Anxiety and Overwhelm can feel all consuming when we are experiencing it. It can be difficult for us to think and act. Many of us will experience some kind of anxiety and overwhelm at some point within our lives. Life can be complicated at times, we are humans experiencing life in some of the craziest events as of late.
Anxiety and Overwhelm can feel debilitating. It can cause us to lash out, become angry, cry, become unmotivated, procrastinate, become irritable, and worry. Physically we can experience an increase in the stress hormone cortisol, rapid heartbeat, sweating, shortness of breath, and pain. None of these benefit you. But why do we experience it? Much of the anxiety and overwhelm that we experience comes from the lack of presence that we are experiencing in our current circumstances. We are most likely experiencing things from the past or looking into the future. This can create situations for ourselves in which we feel the stress of our current circumstance is too great to manage, spiraling us into anxiety and an overwhelming tornado.
So how can we start to ease our anxiety and overwhelm before it gets to a nuclear level? We can start by taking little steps to create presence each time we start to feel increased anxiety and overwhelm.
Before you do any of these tips I want you to try the following:
When you are feeling increased anxiety and overwhelm, when you find yourself all over the place I want you to stop what you are doing as soon as possible. Yes, I said STOP what you are doing for one minute. Next, put your feet on the ground. If you
have the ability to go out in nature for a minute that would be great, but if you can’t just put your feet on the ground below you.
Next, I want you to close your eyes and take 3, deep breaths. Breathe in once, through the nose, and out the mouth
exhaling all the way. Do this two more times. With the final exhale just take a moment and be in your body, even if it’s for 5-10 seconds. Just be. Now open your eyes and feel the difference from one minute before.
Now we can dive into the 3 tips.
Tip#1
Create Micro-moments and movement: When we are feeling stressed with anxiety and overwhelm it often feels like we have a thousand things to do and we don’t know where to start. So tip number one is to take what you have in front of you and create small micro-moments and movements toward what you need to accomplish. So for example, say you have a huge project at work and there is so much to do. Try taking one small part of that project and starting. Maybe that’s sending an email, or scheduling a call. Start with something small and do one moment at a time. Let’s say you are a stay at home parent and you have a million things on your to-do list for the day on top of creating a new career for yourself. Children and families can produce a lot of anxiety and overwhelm for us, especially as women. This can be especially true when we have little children at home. We may feel like we have cleaning to do, laundry to do, play-time, calling a friend, emails to write, kids home-work and the list seems endless. You can start to create micro-movements or moments to start feeling better. Take one small step in something you need to do for the day, then move to the next thing, etc. Maybe that is making breakfast, or putting in a load of laundry, not thinking of the other four loads waiting for you. Small moments and
movements can create less anxiety and overwhelm for tasks at hand.
Tip#2
Play the Gratitude game: Being in a state of gratitude can be a game changer for helping you have less anxiety and overwhelm. Gratitude raises our vibration and brings more things to be grateful for in our lives. Gratitude is simple and easy to do and everyone can do it. You don’t need any special tool to experience gratitude. Simply start by saying what you appreciate in your life.
Another tip when faced with overwhelm and anxiety is playing the appreciation game. Like the example above, if you are feeling overwhelmed by a project at work that needs to be finished, start by giving gratitude for the project. “I’m so grateful I get to do this project,” “I am so grateful I got to come to work today for this project.” “This is going to be an amazing project.” Or.. if you are a stay at home parent “I have so much to do at home today,” “There is so much laundry to do,” “How will I ever get all the cleaning done today.” Instead,”I’m so grateful to provide for my children at home.” “I’m so grateful for these clothes I get to wear,” “I’m so grateful to have a home to take care of.”
Just changing the language in which we are speaking aloud and thinking and having appreciation for it can ease an overwhelming situation.
Tip#3
What do you need? A final tip you can use when you are feeling overwhelmed is asking yourself “What is the nearest thing that you can do for yourself in this situation, in this moment that can make me happy.” This is a powerful question that can help create ease. If you are at work and feeling the dread of a looming project and you can’t think, just stop and ask yourself this above question. Maybe it’s going for a quick walk, maybe it’s getting your favorite coffee or food, changing your outfit, exercising, taking a nap. Whatever it is for you, go do it! Take that moment and do the thing. It will help you come back and look at things from a better perspective and help you get back to getting things done. Just by
creating a mini-moment of happiness it changes our frequency and allows us to come back to ourselves. Practice this tip daily in any situation that arises where you start to get those feelings of stress and anxiety.
So let’s review:
First:
Get your feet on the ground, if possible go outside. Take 3 deep breaths, in the nose all the way out exhaling. Become present in the current moment.
Tip #1
Create Mico-moments and movements within your live to create less stress and overwhelm. Start one small thing at a time.
Tip #2
Play the game of Gratitude and Appreciation
Talk to yourself, stating all the things you appreciate. If its a project, have gratitude towards the project, if its laundry be grateful for having clothes. Whatever it is for you, start the process of saying what you are grateful for, play the appreciation game. It will raise your vibration and bring you into the present
moment.
Tip #3
What do you Need?
Ask yourself in an overwhelming situation, “what is the nearest thing that I need in this situation that will make me happy.” Then go do the thing. It can be a small thing like getting your favorite coffee, or maybe you need a nap. Doing this can bring you back to a more centered and present place and help you move through the anxiety and overwhelm that you feel.
I hope that you are able to use these three tips to support you when you feel a sense of anxiety and overwhelm. I use these tips daily, and I can tell you from personal experience how helpful they can be. Anxiety and overwhelm doesn’t have to be debilitating. Practice with these tips, see if they work for you, or if you have some that already work for you, add these to it. You got this!
Dr. Meagen is a House Call Chiropractor and Holistic Living Practitioner serving the Southeast area of Michigan. Follow her on facebook at Dr. Meagen House Call Chiropractic or Instagram at drmeghousecalls.
