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'Stress' is not a complete description of experiencing those moments where everything in life feels like it's weighing you down, slowing your pace, numbing your senses, pulling you in a million direction, yet not moving anywhere! I prefer the term 'overwhelm' because it more accurately describes the overall general feeling of 'weighed-down-ness.'
With so many people living diverse levels and types of daily overwhelm, it may look and feel different for each person. Unlike the 'fight or flight' response of stress, overwhelm is the 'freeze' response. We live surrounded by tedious by deadlines, traffic, financial worries, endless streams of information, family responsibilities, perfectionist tendencies, a long list of expectations, etc. This overwhelm grows layer upon layer weighing on us. Overloaded with the weight, it can short-circuit our lives, leaving us stuck in the rut of overwhelm.
Short-term, situational overwhelm may be highly stressful but living with the chronic weight each day is also overwhelming. Whether a single catastrophic event or a build-up of smaller events forming an avalanche of overwhelm, it can surprise us by rolling up behind us or by 'hitting us over the head.' Both can shock us if we do not see it coming – and so often, we do not.
What aspects of your life reflect the overall overwhelm of living full-on in today's complex society? How does it show up in your life? What does overwhelm feel like for you?
Consider your typical day. It may include work, meetings, school, children, intimate relationships, family, friends, exercise, meditation, hobbies, sex, food, chores, errands, cleaning, emails, Tweets, and so on. Or do you neglect huge sections of this list to make time for other areas of life? Do you prioritize chores over self-care, or work above friendships? You're not alone.
At times, you may find yourself hit by overwhelm in one area after another area of life, like a growing wave. It may start with working longer hours due to work expectations and fear of financial pressures, then affect your relationships because people do not see you as much, and often target your health from a lack of exercise and poor eating due to not taking care of yourself. A hamster wheel of overwhelm!
Recognizing the early signs of overwhelm alerts you to the start of a process before it tumbles into your whole life. Where are you at now? What do you struggle to truly appreciate and celebrate about your life? Which of the questions below are hard to answer, and which do you long to know the answers to?
- What areas of your life are typically overwhelmed? How are they overwhelmed: stuck, weighed down, and / or ignored? What keeps them stuck?
- What are your Gifts (your fantastic talents)? How are you using your Gifts? How are you undervaluing them?
- What is your passion? Where is it hiding in your life? What does it feel like to live to your life 'On Purpose?'
It's hard to enjoy life when buried under overwhelmed, unable to budge or breathe. Overwhelm stifles your ability to listen clearly to your head and heart, or know and trust in yourself, your intuition, your Inner Wisdom. You live numb to yourself.
Ideally, when you see overwhelm more clearly on the horizon, you can enhance your awareness, consider options, make wise decisions, and take positive action. Hopefully, each time you build a stronger resiliency to future overwhelm and move into living your best life.
To inspire you to rock your overwhelm, consider adapting these affirmations to suit you: I acknowledge the beliefs that limit areas of my life, contributing to my overwhelm. I own my role in building my overwhelm – I am its co-creator. I release what no longer serves me, lightening my load and valuing all the Gifts that await me. I vision living my life on purpose, sharing my gifts with the world. I am DONE with overwhelm! I embrace clarity, balance, and freedom.
(C) 2011 Whitney McMillan
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Source by Whitney McMillan
