We all face burn-outs; it is not just you nor just me. Feelings that cannot be managed are ok sometimes, and that is when you need to give time to yourself and let your body and mind calm down from your routine.
Overwhelming feeling has nothing to do with age; any one of us can have such feelings. We all feel stressed, depressed, or overwhelmed at one point. But while dealing with these feelings, we need to understand that this is just a feeling like any other feeling. It is not something ultimate situation from which you can never get over. And therefore, to help yourself, you need to keep in mind that it is natural to feel such.
Does everyone feel overwhelmed?
Everyone is living completely different lives along with different mindsets, maturity levels, and emotions, and hence the feeling of getting overwhelmed can occur distinctly in everyone’s life.
Introvert or extrovert?
It’s been said that in the case of introverts, many things remain unsaid, and hence they face more stress, which leads to anxiety and ultimately the feeling of being overwhelmed. Inversely, extroverts express themselves, and therefore extroverts are less easily overwhelmed than them.
Meaning of overwhelming
The first thing we all need to understand is, feeling overwhelmed is nothing like positive or negative. It’s just an intense feeling which is not so usual or something that we cannot easily accept.
What does overwhelmed mean?
Sometimes the things inside become too hard to handle, or even we may feel like we are not able to understand what we are actually feeling. And that's why it becomes really hard to describe, whether this feeling is positive or negative.
Let's have a look at what are the reasons behind the overwhelming feeling.
(I) When we are stressed about something like work, studies, or any other responsibilities.
(ii) Any experiences that bother us frequently.
(iii) Being in toxic relationships
(iv) Unable to achieve goals despite endeavoring a lot.
(v) Too many expectations from others, which may not get fulfilled.
(vi) You have left with so many unsaid things.
What are the signs of overwhelmed feelings:
1) Recurring mood swings
2) Withdrawal from reality
3) Being out of focus frequently
4) Aches and unnecessary dizziness.
5) Getting nervous over small things.
Let’s understand with an example,
A) When any abroad situated youngster comes home back after a couple of years, his parents can hardly express what they are actually feeling.
B) Remember when any loved one surprised you last time, which was unexpected.
C) When you lose someone, without whom you never expected your life.
D) When someone betrayed you that you trusted the most.
E) When a bunch of problems entered your life all of a sudden.
There can be a few such situations when a person is overwhelmed. He or she can hardly express what they are actually feeling. Or sometimes they might be completely unknown of their own feelings. You may have gone through one of the feelings mentioned above once in your life when you had no idea of your feelings.
How overwhelming situations can affect your life?
If overwhelming situations are not handled properly and on time, it can have serious social, mental, and physical effects on your life.
How?
● When mental pain becomes too much, it is hard to keep other things in routine, like meals or a good timely sleep.
● When feelings burnout, we may say the things we don’t even mean. Which can badly affect our social life.
12 things to do when you are feeling overwhelmed
If you really want to get over the Overwhelmed feeling, the first thing you need to understand is that this is the process from which you need to undergo. There is no such switch between feeling overwhelmed and being normal.
What to do when you feel overwhelmed?
Let's see how you can do it.
1. Try to be alone for a while-
Sometimes when we are overwhelmed, we are completely clueless about what to do. It can push us either towards too much anger or sudden speechless mode. So instead of making others suffer because of us, isolate yourself for a while until your mind gets calm.
2. Cry it out-
Most of the time, it happens that our hearts become so heavy that we can't express anything, so that's the best time to let it pour through tears. Crying may not get you what you are looking for, but it may definitely soothe you.
3. Close your eyes-
Yes, close your eyes and lie down your head. Just don’t rush into being normal quickly. Give time to your heart and mind to get calm.
4. It’s perfectly alright-
Once you are done with crying or sitting alone, tell yourself that feeling like this is just normal. You are a human being, and sometimes it becomes high time to handle everything, and that’s why getting feelings like being overwhelmed by life are OK.
5. Go to the core of the feeling-
Once you realize that now you are feeling better than before, try to recognize the root cause why you started feeling like this? Where does it all start? Whatever you felt in the last few minutes or hours, how much does it matter?
6. Ask yourself why do I get overwhelmed so easily-
If you really want to get over to this feeling, you need to ask yourself. While getting the answers for it, try to focus on the things that, how many of those questions and answers are practical, and how many are implications?
7. Stay away from denial-
Once you start getting the answer to your questions, do not deny the truth. Whatever feeling you are getting, just accept them. Because until you don't, you can't get over that particular situation. One more reason behind accepting the situation is that as much as you deny the fact, the more you will regret it later.
8. Look for comfort-
Whenever you are in a phase where your heart says that you get overwhelmed, just look for the thing which gives you extreme comfort. It can be anything: your favorite web series, a book, a walk, Music, a favorite TV show, a tight hug from your loved one, or a good nap.
The reason behind looking for comforters when you are overwhelmed is that we are actually feeling too much; we are already heavy with thoughts, and therefore instead of rushing yourself into being normal, just look for quick comfort.
9. Indulge yourself physically-
It's been said that when our mind is full of thought, it's better to indulge our body in some physical activities so that we can distract ourselves from the thoughts for a while.
10. Do not rush into finding a solution-
It is not always possible to figure out everything all of a sudden. You cannot get a solution to each problem overnight, and feelings like overwhelming Need time + deep breath + patience.
