Overwhelm

Hello all. It is winter Down Under and I am sitting in my sheep skin boots and winter wrap typing this. Today I wanted to talk about overwhelm. It happens to the best of us, let me tell you.

As we usually hear, todays world is go go go. We have high pressured jobs, sometimes two. We have a family, children's commitments, house work, mortgages and so forth. We are working from the moment we get up to the time we go to bed. We are stressed as it is and if you add to that changes at work, or toxic politics, or short staffed at work. Among many other permutations. This all adds to the stress.

Now stress is important. We need what is called eustress, normal levels of everyday stress. It helps us get from A to B. However if the stress is high in intensity and chronic over long periods of time then our body can start breaking down. It also affects us mentally too.

Then comes overwhelm. It may also come with fatigue and/or compassion fatigue and even in worst case scenarios can turn into depression and even suicidal ideation.

However, overwhelm is when we are flooded with obligation and responsibilities. It is a sign to pull back and regroup. To delegate where possible and to not take on too much. You may need to redesign your working day and to do what your job description covers and nothing more. There 'should' be systems in place by your employer to accommodate these types of situations. If there isn't then that needs looking at. It is the duty of the employer to ensure there are no psychosocial hazards in the work place.

Then at home you may need to decide what is the top priority. To, again, delegate. But most importantly, you need to have down time. Not negotiable! When you reach overwhelm then that is your body and mind telling you that it is time to pull back. To downscale how much you do. You are doing too much. We reach saturation point if this stress goes on for too long with no respite.

As a dual practitioner, a naturopath as well as a counsellor, I know too well from personal experience and from what I see in practice, that if we don't recognise overwhelm that we may be going into burn out. Trust me you don't want to get to that point.

Overwhelm makes us sometimes freeze and stay stuck. Not knowing what to do. This may affect our mood if we don't see to rectify it. Your learnt behaviour and coping skills may also contribute.

So, how to deal with overwhelm? As mentioned before delegate where possible. First of all pull back and take a birds eye view of what it is exactly that you are doing. Maybe make a bullet point list. Prioritise in order of importance. See what is not really urgent and what others can do. Remember this is non negotiable. No 'buts' saying that no one else will do it. If your employer needs to hire more people then it is their problem.

At the very least do as much as you feel you can and stop when you feel the overwhelm creeping in.

If your support system is not large that can make you feel overwhelmed. You can meet people who can become your circle by social media support groups or mutual interest groups. Go out and do the hobbies, sports, activities you always wanted to do or haven't done in a while. Prioritise down time and time to relax. Yes even in the face of pressures.

I see this all the time and when my clients prioritise themselves after talking to me they more often than not report back that sometimes things seem to sort themselves out.

Just make the first move today to put things into place for this to work for you. Do it in small steps if need be. But start NOW.

Take it easy. I will see you next month.

Lisa