5 Things To Remember When Feeling Overwhelmed
Everyone can be emotionally overwhelmed every now and then. We may feel like we’re dealing with too many things at once and few things are working out for us.
While it may seem hat way, our emotions may be clouding our ability to have rational thoughts about the situation.
Sometimes you can stop and ponder a better perspective about things, and other times it may require the help of a professional to guide you to one.
How do you know you are overwhelmed?
If you find yourself angry, depressed, or anxious most of the time, than you’re probably overwhelmed right now.
If you find that you’re not getting happy about things as often or you’re struggling to find peace inside, you’re more than likely overwhelmed.
The times may seem difficult now, but there are reminders you can keep in mind that will help you feel less overwhelmed and more at peace.
How do I stop feeling so overwhelmed?
1. Remember this is a moment in time
In the moment it can feel like what you’re going through is going to last forever. But time has a funny way of moving faster than we realize.
Before I was writing these articles, many years of not knowing what to do with my life passed by. Spent many years getting my degree, and many years not finding much work after college.
In those moments it felt really difficult. It felt like it was going to last forever.
But soon enough, opportunities worked out, and things eventually changed for the better.
The same can be the case for you in your circumstances. Keep reminding yourself that what you’re going through is just a moment in time.
Know that inevitably things can change and you can find yourself on a new path.
2. Remember you’ve been through tough times before
Part of the reason I don’t worry about the future so much is because I’ve pushed through a lot of challenges in my life.
We think challenges we go through are bad in the moment, but often they’re the best experiences that can happen to us.
They give us an increased inner-strength that brings us confidence in our ability to manage difficult things in life.
Maybe you’ve previously overcome mentally and emotionally painful circumstances in life that you didn’t think you’d make it through.
Lean on those difficulties to inspire you to manage through the overwhelming moment you’re in right now.
3. Know that you can take action
If you want things to be different, you have to do things differently. You can’t expect your life to change for the better if you’re not changing anything.
As Einstein is believed to have once said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Look for the ways you can improve your circumstances. Adopt some new good habits that can make the pains in your life more manageable.
As an example, you could start exercising regularly to reduce your stress. You can spend more time in nature to relax more.
Think of different kind of new things you can do to relieve your burdens and open the door to new opportunities that can dramatically better your life.
4. Know you have a lot to be grateful for
It may not seem like it, but even when you’re overwhelmed and feeling like nothing is working out for you, you still have many things to be grateful for.
Let’s start with the fact that you’re still alive right now. It might not be the best of circumstances, but you’re here, and you have the opportunity to live.
Beyond life, if you have shelter, food, running water, clean air, and clothes, you’re doing a lot better than maybe half the population on earth.
But I understand that life is more than just having your needs met. You also have dreams and goals you want to accomplish.
Those opportunities still exist as long as you’re still breathing. You just have to be flexible about how you might achieve these things, because sometimes the things we desire in life don’t always happen in the way we expect.
5. Know you have people to support you
Everybody can have somebody to support them. With so many people in this world, and so many ways you can connect with people in this world, there’s almost literally no excuse to feel alone in life.
It’s just we struggle to reach out to people sometimes because we don’t want to be a burden or we have trouble opening up.
It’s understandable if you’ve been hurt in the past that you might feel more comfortable on your own most of the time.
But I just want you to remember there are decent people in this world who are willing to encourage you and help you as best they can.
Find local groups that share similar interests to yours or search online for communities dealing with the struggles you deal with.
The support can make a huge difference to managing the overwhelming feelings you’re having.
Final thoughts on overwhelm
Especially when there’s lots of difficult news in the world right now, it’s understandable for people to feel stressed right now.
But just you know you can get through this time in your life. Know there are resources and actions you can take to make things easier for yourself.
Lastly, know that if you need help, it’s out there for you. From one person who’s dealt with struggles to another, I wish you the best in finding your way to move forward and be happy.