Are you feeling Overwhelmed?
Are you ready to just throw in the towel?
Is life becoming a bit much lately?
Over the last week or two, I’ve had conversations with a number of individuals who are feeling overwhelmed, anxious and just downright stressed to the point of no return.
Can you relate?
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you just wanted to throw in the towel on your dreams, your business, your job, your marriage and maybe even life?
You just felt like it was TOO MUCH for you to deal with.
While one individual was feeling overwhelmed about her new responsibilities as an entrepreneur in addition to working on her PhD, another was feeling overwhelmed about her responsibilities as a new wife and mother and how to adjust and balance it with a demanding work schedule. Then there was another who was overwhelmed with EVERYTHING, her business, her marriage, and her overall life. I imagine that those of you reading this have felt overwhelmed at some point in your life. Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed right this minute.
Well I’ve been there and those are the days (I must admit) that I just shut down. When I felt myself getting to that point, I would just go to bed, lay on the couch or just watch shows of nothingness on TV. Other times, I would recharge, re-assess, and rejuvenate myself to get back on track. Over the years, as I learned to better cope with my stress and anxiety, I learned that sometimes I just had too much going on and at other times I wasn’t prioritizing well enough.
Can you relate?
What I am going to share with you are things that I shared with my clients listed above. It is my hope that these strategies you can immediately put to use to deal with your overwhelm as well as to help keep you from getting overwhelmed. I’ve also used most if not all of them at some point or another.
Keep in mind that this list isn’t exhaustive… feel free to add to it in the comments section.
- First you must know that this is not God’s intention for you or for your life. You are not supposed to be overwhelmed. His word says for those who are heavy laden, He will give you rest if you come unto Him (Matt 11:28). His word also says, that he will be give you praise for a spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). It also says to cast your cares on Him for He cares for you (I Peter 5:7).
- Next take a deep breath. Breathe through it. Sometimes taking a few minutes to take some really deep breaths in and out help to ease your level of anxiety and give you a moment to get yourself together.
- Take a Mental Health day. Take a break from everything and just tend to you and your mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health. Rest your mind, rest your body, and rest your spirit. If you have sick days at work that you NEVER use…. it might be TIME you put them to use.
- Keep going and don’t freeze. Don’t let your overwhelm keep you in a constant state of paralysis… where you think about your particular issue so much that you do nothing about it. (been there done that)
- Go back to what worked the last time. If you’ve been here before, what worked that last time? What strategies did you use and implement the last time it worked. Do it again! If it’s doing a brain dump and writing everything out in your journal, screaming and having a good cry, writing a letter, praying, taking a day off to get yourself together. Whatever it is, take some time to do what has worked for you in the past. Remember, if you were able to get through it before you can get through it again.
- Pray & Meditate. Although this should be first, this list is in no particular order. When you feel yourself getting full of anxiety, fear, worry, and doubt… PRAY. Philippians 4:67 says: Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. As I stated in #1, it is NOT God’s intention for you to be stressed and overwhelmed.
- After you’ve prayed and had your meditation. Read God’s word and other positive self affirming sayings or readings that affirm the awesomeness that you are.
- Quiet all of the noise in your head. Try to get to a quiet place to get clear from the clutter.
- Take a walk. Sometimes a walk to clear your mind will give you answers to everything you need as it relates to your anxiety, stress and overwhelm. It helps you to put things into perspective, clear your mind and it also removes you from the environment that may be causing you to be overwhelmed.
- Exercise. It is said that exercise can actually calm anxiety. By exercising you are clearing your mind and body from toxins that may be cluttering them. It also gets your body and juices running. By exercising, you may actually get clarity on what’s causing you to be overwhelmed.
- As suggested in #4 as something you may have already done, do a brain dump or journal. A brain dump is when you just empty everything you have in your head out on paper. There’s no rhyme, reason or rhythm to how it comes out. You just write it as it you are thinking it. As for journaling, it’s the same although most times your thoughts are little more concise and clear.
- Take some things off of your plate. Are you doing too much? Are you saying YES to everyone and everything? STOP IT! You can’t be all things to all people. Start learning to say NO.
- Here are a few extra bonuses: Have your moment, have a good ole cry, or have a really good laugh. One of the individuals I spoke to had intentionally called me to get her a good cry in but I ended up making her laugh so hard that she decided that a cry wasn’t what she needed but it was a good laugh.
Before I go, here is a post I found when preparing for this week’s post: Ten Bible verses for when you feel overwhelmed. I hope you enjoy them.
If this post has been helpful, please be sure to share your thoughts in the comment section and on my facebook page. Also, feel free to share what has worked for you when you are overwhelmed.
Until Next Time…
Leave me a comment below on your thoughts about today’s post.
Trueheart Writes 
[…] Help… I’m Overwhelmed!!! […]
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Thanks for the referral, Detra! Blessings to you!
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You are very welcome Rachel! Blessings to you as well. Merry Christmas!
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