5 Tips to Handle Stress & Overwhelm
There are so many times we can get overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or all of the above, so here are my 5 tips to handle stress & overwhelm. A lot of the time we are running on high cortisol without even realizing it. Stress is not bad. It is used to protect us and help us in times when we are facing a threat. Historically, our stress response was triggered when we were being chased by a predator, or some other threat. When this predator was gone, our stress would go away, and we were living on short-term stress.
Currently, a lot of us are living with long-term stress. Stress is only supposed to be short-term. What used to be a lion chasing us is now a job we hate, health issues, negative self-talk, etc. We as humans tend to constantly think/stress about things that were said or done in the past that cannot be changed, or stress about our future which has not happened yet. I know I am guilty of this, especially stressing about the future.
I have done a lot of work on myself to not stress about the past. To not stress what should have been said or done, and accept it for what it is. This is not easy and is always something I need to actively work on, but has helped my stress levels a lot. Now I need to focus on not stressing about the future so much. It is sooo easy to want to control every single thing in your life. I am currently working on trying to surrender a little more, and truly trust it is all going to work out.
A couple weeks ago I was feeling really off and couldn’t quite place what I was feeling or why. So, I did allll of the things and this is what really helped me.
1. Meditate:
Just get quiet with yourself and breathe. Try to focus on your breath, taking big inhales in and long exhales out. Placing your attention on your breath takes away attention from your thoughts that are probably running wild. The more anxious or off I’m feeling, the more time I usually need to sit with myself and meditate, even if I’m resisting. Usually the more you are resisting, the more you need it.
2. Journal:
My absolute favorite thing to do is journal it out! It truly is my therapy. (This is my favorite journal from Amazon!) Just write it out and brain dump whatever you’re feeling. It doesn’t have to be formal, you don’t need to have any prompts, just get it all out on paper. Use it as a place to write down your feelings and vent. Start by writing “I am feeling…” If you don’t know what you’re feeling, just let yourself write and trust me it will come out. It’s good to get your thoughts and feelings out on paper. It’s a good way to see how you are feeling and why you are feeling that way. Pinpoint the exact feeling. Is it anxiousness, overwhelm, nervousness, excitement? Sometimes we’re so quick to say we’re feeling stressed, but I find it important to pinpoint exactly what it is I’m feeling.
3. Pep Talk:
Once you’ve written down what is bothering you, give yourself a pep talk. Write it from the 3rd person, as your future self. Write whatever it is that you need to hear right now. Remember, you can only control what you can control. Read that again. If it is completely out of your control, it really doesn’t need your energy. Your energy is wasted worrying because all the worrying can’t change the outcome. (This is last thing I wanted to hear right after my T1D diagnosis when my thoughts were always spiraling. But at the end of the day, all of my worrying could not and would not change my diagnosis. Now, this is something that is so helpful for me to come back to).
4. Get in the present moment:
Usually when we’re stressed or overwhelmed, we’re thinking about something in the past (that we can’t change), or something in the future (that we can’t predict). Try and focus on being in the exact moment that you are in. That might mean taking a few minutes to acknowledge your surroundings. Acknowledging that you are not living in a past or future situation, you are living right here, right now.
5. Get Grateful:
Focus on what you’re grateful for at that exact moment. It can be the clothes on your back, your home, the health that you have, etc. Then expand into all of the things you are grateful for. You can write them down, or just say them in your head. The important thing is to take a minute or so to actually feel grateful for it all. This is such a good way to get out of your head.
Final reminder: Don’t take life too seriously. As humans we like to overthink and stress, but life really isn’t that complicated. We don’t need to make things more complicated than they actually are. That’s why I like to do all of the above and get grounded. After I feel a bit more grounded, I feel like my thoughts are a little more rational. It is so easy for our thoughts to get out of control, but it is up to us to control our thoughts. In a world where a lot of things are actually out of our control, our thoughts are always up to us.
I hope this was all very helpful! Try doing some or all of these practices the next time you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed. These are my favorite things to come back to and they truly work for me, so let me know if they are working for you in the comments, or you can always contact me here.
As always, sending so much love & light to you today!
Xoxo
Gab
