10 Steps to Stop Being Overwhelmed
Posted on January 04, 2023 by Jennifer Connery, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Living up to obligations of others can create a stressful life. Here are a few tools to live a deeply fulfilling life.
As you go through your day you may notice an old familiar feeling that comes over you when you just have way too much to do. Whether the list of do-to’s is legitimate or self-inflicted you may be saying to yourself “How am I going to get everything done?” There’s that feeling in your chest of pressure. This pressure takes over and becomes an automatic response to needing to accomplish everything.
We can put so much pressure on ourselves to live up to obligations and expectations that we stop living and our goal becomes needing to be perfect at it all.
Stress and overwhelm are just the beginning of the impact that it can have on ourselves, on our body and mind.
Years ago I worked as a Veterinary tech in a hospital caring for animals in all capacities. I finally understood the meaning of ‘life and death’. From this point on I use that analogy to ask myself “Is this an emergency” who will be hurt, injured or deprived if it doesn’t get done?
Here are a few other ways to deal with overwhelm to help you feel more at ease:
1. Honor and accept that you feel stressed at the moment.
2. Ask yourself why you feel this pressure or stress? Is it from yourself or others?
3. What is one responsibility I can let go of or delegate to give myself a break?
4. Focus on what you can control.
5. Be gentle with yourself and talk to yourself as though you were a child needing help.
6. Notice where you feel this pressure and do a breath of 5- in, holding and out for 3 rounds.
7. Do what you enjoy. Do something nice for yourself: bubble bath, walk or massage.
8. Evaluate the causes of your stress.
9. Journal about your feelings around stress and look at where it comes from.
10. Know when to ask for support from family, a counselor or a coach.
Whether you’ve been frazzled and overwhelmed for months, years or decades, there is hope. Bringing in a mindfulness practice can help!
Save this content so you’ll be able to visit it anytime you feel overwhelmed.
