Feeling Overwhelmed? So Am I…
So you’re feeling pretty overwhelmed, huh? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! How do I know this? Well for one, I’m feeling pretty damn overwhelmed myself at the moment. And I know for a fact that you and I can’t possibly be the only ones in this world feeling overwhelmed. So there you have it, my incredibly scientific proof as to why you aren’t the only one experiencing feelings of being overwhelmed. Hopefully this realization takes at least a little bit off of your collection of worries. In all seriousness though, I’d like for this post to help you and me both work through our worries. You see, I deal with anxiety on a day to day basis (some days are good and some days…well…they suck) and while I am far from being an expert of sorts I have learned quite a lot over the past few years when it comes to coping with anxiety. As you probably already know, feeling overwhelmed is one of the many side affects of anxiety. So, whether you suffer from anxiety and deal with feelings of being overwhelmed a little too often or you’re just feeling a little more overwhelmed than normal, I think you’ll find something useful in this post. Keep on reading to find out about some useful tips and techniques I’ve picked up when it comes feeling overwhelmed.
Feeling Overwhelmed Is Never Enjoyable But It CAN Be Dealt With
Writing In Order To Deal With Feeling Overwhelmed
One of the best ways I’ve found to cope with feeling overwhelmed is to write. This is honestly why I am writing this post right now. I find that channeling my worries and feelings of being overwhelmed into writing works wonders. It really does. When I’m feeling bogged down and thinking way too much I am almost paralyzed by my own mind. If I am overwhelmed by my own thoughts and worries then I am truly overwhelmed. It consumes me in a way. I have a hard time thinking logically. I over complicate things. And above all, it keeps my from doing much of anything if I don’t deal with it. Writing is such a great way to deal with this dilemma because it allows you to literally “remove” all of that clutter. Instead of constantly thinking and thinking and thinking about what is overwhelming you, you are expressing your feelings, emotions, and worries by converting them into something much more tangible. It is much easier to deal with something you can see than it is to do everything mentally.
What exactly should you be writing in order to cope with feeling overwhelmed? You could probably see what I was getting at in the first paragraph, writing about what is making you feel overwhelmed, but this is far from the only way to do things. Writing down exactly what is draining you of energy and bogging you down is one of the more conventional ways of doing things as well as one of the most effective. Putting your worries on paper not only allows you to vent but it also allows you to see and deal with what is making you feel overwhelmed in a much more methodical way. This is really what I am doing at the moment. While I am not expressing exactly what is making feel overwhelmed (I’ll probably dedicate a post to this right after this one), I am writing about the situation.
However, as I said before writing about your actual feelings of being overwhelmed and what is making you feel that way is not the only way to cope through writing. In my opinion, writing in just about any form is an excellent way to deal with your worries and healthy for the mind in general. This is one of the main reasons as to why I created this website, AnxietyDepressionAndI.com. Writing in any form is a creative outlet which is a good thing no matter how you go about looking at it. So do yourself a favor and make it a habit to write even when you aren’t feeling overwhelmed. I think you’ll find it to be one of the best activities when it comes to coping with just about any problem including dealing with feelings of being overwhelmed.
Talk That Shit Out When Feeling Overwhelmed
I can’t speak for you but I am the worst when it comes to bottling up my emotions and problems. It is just in my nature. With that said, I know and appreciate the power of talking when it comes to dealing with issues and emotions. Talking about being overwhelmed with someone else is very similar to writing in that it allows you to express and vent your feelings but it also has something that writing will never be able to give to you and that is feedback. Talking with someone allows you to share with them, to connect with them, and most importantly hear what they have to say. Hearing what someone else has to say about your situation whenever you are feeling overwhelmed is priceless. This alone could very well get you back on your feet and clear your head up. Believe me, I know the power of talking it out when it comes to problems and emotions, including feeling overwhelmed, all too well.
