What to do when I feel absolutely overwhelmed? Up to my gills and over in consternation and anxiety? The first thing I do is pull into my shell. In this case, the upset comes from news about present events. I then turn off the radio, the news, everything. I avoid social media. The silence is powerful and strange. Usually I have the radio on and a soothing sound of music or the patter of voices floats around me. In the silence I feel cocooned and separated from the mayhem, the drama and hyperbole. I will remain separate from these connections until I feel right about venturing forth again.
The other thing I do is to immediately text a friend whom I trust and will understand my feelings. When I get a knowledgeable, supportive reply, I feel better.
As I often do, I later look up sources of advice about managing overwhelm. At the website psychcentral.com, this definition captures how I was feeling, “…completely overcome in mind or emotion.” The site notes that many negative emotions and thoughts erupt when one feels overwhelmed, but most often the emotion is anxiety. The website talkspace.com explained that strong, negative emotions elicit the release of cortisol which in turn amplifies feelings of anxiety and simultaneously reduces serotonin which elicits feelings of calm and wellbeing.
What to do to manage these strong feelings? The first step is to breathe and step back. This is easier said than done but essential. The psychecentral.com website offers these steps,
- Accept the feeling of anxiety for example
- Change distressing thoughts, challenge them. For example, is that thought accurate or reasonable?
- Stop multitasking!
- Focus on the present moment
- Take some deep breaths
- Disengage from what you are doing and listen to music, talk a walk or read a book
I add these, sleep on it, and talk things through with a trustworthy and supportive friend. Know your resources.
This time in our lives and the life of our country is full of potential distressing and potentially overwhelming events, both in our personal lives and in our collective lives. So much is going on and that is an understatement. I hope that this primer of ways to manage and cope is helpful.