11. Leave your routine-
Routine tasks and places are one of the major reasons behind stress. Because when we are stuck in one routine our mind hardly thinks about other things and, hence sometimes it becomes too hard to handle the same feeling for a longer period.
So, at that moment, it is best to leave that place that made you sick and look for something which can heal you.
12. Ask for expert help-
When you are unable to manage things alone, better to ask for someone’s help. It can be an expert who can give you step-by-step suggestions, which may eventually help you out.
What to remember while you get overwhelmed?
Do not force yourself to accept or deny something. Take this as a red alert, do not lie to yourself.
For, e.g., If you really love someone, but there are reasons which don’t let you accept your love. In this case, you need to accept what your heart is saying. Until you keep denying it, the thoughts will bother you. Therefore, to be away from such feelings, never force yourself. Even if you can’t express your love, at least accept it in your heart.
7 Quick tips to feel better-
1. Daydream.
2. Let yourself be lost in fantasies.
3. Think of the happiest moments with your friends or family.
4. Have your favorite food and drink.
5. Talk to your friends who make you feel better.
6. Play with kids, do the stupidest thing they ask you to do.
7. Go to a calm place where you get peace, like temples, churches, beaches, or anything near you.
The overwhelmed feeling is not something that you can name good or bad. Basically, it is something that is difficult to manage at some point in life.
Additional resources
Try to manage it by yourself firstly, but when you can’t do it all by yourself, you can go through the following points.
1. American Psychological Association suggests following to deal with anxiety
Harsh Agarwal
First of all, we need to understand what Overwhelming mean.
Overwhelming is a feeling where a person gets extremely intense by his feelings. This feeling is hard to deal with while managing worldly matters.
Overwhelmed can be seen by two different phases:
1. Positive overwhelming
2. Negative overwhelming
Positive Overwhelming, in a simple term, refers to a heartfelt, emotional feeling of a person.
For example, They get overwhelmed after winning the match.
Negative Overwhelming, in a simple term, refers to an unbearable, irresistible, compelling, forceful feeling of a person.
For example, He got overwhelmed after listening to the news of his brother’s death.
What causes you to feel overwhelmed?
1. Not dealing with your problems and mount them for the future, which gives you stress – It states that sometimes we try to run from the problems of our life or leave them for the future. Because many times we get afraid of dealing them, or we find it tremendous anyhow. So, we left it for the future.
2. Trying to impress people rather than concentrating on personal life – In the modern world, where we are eager to impress others than ourselves. We are always ready to show off ourselves in front of others, but we fail to take care of personal issues in between.
3. Not enough time to relax – In this scientific world, we are still unable to find time for ourselves. We have a lot of stress and tension in our jobs and many more worldly problems where we get lost and are unable to take time to get relaxed.
4. Relationship issues – Not only do worldly problems give us overwhelmed, crucial to stress and anxiety, but sometimes we get attacked by our relations. Relationships with our mother-Father, Brother-Sister, with friends, they also hurt us anyhow which unbearable for us.
Sign of feeling overwhelmed
1. You feel sick - You feel like you are having a cough, sore throat, or a fever that can’t seem to shake; it can be a sign of stress.
2. You cannot focus and concentrate on your work - When you are overwhelmed, it’s hard to concentrate on work or tasks because there are so many things which make your mind suffer.
3. You cannot sleep properly - After a long and busy day, if you cannot sleep, it must be a sign of anxiety and depression. When you go to sleep after having a busy day, things must go on in your mind if they are tricky and stressful.
Things you must do when you are feeling overwhelmed.
1. Listen to your body. Take extra sleep and proper rest, especially when studying or working for long hours.
2. If you find yourself in lapses in memory or cannot concentrate, then take a long deep breath for some period of second. This helps you control your heart rate and blood circulation. Now you can concentrate better on your work.
3. Talk to the doctor if this takes place on a regular basis. Also, try to cut your alcohol and drugs during this span of life.
Some quick ways to calm down when you feel overwhelming
1. Take a deep, long breathe – A quick Medication for this feeling.
2. Try to take fresh oxygen or do not sit in a suffocating place – It circulates the flow of blood to the mind and heart.
3. Drink fresh water – Relax and enhance the body at its best level.
4. Have a cup of tea or coffee you like the most – Relieve the overwhelming feeling.
5. Feel relaxed to your body muscles – Helps in getting good sleep.
Things to remember when you are feeling overwhelmed.
1. This is a Natural feeling which gets understood by a few people. Do not react when no one understands your inner feeling.
2. It is a breakdown of emotional thoughts, not of life. Do not get over-stress by any wrong inner feelings or by worldly affairs.
3. Things need time to fix. Give them some time.
4. Think hundred times while taking any action during this feeling. Because we usually make wrong decisions when we are not in a normal state of mind.
5. Do not overreact on any matter. Try to concentrate on yourself.
How to avoid being overwhelming?
Self-care - Stress, anxiety, and depression are not fun feelings; they can ruin a sense of peace or mood. This starts affecting our mental life too. We should take out time for ourselves, instead to give others. Take a proper healthy diet to keep energetic and keep our brains strong. Should also exercise daily for a healthy lifestyle.
At last, I just wanted to say that stop being more expressible to others. Be what you are. Concentrate on yourself. Relax your mind through meditation. Do care about your feelings.
“Try to avoid more worldly things.”