The thing with talking in order to deal with feeling overwhelmed, though, is that you really need to be talking with someone who you are close too. For me, it’s my Mom. I mean, I do have some very close friends who I talk about “real” stuff with but when it comes to talking about the realest of the real I always go to my Mom. With my Mom I am comfortable talking about pretty much anything and anything we do talk about is in the form of a meaningful discussion. So, if you are going to talk to someone about feeling overwhelmed then you really want to make sure it is someone you are VERY close to. You really want to have that aspect of hearing feedback from the other person and relating to them because in my opinion that is what it is all about.
Exercising When Feeling Overwhelmed…Yup, Another Good Thing To Do
Any form of exercise is a very productive and healthy way to deal with feelings of being overwhelmed. My two main ways of dealing with feeling overwhelmed are writing and talking. Actually, I lied. For some odd reason I just forgot that I do lift regularly. Anyhow, yes, exercising is something you should definitely be doing when feeling overwhelmed. I doesn’t even have to be an intense workout or anything. It could be something as easy going as walking. You see, exercising is a great way to deal with feeling overwhelmed for two reasons:
1) You could potentially feel a natural high after exercising due to chemical release in the body and if you don’t you’ll at least feel relaxed afterwords.
2) The actual act of exercising is a soothing one. For example, the repetitive nature of walking.
It’s hard for me to elaborate on this fact just because it is so damn obvious. I mean, exercising is good in pretty much every way so it’s pretty much a given in terms of dealing with feeling overwhelmed. All that I will add is that lifting regularly has definitely helped me in many ways when it comes to anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, etc.. Be sure to at least give it a try the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed.
You Now Know What Helps When Feeling Overwhelmed. Here Is What You Shouldn’t Do When You Feel Overwhelmed
Alright, so I think I did a pretty good job of giving you some ideas when it comes to dealing with feeling overwhelmed. The three techniques I went over above really do work extremely well for me so I hope they do the same for you. Now it’s time to tell you what NOT to do. I was contemplating as to whether or not I would include this short section at the end and then I decided that it was a must. I would just hate to see anyone who comes across this post to spiral downwards and escalate their feelings of being overwhelmed into something much, much worse. Maybe I’m being overly worried but it’s just that I know what can happen when you don’t deal with emotions properly. This isn’t me spewing some bullshit to you. This is me being real. I know how things can escalate because I’ve dealt with it first hand. This isn’t what I’d like to talk about right now, though. Look below to find out what you shouldn’t do when feeling overwhelmed.
Feeling Overwhelmed? Do NOT Ignore The Issue And Keep Things To Yourself.
If you are feeling overwhelmed then one thing you do NOT want to do under any circumstances is to ignore the issue completely and keep it entirely internal. Believe me when I say it just won’t work. The truth of the matter is that when you keep such a strong emotion such as feeling overwhelmed under wraps and try to “put it to the side” you’re setting yourself up for failure. And in this case failure means hurting your mental health. When you ignore your feelings and keep things on the inside all of the time you are only making things worse and hurting yourself in the end.
Do NOT Cope With Drugs When Feeling Overwhelmed
When I refer to drugs I am talking about something that is taken without a prescription and one that is mind altering. If you want to have a cig at the time of feeling extremely stressed out, then fine go ahead and do it. I myself smoke tobacco and I know just how good a cig can be when feeling stressed. This isn’t the type of drug I am referring to though. I am talking about marijuana, alcohol, pills, and so on. I’ll be honest with you, I am a recreational user of marijuana. I do smoke bud. However, I do NOT smoke bud as a way of dealing with my emotional problems and escaping my emotional problems. Killing a 6 pack by yourself or smoking a blunt is not the way to go when it comes to dealing with very serious emotions.
Still Feeling Overwhelmed?
Well, that about wraps up this post. I hope that if you came here looking for some guidance as a result of feeling overwhelmed that you got some. Yeah, I know. These last few sentences probably came across as a little dry. I’ll be honest, I started to get a little edgy by the end of this long ass post. Hopefully it did more good for me than harm (only kidding)! Anyhow, I really do hope you got something from this post and I wish you good luck on dealing with feeling overwhelmed in the future.
