Feeling Overwhelmed? How and why does this feeling arrive?
Our office lives have grown more demanding, presenting us with difficulties that are getting more complex at an almost constant rate. It’s simple to feel perpetually overburdened when one includes personal or family needs. When this occurs, the complexity of our world has outgrown our mental complexity or our ability to handle that degree of complexity and be effective, experts have discussed how the growth in complexity connected with modern life has left many of us feeling “in over our heads.”
This is completely different from our intelligence, but rather it is about how we interpret reality and conduct ourselves in it. Instead of taking a step back, looking at why we do this, and coming up with a new method to work, our traditional answer to ever-increasing workloads is to work harder and longer hours.
The cognitive effects of feeling constantly overwhelmed can include mental slowness, confusion, forgetfulness, trouble concentrating or clear thinking, as well as a racing mind or a reduced capacity for problem-solving. Cognitive tiredness can occur when we have too many demands placed on our brain over a prolonged length of time, making us more susceptible to distractions and our thinking less speed. Any one of these impacts by themselves may reduce our productivity and increase our sense of overload.
The Top 6 Reasons one might Feel Overwhelmed are:
- Life Changes: Life changes like shifting to a new place, getting married, starting a new job, or having a baby.
- Workload: Do you work in a hard, stressful job or have tons of office duties? Or do you frequently work on weekends and in the evenings?
- Perfectionism: in order to live perfectly, not everything needs to be perfect. Flaws make life much more beautiful. Sometimes the biggest victory is simply surviving the day. Being human, one does not have to complete all the tasks flawlessly.
- Traumatic Experience: Experiences like a breakup in a relationship, bereavement, bankruptcy, being fired from a job or sitting idle, illness, accident, or abuse are known as traumatic experiences, which cannot be forgotten easily.
- COVID: All of us have had a lot to deal with in the past couple of years, and even things we may have been able to handle in the past may now seem overwhelming. It is demanding to withstand a pandemic on a global scale. Everything becomes more challenging due to this. We grow overburdened with the amount of stuff we can handle, which causes us to snap sooner.
- Lack of Sleep: With so many essential things and priorities in our day-to-day lives, it is getting more difficult to get good or enough sleep. This ultimately makes an individual tired and sleepy all the time.
8 Steps to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed
There are several ways to deal with overwhelming feelings, both by self and with the aim of external support.
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One Needs to Accept those Anxious Feelings
In a particularly anxious time, fighting off overwhelming emotions probably doesn’t accomplish much to make them go away. Remember that some degree of anxiety is considered to be “normal” in the human experience and acceptance is a key strategy to work through those unsettling emotions.
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Converse the Overwhelmed Thought Processes
Overwhelming is fueled by feelings of complete unpredictability and hopelessness. These unfavorable ideas increase tension and can be extremely upsetting. Ask yourself honestly if that style of thinking is irrational or unhelpful in order to put a stop to those damaging thoughts before they develop into ruminations that become habitual. Try to think of some alternative, uplifting thoughts at the same time.
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Live the Present
Thinking about the future, whether it be a few minutes from now or several years from now, may increase the risk of feeling overwhelmed. To help avoid having uncontrollable ideas that may or may not occur, focus on one instant, task, and experience at a time in the present.
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Take Deep Breaths
When feeling overwhelmed, there are many grounding methods one can do that entail deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing helps one relax when he intentionally practices it, which is beneficial when things get really stressful. Additionally, since each activity helps an individual concentrate on breathing, meditation, practicing yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation can all help reduce one’s body’s reaction to anxiety.
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Know the Resources
There is a wealth of scientific studies about how stress and anxiety affect our cognitive capacities, in addition to breathing exercises and meditation approaches to help prevent overwhelm. Use online search engines or online therapy to find studies and ideas that resonate with a person in order to improve the ability to control such feelings.
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Speak your Heart Out with a Therapist
If one has tried a variety of coping strategies and still requires assistance, think about consulting a mental health expert. The fundamental cause of a person’s overwhelming feelings can be found in therapy, and it can also provide the person with the appropriate coping mechanisms.
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The Magic of Physical Touch
It is okay to make physical contact with someone if one is feeling overwhelmed. Ask a friend, partner, or family member to give a warm hug. A warm and long hug from near and dear ones can also help reduce tension and anxiety. Receiving physical touch therefore through these (or other) means can also be effective if a loved one isn’t nearby.
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Do what makes you ‘Happy’
How much time do you spend on things you love? Or do you simply toil through each day to do all the items on your to-do list before it’s time to call it a day? Make it a point to set aside some time each day to enjoy life. What makes you happy? One might think about:
- Listen to Music
- Cook Favorite Dinner
- Have a Good Walk
- Spend Time with Loved Ones
- Watch the Beautiful Sunset
The Last Lines:
Since such people perceive themselves as unable to handle life when others seem to be able to, many overwhelmed people feel guilty or like failures. The lives of others are never truly and honestly seen by us, let’s face it. Since other people’s stories are never known to us, never compare their lives with yours. This could disappoint more!
Every person will have overwhelming feelings at some point in their lives; this is normal and is not a sign of weakness; rather, it is a fact of life. Therefore, the first step is to accept faults and ask for forgiveness. The second step is to consciously decide that one does not want to continue to live in this heightened state.