Last week I was traveling out of town and then I returned home and ended up sick in bed for the remainder of the week.\u00a0 I am not a person who is sick very often, and I am not a person who can handle slowing down very well, but this last week I didn\u2019t have much of a choice and I was unable to do anything other than stay in bed,\u00a0sleep, and recover.\u00a0 As a result of missing an entire week of emails and meetings etc, I now face the week ahead feeling completely overwhelmed with how much I need to make up, all the emails I need to read and respond to, and all the appointments and tasks that got pushed forward into this new week from last week.\u00a0 When I think about how behind I am I can feel my anxiety level rising and I recognize that I am feeling completely overwhelmed.<\/p>\n
So having the \u201cmust find a way to fix it\u201d mentality that I do, I did the best thing I could think of to help me cope with how I am feeling and I Googled it to see what advice someone else might have that could help me through my week ahead.\u00a0 As is always the case, google had some great reference articles that gave me some awesome tips on how to handle the feeling of being overwhelmed:<\/p>\n
An article written by Margarita Tartakovski, in which she cites the advice of Marla Diebler and Kevin Chapman, clinical psychologists, gives six strategies to help when you feel overwhelmed:<\/p>\n
Suggestions for Preventing or Stopping Overwhelm<\/b><\/p>\n
1. Accept your anxiety.<\/b><\/p>\n
Has fighting your feelings of overwhelm ever helped you erase them? Probably not. More likely, battling your emotions only boosted them. According to Deibler, \u201cIt\u2019s \u2018normal\u2019 to experience some degree of anxiety when stressors are unfamiliar, unpredictable, or imminent.\u201d Think of acceptance as riding out a wave, she said.<\/p>\n
2. Change overwhelm-inducing thoughts.<\/b><\/p>\n
Thoughts of uncontrollability or unpredictability are the backbone of overwhelm, according to Chapman. It\u2019s the unrealistic or unreasonable thoughts that spark our stressed-out reaction. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to pay attention to what we tell ourselves and learn to create helpful thoughts.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s say you have a mile-long to-do list, and all you keep thinking is \u201cI\u2019ll never get this done.\u201d That\u2019s a damaging thought that can lead to distress and anxiety, Deibler said. And it paralyzes you from problem-solving and taking action, she said. But remember that you\u2019re not a slave to your ruminations.<\/p>\n
Ask yourself \u201cIn what ways might this [thought] be inaccurate, unreasonable or unhelpful?\u201d Deibler said. Next, consider how you can think more realistically. Here, your goal is to generate alternative thoughts that will lead to positive emotions and behavior.<\/p>\n
For instance, to revise the above overwhelming thought, Deibler suggested these alternatives: \u201cI may not get it all finished today, but if I work on it or if I seek assistance, I will likely get it done;\u201d \u201cI know I\u2019m feeling overwhelmed right now, but if I take a break, I may feel differently about this when I return;\u201d \u201cIt seems overwhelming to me right now, but if I break it down into smaller parts, it may be more doable.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. Change your multitasking mindset.<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Multitasking\u2019 by definition implies that we are doing too many things at once,\u201d Chapman said. He suggested readers shift their perspective. \u201cWe have to change our expectation that everything<\/i> has to be completed right now \u2018or else.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
4. Focus on right now.<\/b><\/p>\n
When you\u2019re consumed with what may or may not happen in several minutes or months, you can\u2019t appreciate the here and now, Deibler said. Instead, schedule time to plan for the future, so you can breathe in the present moment, she said.<\/p>\n
5. Take a deep breath.<\/b><\/p>\n
Deep breathing encourages our body\u2019s relaxation response, Deibler said. Other calming and stress-reducing activities include progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery,\u00a0Tai chi and yoga, she said.<\/p>\n
6. Take action.<\/b><\/p>\n
To quell overwhelm, engage in an activity that you enjoy, such as listening to music, reading a book or taking a walk, Deibler said. And consider how you can solve the stressors that triggered your overwhelm in the first place, she said.<\/p>\n
So facing the week ahead I will definitely incorporate these six steps to helping me through the week.\u00a0 One thing at a time.\u00a0 Doing the best that I can.\u00a0 That is the only way to get through things.\u00a0 With plenty of deep breaths and a whole lot of action :).\u00a0 Have a great week everyone!
\n~Amy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week I was traveling out of town and then I returned home and ended up sick in bed for the remainder of the week.\u00a0 I am not a person who is sick very often, and I am not a person who can handle slowing down very well, but this last week I didn\u2019t have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[898,168,174,902,640,897,900,901,896,407,899,275,516,54,344,250],"class_list":["post-2955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-acceptance","tag-adversity","tag-anxiety","tag-breath","tag-cognitive","tag-illness","tag-mindset","tag-multitasking","tag-overwhelm","tag-overwhelmed","tag-psychology","tag-stress","tag-thoughts","tag-time-management","tag-trial","tag-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2955"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2960,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2955\/revisions\/2960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}