Tips for When You Feel Overwhelmed
Some days, it all feels like too much. Stress comes at us from all angles, from work, from family, and from the outside world. Learning how to manage stress can prevent feelings of being overwhelmed and help you move past them when they arise. Even if you are not feeling overwhelmed right now, it’s good to create a plan you can put into action the next time it all gets to be too much.
Assess importance
A helpful skill for stress relief is being able to assess all that’s going on in your life and body and consider what is most important. Sometimes stressful things or events cannot be changed; however, taking a step back and focusing on the most important things in life can help you handle them better.
Identify responsibilities to delegate or discontinue
When weighing your responsibilities, it is good to consider the ones that can be taken off your plate. While some things are hard to let go, when you’re overwhelmed, it may be best to let someone else in your life handle them or to back out of them entirely. Perhaps this is a season to step down from the volunteer committee, let your partner take over a family obligation, or hire someone to finish a project for you.
Exercise and/or meditate
Often, moving your body or clearing your mind relieves the physical effects of stress and has an impact on your emotional health. When we are overwhelmed, it’s easy to skip out on the gym routine or just get too busy to meditate, but those activities can be some of the most effective ways to manage the stress in your life. Make it a priority in your calendar to exercise your mind and your body.
Practice self-care
There are many ways of taking a small step back from overwhelming circumstances to feed your soul so that you can then step back into life with a full cup. Whether it’s scheduling a massage, mani/pedi, or facial, sometimes a little pampering goes a long way. Often when we are overloaded, self-care can feel frivolous or unimportant. Nothing could be further from the truth. Self-care will support you through the overwhelming circumstances and give you the strength you need to hold up and thrive under them.
When life gets overwhelming, taking the time to take care of yourself is the most important thing you can do. Planning ahead for the next time a period of significant stress hits will make it so much easier to do that. Practicing self-care, exercise, meditation, and assessing responsibilities on a regular basis now will help you do the same more consistently when life gets tough.
