What to do when overwhelm raises it’s ugly head

Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed? Like you just have no energy left. Or maybe that there is so much to do you will never get to the end of it all.

Sometimes, you may feel overwhelmed by work, sometimes by emotion, other times by pain. None of these is an enjoyable feeling, and it can seem that there is no way out, no respite, no end.

Just as there are different types of overwhelm, there are different responses to it. Panic attacks affect some, others experience low mood, while some take refuge in self-medication of one kind or another: drugs, alcohol, sugar, exercise, gambling – pick your poison.

Mental Health

As mental health awareness week starts, consider how feeling crushed by overwhelm can affect people’s sense of well-being. Drowning in a sense of it all being too much can lead to anxiety, panic attacks and depression.

Clearly, doing something to release this overwhelm can be life-altering. So, what can you do?

In the short term, tapping to free yourself of these feelings is a great place to start. Why not try this quick and simple tapping meditation:

In the longer term, it is important to add to your tool box of ways to manage and clear the underlying issues.

Causes of overwhelm

It may be that something in your current situation is triggering issues from your past. If that is the case, some deeper work to discharge the power of those memories can be helpful.

It is also possible that you are objectively going through a lot at the moment. Obviously, everyone is affected by the pandemic, for example. However, some people will find it a heavier burden than others, or perhaps have complicating factors.

For instance, losing your job because of restrictions and lockdowns adds a financial burden on top of health worries.

Another case in point: living alone can be much easier to enjoy when you are able to go out and socialise with others when you choose. When those options are taken away from you, it can feel horribly isolating and lonely.

At the other end of the spectrum, being trapped with people you may have issues with, as is the case with domestic abuse, can feel intolerable and be truly life-threatening.

Tapping

While therapy may not solve all these problems, it can give you the resilience to deal with them. And it can help you find creative ways to manage or change your situation. Lightening the load even a little can give you the necessary breathing space to find a different path.

Tapping can be a wonderful means of changing your emotional state, to allow you to think more creatively and feel calmer. While a meditation like the one above can be powerful, it is also just the first step in resolving these thorny issues.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis can be especially helpful when there are deep, underlying issues or beliefs from the past which are being triggered by current situations. Sometimes, this may not be obvious.

Imagine you are feeling overwhelmed by home-schooling (now a distant memory, but it’s left its marks on many parents). A root cause of the stress virtual classes caused many people is their own experiences of school, and parental discipline (or lack thereof).

Hypnosis can help uncover these past hurts, and lay them to rest.

Breathing

In the moment, when you notice yourself getting overwhelmed, breathing exercises can be a remarkably quick way to defuse panic and stress. Check out some of the different approaches offered here to see if this might work for you.

The Bottom Line

There are lots of tools that can help you manage overwhelm. And if it feels too daunting, why not get some support in the process. Sometimes, an outside perspective, especially one with approaches you may not already have tried, can be just the ticket!