Bye-Bye Overwhelm | 5 Self Care + Reflection Tips
What a year 2020 has been. You don’t need this blog post to remind you of all of the reasons why, but you probably need this to clear your freaking mind! If you feel like you have days where you are completely overwhelmed, confused, sad, anxious, angry, and tired… you’re not alone. Uncertainty is exhausting, and even in times when we aren’t living through a global pandemic with a socially unjust, politically charged society… life can still be exhausting!
Unfortunately, there’s no long term cure for overwhelm, but there are several things you can do to calm it. The first is becoming aware of what you’re feeling. This will ALWAYS be the first step. Really take a moment to journal, brain dump, and reflect on what you’re feeling and WHY. This is the best place to start.
Once you’ve figured out whether its the pandemic, a hectic work schedule, or a never ending life to do list that is causing the angst, it’s time to look at how you’re spending your time. Are you using it efficiently? Or are you getting caught up in people pleasing trying to do all the things for all the people? You’ve got to remember to honor your priorities first. Sometimes you have to say no… and thats OKAY!
Now that we’ve got your awareness and time management under control, the next most important question to ask yourself is What do I need right now? Do you need a break? A mental health day? Shut off social media for the weekend? What do you need to clear your head, collect your thoughts, and put together a plan to rest and recharge. Whatever it is, do that.
Oh! And before we keep going, you also want to make sure you get your zzzZZzzzz’s! Yes girl, you’ve got to make sure you’re getting your sleep! It’s so easy, especially in times of overwhelm to let sleep get the short end of the stick, but sleep will energize your body and allow you to handle stress more efficiently. So stop scrolling social at night and get that sleep.
We’d also be totally missing the boat if we didn’t talk about nutrition. You want to take a quick look to see how you can fuel your body best. FYI, we’re not talking about going on a diet. In fact, in this episode we talk about what to stay away from and how to identify diets in disguise, so beware of these things! Instead, focus on listening to your body and fueling it the healthy way it craves.
Lastly, it’s time to reflect. Ask yourself, How did I get to this place of overwhelm? What decisions led me to these feelings? Have I overcommitted myself? Soaked myself in social media and the comparison game? Said Yes to too many things? Identify how you got here because we all know if we can identify it, we’re less likely to repeat the behavior.
If it feels hard to implement this all at once, take a deep breath in. It wouldn’t be normal to do these six things perfectly and then feel perfectly free from overwhelm. Don’t set your expectation level at that. Instead, realistically start with the first step and slowly work your way through each one after that. As a reminder- you’ve got this. Seriously, you are stronger than you think you are and you will get through this time.
