8 Ways to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed
Do you feel at times that things are getting on ‘top of you’? That one more feather and you feel like you are gonna crash?
But somehow everything is staring you in the face. There are projects to meet. There are the kids to sort out. There is this and there is that. And each and every one of these things seem to have your name written right on them…including on your kids’ forehead! Yeah, yeah! Feeling that everything is piling up against you can be very overwhelming.
Feeling overwhelmed can affect us emotionally. We feel ratty, irritable, easily angered, tearful.
Feeling overwhelmed can even affect us mentally. We may not be as alert, on point. We may even feel dazzled.
Feeling overwhelmed can also affect us spiritually. We feel disconnected. We can’t meditate. We can’t pray or worship.
So what can we do to stop this heavyweight of feeling overwhelmed?
1 Take stock of what you are doing
What are all the things you are doing now? How much is necessary? How much has to be done NOW? How much of it can wait? How much of it is a priority? Does it all have to be done by you?
2 Delegate!
I learnt this pretty much at church! I always felt that if I was taking responsibility of something then I might as well get on with it rather than wait for others who did not seem to going at the pace I expected, or seemed to be doing it right! You got to learn to trust others. You got to learn patience. I did. You got to allow others to make and learn from their mistakes.
Delegation does not mean you give them everything to do…but you can give them enough that will not impact the results you are expecting, especially if you know their ability is not to the standard you want at the moment.
3 Ask for help
This sounds similar to delegate. However, delegation is more to handing out some of your responsibilities. But we won’t get into semantics and grammar here :-).
What I am trying to say here is that sometimes you just need to ask for help. A-S-K. It is a 3 letter word. It is a simple word. Ask someone for help. As I always say, what is the worse that anyone can say to you? No! Does the word, ‘no’, take away anything from you? NO! So, don’t be shy, just ask!
4 Don’t be a slave to time
The reason we often feel overwhelmed is because we make time our master. We set deadlines, whether realistically or not. All that mounts up is pressure. That is not to say you throw away your watch and start being late for every permission. You know that is not what I am saying, LOL!
Instead of being a slave to time, make time your slave. When you see time as running out, does it add another second to your time? NO. It does not.
(I hate the word, deadline. I just don’t like the dead next to it. There should be a better word, know what I mean)!
Do you not know that what others have taken 10 years to accomplish, you can do in a year? Things can suddenly turn around and work for you in your favor? Opportunities just start happening to you. People just want to help you. Ever happened to you? It can happen again. So just relax. God can make it happen for you.
And anyway, what is the worse that can happen anyway if you miss your flight? The world will not stop spinning on it’s axis. So don’t make your world stop either.
5 Know when to say NO
Set your boundaries? Know when to say no. Assertively and respectfully.
However, do not make a habit of it. You may lose some precious opportunities that may take a while to win back!
Make your NO’s precious. Don’t say no to the wrong things either e.g. things you know you should do… like going to your daughter’s school play.
Consider how and when you use the word NO.
6 Stop the guilt
And stop the guilt. You say no and feel guilty? Then stop it please.
7 Stop comparing yourself to others
Sometimes we create our own pressures by comparing ourselves to others in a negative way. We are running different races. It is like racing someone on the freeway or motorway. Pointless because you don’t know where the other person is heading.
8 Make time to relax…and sleep
Make time to relax, exercise, wind down. Find a hobby. Look forward to those times. I have one evening of the week where Chuck and I know it is hands down and family time. Phone off. Tablet off. Laptop off. TV off. Everything off. Just time to catch up and enjoy ourselves without distractions. Without anything else competing for our attention.
And when it is time to sleep, we sleep. It is not always the quantity of sleep that matters as much as the quality. That is not to say you should only have 2 hours of sleep a night. You know what I am saying. Give your body and mind time to rest and relax. Have a good night’s sleep. And you will feel as full as beans again.
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