only positive emotions from this process.

_Based on materials from rospotrebnadzor.ru_

_Photo by pixabay_

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Bringing Yourself Back to Life: How to Deal with Overwork

Author Varya Borodina

April 05, 2019

We all get tired, sleep deprived and lazy sometimes. But how to distinguish ordinary fatigue from a painful condition that can negatively affect all areas of our lives? Pink decided to figure out what asthenia is, why it occurs and how to deal with it.

Asthenia translated from ancient Greek means "powerlessness". In this morbid condition, fatigue, sleep deprivation, distraction, and other symptoms may be mild but prolonged. In other words, asthenia is a background condition that has a significant impact on the quality of life. There are many reasons why it may occur. The first large group of prerequisites is chronic and progressive diseases: infectious, neurological, endocrine and others, as well as disorders in the immune and digestive systems. The second is more acute conditions, often of a mental nature: severe stress, neurosis, depressive episodes, as well as the postpartum period. Often the symptoms of asthenia are mistaken for banal fatigue and do not attach importance to them. But there are several important factors that will help distinguish one from the other.

Normal fatigue most often has a specific cause - physical or mental overexertion. And a good rest (for example, a long sleep) and folk stimulants like coffee or an invigorating shower help to cope with it. The cause of fatigue is a simple lack of energy resources, and replenishing them can solve the problem. Asthenia, on the other hand, occurs due to a violation in the regulation of the use of these resources at the level of brain centers. The usual relaxed day off is unlikely to help cope with it.

Symptoms of asthenia may be a general decrease in performance, when it takes much more time and effort to perform the usual activities; nervous exhaustion with mood swings, increased irritability and burnout symptoms; a constant headache of moderate intensity, any prolonged sleep disturbances, and even reduced libido - all this, especially together, can be a sign of a more serious condition than simple fatigue.

In addition to a noticeable decrease in working capacity and a deterioration in the general physical condition, asthenia carries with it a great psychological burden. You can start blaming yourself for your lack of willpower, drink gallons of coffee, read performance improvement articles, and burrow deeper into your own impotence. Sincere friendly advice from others can only aggravate an already decadent mood. Recommendations like "Go in for sports!" or "Just pull yourself together" in the case of asthenia do not work. The root of the problem is in the disruption of the work of specific parts of the brain, so a systematic integrated approach can solve it.

First, to establish a general routine - add physical activity and walks to the daily routine, try to get up and go to bed at the same time. The main thing is not to overwork and increase the intensity of the loads gradually. Secondly, adjust your diet. A proper diet is one of the key elements in the fight against overwork. It is enough to adhere to the basic principles of a healthy diet: diversify the menu as much as possible, add more vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins and minerals (ideally, vegetables should take half the plate at each meal), eat often and in small portions, do not abuse coffee and sugar. With asthenia, you should not go to extremes - go on strict diets or eat fatigue with a lot of sweets. But it is quite possible to treat yourself to a piece of chocolate or a glass of good wine.

Finally, the third important element of recovery is drugs that regulate brain activity. For a long time, nootropics that improve brain metabolism, as well as herbal tonics (ginseng, eleutherococcus, and others) were most often found in standard recommendations. However, both have too general an effect and can only serve as a concomitant tool for the treatment of asthenia. Enerion® is a drug that has a directed action against the symptoms of functional asthenia (1), such as overwork, accompanied by increased fatigue, decreased performance and weakness. It contains the substance sulbutiamine, which is a derivative of vitamin B1 and selectively acts on areas of the brain responsible for maintaining normal levels of activity (2). It is important to remember that asthenia is a pathological condition that does not have to be dealt with alone. You can consult with a therapist and choose the most comfortable recovery program, including physical activity, a healthy diet, and taking vitamins and medications.

Learn more