Overwhelmed

It all depends for me. Sometimes being around people more helps. Long walks in the countryside, listening to beautiful music, visiting an art gallery, breathing correctly, eating right and trying to take care of my basic needs seems to help. Sometimes I consiously limit my thinking time and meditate more with an open empty mind. I'm sorry you're feeling overwhelmed, it can be rough. You can't help feeling overwhelmed but you can control how you react. When I'm feeling overwhelmed I find one of the worst things I can do is brood. It ends up driving me crazy and doesn't help me with moving forward.

 

I try really hard to avoid being overwhelmed in general, so it doesn't come up very often. When it does I go in "system maintenance" mode....eat regularly, get enough sleep, take time to relax/unwind. If I am doing that I find it much easier to sort through decisions, issues or whatever...one thing at a time.

 

I start to find things that I can get off my plate and once those things are identified, next is who can I delegate or give it them to; once those folks have been identified I pass whatever it is over to them. Most people feel that because something is on their plate it is their's to deal with, but that is not always the case. And even if it is, there is usually someone willing to help.

Lets say you are trying to sell your house, take care of your sick mother and finish school all the while working full time. What do you do?

Get a realtor, ask a friend or a family member to help with mom when you have class, cook meals on the weekend and freeze them for the week, do your homework early in the morning when there are less distractions and join an online study group, and finally explain to your boss the situation at hand and ask if the company might offer any benefits that could help you such as tuition reimbursement, flexible schedules, telecommuting, etc.

Lets say you are trying to bake cookies for your kid's class party tomorrow, your sister dropped off her kids, your best friend came over for a shoulder to cry on and your hubby is whining about being hungry. What do you do?

Tell you best friend that you would love to chat while you bake the cookies since you could really use a hand in the kitchen anyway. Call a babysitter and tell your sister she will be paying for it, and then send hubby for the takeout you just ordered over the phone. If anyome complains, remind them that these are the terms and they are not negotiable. your sister can keep her kids, your hubby can go to bed without dinner and your friend can find some other shoulder ... and heck, worst case scenario, the kid can go with store baked if it comes down to it - sometimes you have to be a hardass. :x

 

I don't get overwhelmed, I throw the burden off my back if it's too much to bear, sometimes you can't take it, sometimes you just have to lose or surrender, sometimes it's the only way to really win.