7 Simple Things to Do When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

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If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed in life, either because of work or personal reasons, this blog post is perfect for you. In this article, you’ll discover the 7 simple things you can do when feeling overwhelmed and how to recognize when life is starting to feel “too much” for you to handle.

Let’s be honest: we all go through those periods where everything feels like it weighs us down, and we struggle to deal with even the tiniest inconveniences in life.

If everything easily sends you over the board, or you constantly have to battle to stay above the surface (always gasping for fresh air), let me tell you: you’re not alone.

This is especially true when you’re going through a life-changing experience, you’re confronting uncomfortable situations, or you’re navigating through a lot of change. (Hint: for me, it’s the last one at the moment)

So, are you ready to finally learn how to stop feeling so easily overwhelmed? Then, let’s get started!

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Signs You Are Feeling Overwhelmed

How your body feels is a reflection of how you’re really doing.

That’s why there are some physical symptoms caused by being overwhelmed, especially if overlooked for a long time.

Whenever you avoid something, your body is just going to make it more evident.

Here are the most common symptoms that you might be overwhelmed with life (whether you want to accept it or not):

• Persistent fatigue
• Poor quality of sleep
• Irritability
• Changes in appetite
• Regular headaches

Not only, other mental signs may indicate your sense of overwhelm, such as:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Being forgetful
• Constant worrying
• Lacking motivation
• Struggling to make decisions

All these symptoms, of course, can also be linked to other issues.

I highly advise you to pay the right attention to any of these, as they usually are the manifestation of something bigger that’s going on within you.

The sooner you listen to your body, the sooner you can start getting better.

Why Are You Feeling Overwhelmed?

So, before we start with the list of 7 things you can do to stop feeling overwhelmed, I would like you to pause for a moment.

Go sit somewhere quiet, where no one can bother you.

Close your eyes, and take a deep breath.

Let your mind wander.

Does it bring you to the root of your sense of overwhelm?

Can you identify the cause of it?

Do you know why you feel like this?

The first step to getting better is acknowledging how you’re feeling and why you’re feeling as such in the first place.

If you don’t know the real “why”, you’ll never get over it.

Sure, you can try some quick fixes but they won’t work – not until you tackle the real problem of why you’re struggling.

So, even if it’s hard, you need to get real with yourself. Be honest.

Find the root cause.

That’s the first step towards healing.

📌 SHORT ON TIME? PIN IT FOR LATER! 📌

How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed With Life

I am sure you’ve already tried out one (or many) of the things on this list but, nevertheless, you must be persistent and consistent with them.

What you do regularly determines how you feel.

So, let’s make sure you do the right things, and…let’s get started!

GO BACK TO THE BASICS

You can’t feel good without taking care of yourself.

So, here are some questions to quickly check in with yourself:

• How long have you slept last night?
• What have you been eating lately?
• Have you been drinking enough water?
• Are you moving your body regularly?

These are the basics to feeling good: sleep, healthy food, water, and movement.

Before you move on to the next thing to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed, make sure you’re covering at least the basics of self-care.

SET BOUNDARIES

Next, it’s setting boundaries.

Boundaries are an essential part of your well-being, and you shouldn’t feel guilty or ashamed for the boundaries you set in your life.

If you never learn how to define your boundaries, you’ll allow others to set them for you.

You’ll live your life based on others’ terms and rules, not your own.

You don’t owe anyone an apology or an explanation for your boundaries.

You do you because you know what’s best for you. Only you.

In particular, you should be the one determining:

• How you want to spend your time
• The type of content you consume
• With whom you spend your time
• What you do throughout your days
• The way you allow others to treat you or talk to you

Be selective of your time, your energy, and your attention: they are the most important things you’ll ever have.

The good news? You’re the one in control.

JOURNAL

Another practice that can never miss – as you might have noticed – in my articles is journaling.

Journaling is a life-saver, especially when you feel like you have too much going on in your head.

Writing your thoughts down allows you to see them from a clearer perspective.

Writing helps me make sense of things – even when nothing seems to make sense.

If you’re new to journaling or are looking for some inspiration, you can grab my free “30-Day Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery” to help get you started!

MINDFUL PRACTICES

Mindful practices are the secret to staying grounded, even and especially if you’re feeling overwhelmed with your life.

I like to add mindfulness to my daily life – but you can decide whether you want to include it in your daily routine or just benefit from it on occasion.

Some of my favorite mindful practices include:

• Meditation
• Breathwork
• Mindful eating
• Tackling one task at a time
• Regularly checking in with the body
• Practicing yoga or pilates
• Taking mindful breaks
• Going on silent walks

HAVE A PLAN

I tend to feel overwhelmed when I don’t have a plan for my life. (Maybe it’s just a me-type-of-problem)

But, if you also resonate with this, another extremely helpful thing to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed is to make a plan for what’s stressing you out.

Let’s keep it simple. I want you to just follow these steps (without panicking):

• Take out a pen and a piece of paper
• Braindump everything that’s going on in your head – ideas, problems, solutions, routines, and habits
• On the back of the paper, split the page following the “Eisenhower Matrix” productivity technique, for which you’re going to assign your tasks into one of these categories:
  • Important and urgent
  • Important but not urgent
  • Urgent but not important
  • Not important and not urgent

At the end of the process, you should have something like this:

START BY TACKLING SOMETHING

What’s making you feel overwhelmed is that you’re living too much in your head.

Now you see all you have to do, you just have to do it – right?

Yeah, if only it was that easy…

Well, then let’s try to make it as easy as possible!

From the list of tasks above, I want you to focus on the “important and urgent” ones.

Can you break them down even further?

Come up with a step-by-step plan to tackle your tasks, making them as effortless as possible.

What’s the tiniest step you can take, right now?

Start from there.

You’ve got this!

DO A STRESS-RELIEVING ACTIVITY

Finally, the last thing you can do if you’re feeling overwhelmed is to try a stress-relieving activity.

Here are some of the most common ones:

• Coloring adult books
• Knitting
• Drawing
• Painting
• Listening to music
• Walking
• Dancing
• Taking a bath
• Getting your nails done
• Exercising

Once again, you do you.

The only important thing? That you do something you enjoy!

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There you have it: your 7 easy steps to stop feeling overwhelmed instantly! 🙂

Let’s do a quick recap – should we? So, here’s what you have to do:

1. Make sure you’re covering the basics of self-care
2. Set boundaries regarding your time, energy, and attention
3. Journal to see your thoughts from another perspective
4. Follow mindful practices for long-term wellbeing
5. Make a plan for what’s stressing you out
6. Start by tackling one task – based on the Eisenhower Matrix
7. Do a stress-relieving activity to instantly feel better

Q: “What’s your favorite stress-relieving activity?” – Leave a comment and let me know it! 🙂

Until next time,

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