5 Tips to Deal with Stress and Overwhelm

Have you been feeling stressed lately?

Chances are, it has probably led to a good deal of overwhelm as well. These two things can often go hand-in-hand, often starting with a lot of stress that goes untreated, which can then lead to a considerable amount of overwhelm and burnout.  

This can show up in the following ways :

• Running on autopilot

• Relying on an afternoon nap or caffeine boost

• Feeling irritable and agitated

• Feeling unmotivated

• Being short tempered

• Not sleeping

While feeling stressed is common, it can also be disastrous for your mental and physical state. Luckily, there are some ways you can manage and reduce both stress and overwhelm to get your life back and start living again. 

1. Stress is unavoidable…but how you deal with it is more important!

The first part of dealing with stress is to accept that stress is a part of life and to learn how to deal with it and process it. More so, it’s about understanding what triggers your stress so you can better prepare yourself for ways to relieve it. You need to identify your stressors, acknowledge them , and have defined ways to work through them. If you focus too much on the stress overwhelming you, you are only releasing more of the stress hormone, which is going to make things feel a lot worse .

When you acknowledge your stress, you’re facing it head on and can work through it. Now let’s talk about the Top 5 ways to work through stressful sitiuations and change your mindset when it comes to a situation that causes you any type of struggle.

2. Find Moments to Calm Your Mind and Body 

Both your mind and body go through the ringer when you have stress, so you need to focus on calming both your mind and body. Sometimes, this means just taking a minute to practice deep breathing, while in other cases, you have a little more time to focus on meditating or practicing mindfulness. Taking these extra moments throughout the day will help you deal with stressful situations as they arise and prevent things from getting worse and leading to you being completely overwhelmed. 

3. Think About the Situation Differently 

If there is a particular stressful situation that you can feel taking over your thoughts and emotions, try to think of things in a different way. Try and put yourself on the outside the problem and look in ,put aside your own feelings for now . Just for a moment, try and look at things from a completely different angle. 

When you remove yourself and emotion, Do things look any different? Can you find a way to be positive or optimistic? Is the situation teaching you a lesson?   

Taking a step back can allow you to see the situation in a different light.

4. Get Outside to Regroup Mentally 

Give yourself a Timeout! Give yourself a break whenever you can, go outside or change your environment, and be present. Changing your environement and allow you to regroup mentally.

Having stress at work? Go outside during your break, take a walk, or just head to lunch with some friends to destress. 

Feeling stressed at home? Give yourself a few minutes to be outside in your garden, go for a drive, or walk to a nearby park.

Simply being outside can allow you to feel refreshed. The fresh air, sunshine, new sounds and smells can be therapeutic and allow you to clear your head.

5. Make Sure You Have Realistic Goals 

If your stress and overwhelm is related to your goals and the process to achieve them, then you might want to re-evaluate your goals are and decide whether or not they are realistic. It ‘s great to have large goals dreams, but if they are causing you stress -vs- anticipationg, failing to reach them is only going to feel like a burden. 

Try using the SMART method of creating goals, which includes making sure they are specific, measurable, achievable and realistic, and timely. This method can help set you up for success!

*BONUS TIP * Lean on Others

You have family and friends that are there for you. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them and lean on them when you need to. Nobody can accomplish anything completely alone, and sometimes you need help, reassurance, and support. Communicate with the people who you know and that can understand what you are going through. Talking with others is such an effective way to get things “out of your head” and is going to help relieve you process things.

Stress is going to be a part of our lives yet the 5 tips I’ve given you to help deal with Stress and Overwhelm are great to put into action immediately.

In Wellness

XOXO

-A