Feeling overwhelmingly overwhelmed? You’re not alone

There’s a new pandemic in town, and I’m not talking about Omicron.  This pandemic is….BEING OVERWHELMINGLY OVERWHELMED.

Yes, COVID is still here and is feeling more oppressive than ever right now in so many ways.  For lots of us, the last couple weeks were like watching falling dominos as one friend or family member after another tested positive with the new variant’s meteoric explosion.  

And, we’ve all just had to manage ANOTHER uncertain holiday season filled with crushing disappointment over changed or cancelled plans, when just a few short weeks ago, things were really looking up.  

We’re all sensing the “1 step forward, 2 steps back” vibe that’s back in the air and shaking our heads in disbelief that we ARE STILL DEALING WITH THIS THING ALMOST TWO YEARS LATER.  

This is all on top of the “normal” things that already tend to overwhelm us on their own - family issues, job stress, bills, the car breaking down, etc., etc., etc.  

It’s been a common theme for every friend that I’ve talked to in the past week, and is certainly true for myself too.  We are all feeling really exhausted, a little or a lot depressed, and a bit hopeless even.  

This rollercoaster’s wild ride of life altering realities has certainly taken a mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical toll on all of us.  

Please know that it’s okay to not feel okay right now. This is an abnormally challenging time, but I want you to know and believe that THERE ARE THINGS WE CAN DO THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN HOW WE FEEL RIGHT NOW. 

Here are 4 things that I’ve found to be very effective when feeling overwhelmingly overwhelmed, and I truly believe they can help you too:

1. HEALING FOODS - Now it is more important than ever to focus on eating nutritious and healing foods, especially vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, legumes, and whole grains.  It’s equally important to cut way down on or totally cut out the things that cause inflammation and illness, and that prevent our bodies from being able to properly deal with stress - these include sugar, highly processed foods, and alcohol (all things we’ve likely overindulged in over the holidays).

If this would be a massive lifestyle change for you, start with just eating one extra serving of vegetables today!

2.  EXERCISE - Exercise is usually the first thing to go when life gets stressful, but it’s truly the best thing we can do during the toughest of times.  “Burning off the stress” is a real thing, as exercise brings neurochemical changes that reduce stress hormones and increase endorphins leading to higher optimism, greater relaxation, and just plain feeling better!  Getting out for a jog or to a yoga class also provides a temporary escape, where your mind can get a break from your troubles as it focuses on the present.  

Super out of shape?  Start by taking a brisk walk around the block!

3.  MEDITATION/BREATHING -  Speaking of focusing on the present, which is something that a Type-A person with anxiety like myself finds extremely challenging, meditation and focused breathing have taught me so much.  Stopping whatever you are doing, wherever you are, and turning inward, has amazing immediate effects.  It also aids in training your brain to stop worrying about things in the future or past, or things that you have no control over, and instead teaches you how to simply be present in the present movement.  I’ve been using an app called Headspace which makes meditating super easy.  More on this in an upcoming post.  

New to meditation?  Start by closing your eyes and focusing solely on breathing in and out for 10 breaths.

4.  JOURNALING - The idea of “journaling” can be a bit intimidating, sometimes giving the impression that you have to commit a ton of time and energy to it on a frequent basis, but even just taking a few moments here and there to sit down and write can be extremely beneficial.  Doing a “brain dump” where you write down everything that you’ve been worried or stressed about, or even things that you just keep thinking about over and over, can provide a lot of relief to an overwhelmed brain.  Something about knowing you have these things written down helps the brain to feel like it can be free to let go of the thoughts.  It really works - give it a try!  

Not a journaling fan?  Open up your smartphone’s Notes app and jot down a super quick bullet list of what’s on your mind!

There are MANY other things we can do to help with feeling overwhelmed, and I believe all of the above to be very important, but if you can do nothing else right now, focusing on #1 on this list should be seen as absolutely essential.  Properly nourishing ourselves with healthy and healing foods while cutting down on foods that are harming us gives us the ability, energy, and motivation to be able to focus on all the other things.

Remember, we are no good to anyone, especially not to ourselves, if we don’t take care of ourselves as best as we can, and managing our stress, no matter how challenging the circumstances, always and forevermore will be essential.  

Happy New Year, everyone - here’s to a healthy, happy, and less overwhelming 2022!