5 Ways to Overcome Overwhelm

I'm sure you've been there....

To-do list as long as your arm. A complete lack of clarity. An inability to make even the smallest decisions. Procrastinating when you know you should be working.

And your wellbeing? What wellbeing?

What is overwhelm?

Overwhelm occurs when your brain has too much activity going on. When you're overloaded with too many thoughts, tasks, emotions or worries, your brain can't take in any more information. All of a sudden, even the most simple decision becomes difficult and you lose your sense of control and perception.

Even though we know how difficult overwhelm can be, there's a huge problem with the way we talk about it at home and in the workplace. We will happily tell people we're 'a bit overwhelmed,' or 'too busy,' or that 'we have a lot on' (often with a nervous laugh). So why we won't tell people we're outright struggling, stressed or not coping.

To manage and understand overwhelm, it helps to acknowledge exactly what overhwhelm is...

If you're overwhelmed, you probably feel emotionally drained, unable to relax and unable to act rationally. You might even try to mask how you're feeling and pretend everything's fine! In short, you're not functioning and you're definitely not performing in a way that will help you reach your goals.

If you acknowledge you're overwhelmed without acknowledging you're also stressed, you'll likely try to fix the problem by working harder and longer. You'll tell yourself:

• If I can just clear my to-do list, I'll feel better...
• If I can just get through this next month, I can take a break...
• No one else seems to be struggling. I must be the problem.

Sound familiar?

Truth is, even the most successful, intelligent, accomplished people struggle with overwhelm. Entrepreneurs, even more so!

Tips to overcome overwhelm

Long term overwhelm and stress doesn't just impact performance, it can lead to serious mental and physical health problems. Once you tune into the way you feel and learn some wellbeing management tools, you can recognise overwelm before it sets in and tackle it before it leads to burnout! Here's 5 tips to get you started:

1. Acknowledge your emotions

Naming your emotions is a great way to decrease the intensity of how you feel. When we name our emotions, we activate the pre-frontal cortex and decrease activity in the amygdala - the part of the brain associated with fight or flight.

Naming emotions shifts our focus to a different brain area, giving the emotion less power.

Psychology Today

2. Find the root cause

Understanding why we're overwhelmed is the first step to making tangible changes for the good of your performance and health. Have you taken on too much work? Are you managing other people's problems? Are you going through a huge change or living with uncertainty?

Make a list of everything you're managing right now including physical tasks and emotional worries or problems.

3. Prioritise

Once you have your list, put everything in priority order and work from the top down. You may also want to ask yourself:

1. What can you can remove completely?
2. What can you can reschedule?
3. What can you delegate?
4. What can you do in 2 minutes or less to make some quick wins?
5. What must you do straight away?

4. Ask for help

Overwhelmed clients typically tell me they don't have any support. After exploring their situation, we usually find support is available but they don't feel comfortable asking for help. Maybe you feel too proud to admit you need help. Maybe you don't want to inconvenience anyone else. Maybe you think asking for help will make you look weak or incapable.

When you isolate yourself, you prevent yourself from connecting with others which weakens your sense of belonging. Strong relationships significantly increase your wellbeing, as well as make the workload (and stress) more manageable.

When you overload yourself or say yes to everything, you impair your own performance.

If you struggle to say no, check out my top tips for saying no like a pro .

What's one thing you can ask someone to help with, no matter how small, to lighten the load?

5. Take regular mindful breaks

When we're in a state of stress, our priority should be calming our nervous system and reducing overstimulation. The easiest and most immediate way to do this is through mindfulness, breathing and meditation. It may seem counterintuitive to take time out, especially when you're busy, but dialling back and being mindful is scientifically proven to increase focus and productivity.

Mindfulness reduces stress, anxiety and depression.

American Psychological Association, 2018

Taking Action

The first step to overcoming overwhelm can be the hardest. Once you acknowledge how you feel, speak to someone and make a plan to change your situation, you'll feel more in control and have a better sense of reality.

If you're experiencing overwhelm right now:

• Take 5 deep breaths with the exhale longer than the inhale
• Grab a pen and paper
• Follow the steps above to create a simple action plan

Being a business owner or leader is a bit of a rollercoaster! If you're struggling with burnout, mindset, clarity or strategy, let's talk! The first call's on me:

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