Overwhelmed? Calm yourself down with these 3 steps

I’m not going to talk about how overwhelming the world is right now because, um, hello.

It’s bananas.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

I swear. My brain does this EVERY TIME without fail.

(No idea what I’m talking about? Click here and fast forward to minute 2:30.)

So, you’re living in this world right now and therefore you’re most likely overwhelmed from time to time.

Or a lot.

The problem with overwhelm is that if you don’t know how to bring yourself back into homeostasis, it can having a lasting effect on all levels of your health, wealth, and happiness.

Overwhelm can stop you from doing the things you need and want to do.

Overwhelm can look like you camped out on the couch numbing yourself with TikTok videos.

Overwhelm can make you think that doing any little one thing is too much.

Chronic overwhelm can lead to all kinds of stress-related disease.

So, it’s important to have some coping tools to get yourself out of this paralyzed state.

Let’s dive into it…

Here are my top 3 ways to bring yourself out of overwhelm and back to calm:

#1 Say the emotion out loud, but say it this way:

“I’m FEELING overwhelmed BECAUSE I have too many things on my plate today,” or whatever the reason is for you at the moment. Science-y-minded researcher types (aka neuroscientists) have discovered that stating that you are FEELING the emotion and then stating WHY you are experiencing it will not only lessen the intensity of the emotion for you feelings-wise, but it will make you more able to make positive choices to help you move forward.

#2 Close your eyes, ground your feet, let divine light rush in through the top of your head and fill your body, and breathe.

This step sounds easy enough, but in a of state of panic, you will want to rush right by it. You need to get yourself into a calmer and more grounded state in order to be able to handle what you’re facing. Do this step for a minimum of 5 minutes. If you need to turn on the sound of the rain, the ocean, whale song, or someone walking you through a breathing meditation, do it.

#3 Now that you’re feeling calmer and clearer, find the tipping point item on your to-do list and handle that one first.

You are an exceptionally capable person and you have handled a LOT of tough circumstances in your life, so we know you can absolutely do hard things. However, when the scales tip from stress to overwhelm, there’s often ONE specific hard thing that feels like too much on your list. Pro tip: It’s usually the emotionally loaded task that’s pushing you to the limit.

This tough task can be as major as preparing a high stakes presentation for work and feeling like you’re out of your league or as small as needing to get that freaking, fracking package to the post office already because now it’s REALLY late and it’s making you feel like a terrible aunt having not sent the present for a birthday that was THREE WEEKS AGO…….. —a suspiciously specific example, I know.

When I’m in session with one of my clients and they’re in a state of overwhelm, I always ask what feels the most scary or the most heavy or seems the most challenging in their life right now. That task is usually the item that’s running the show. We then hold that item up to the light and examine a few ways it could be handled. Once we’ve got a new reframe in place and a plan of action, it’s amazing how the seemingly ginormous, overwhelming gorilla sitting on my client’s back has turned into a butterfly. They feel lighter, they have a plan, things are not as bad as they seemed.

Without a coach, you will need to do this for yourself or ask a friend or family member to help you with it. You can do it. Just take it one step at a time.

Here’s one additional bonus step for lightening your feeling of overwhelm, especially if it’s related to feeling overwhelmed by the media: Take a break.

When you’re feeling mentally and emotionally overwhelmed, looking at disturbing information over and over again is the equivalent of pouring lemon juice directly into your eye.

Not only does it hurt, sting, and cloud your vision, it can also potentially BURN YOUR CORNEA.

Images in the media can be JUST. LIKE. THAT. The information can emotionally hurt you and some of the images are practically burned into your memory.

So how do you stop hurting your eyes in this situation?

Well, you need to stop pouring the damn lemon juice into your eyes.

Same thing with the media.

If you’re hurting from overwhelm, it’s time to give your mind and heart and soul some grace and space and peace.

Set the intention to literally shield yourself from psychic harm.

Make it essential that you protect your sweet, gentle self from all of the world’s suffering until you feel strong enough to withstand it again.

If you absolutely CANNOT GO ON without knowing who and where people are suffering every day, get someone else to give you the unemotional Cliff’s Notes.

But trust me, you will be OK without the media for a few weeks.

Even for a whole year.

You might even do better…

Just a thought.

Before I wrap up for this week, I’ve had some questions about the Divine Path series, so let’s cover them!

• Do I have to be struggling with a major area of my life to do this series?

  Nope. You do not. I’ve had people who had questions about religion, about politics, about WHY this one thing keeps happening to them. I’ve also had people who just felt drawn to do this series with me and it became VERY clear during the series that they need to be taking a different direction in life.

   

• I’m (oddly?) scared of what my guides have to tell me. Are you going to tell me bad news? No. Your guides are here to support and encourage you–not to scare you. Readings are affirming. I will often reflect back what some deep, knowing part of you already knows to be true. Hearing it again is often the exact confirmation you need to quit the job, end the relationship, take the leap, start writing the book. Readings are helpful, not hurtful in any way.

   

• Do you meet in person or over Zoom? Since many of my clients are based outside of the Portland area, I meet over Zoom. But if you’ve never done a Zoom meeting with me before, it feels very much like you’re in person. And the tech is not too hard, I promise. First-timers have done great with it.

   

• Do you have a payment plan?

  Yes. You can make two payments of $229 if that’s more convenient for you.

More questions? Click here to contact me. I’d love to talk to you and see if this series is a fit.

That’s all for this week!

Sending you calm, deep breaths for the rest of the week,

Rebecca*

PS: The Divine Path series is THE place where my clients start to make big breakthroughs. Don’t wait to see what breakthrough is waiting for you. <3