12/08/2025
Do you know that I believe that overwhelm isn't a negative thing in our lives? I actually think of overwhelm as an "indicator" light - like the ones in our car that say, "check engine" or "low fuel".
Overwhelm is the indicator in our lives that something needs to change. Now, if we ignore overwhelm and exist in it - then it becomes negative. But, if we can step back and look at it as that indicator of something that needs to change, we then gain the insight to make changes.
It doesn't mean that the feeling of overwhelm vanishes. I get how hard it can be when you're overwhelmed to move out of it. But, you gain power in recognizing that it doesn't define you; it's just an emotion you are experiencing.
Here are ways I bust out of overwhelm so that I can gain a bit of peace (and then time to re-adjust my life or schedule or commitments or whatever).
✨✨1. Pause.
There is so much power in the pause. A pause is when you decide to step out of what you're doing - even if it's just a minute. A pause doesn't mean you have to solve everything or create massive change. A pause is simply a moment for you to rest, to catch your breath, to recalibrate. Sometimes a pause is a couple deep breaths, sometimes it is a walk, and sometimes it is removing yourself from the situation. Never underestimate that power of a pause.
✨✨2. Do one thing.
Most of the time when I experience overwhelm it is because too much is being asked from me in one moment. Whether it was during the toddler years of my life when I didn't feel like I could get much done or it is the teen years where I feel like their needs rival the toddler needs but with me driving here and there and finishing projects OR it is just life - I've learned that best way to calm my spirit is to choose one thing to accomplish. Just one. And then the next and then the next. It's when I try to do it all at once that the overwhelm light pops on.
✨✨3. Create a list.
This goes with do one thing, but when you create a list of what is overwhelming you you give yourself context. The list could be as simple as "the song that keeps repeating on the cartoon" and the "pile of laundry" and email and so forth. Just list it - get it out of your head and onto paper. Then you know what it is and instead of carrying it all, it's out there in the universe. There's a great deal of power in just releasing it in this way.
✨✨4. Have your "overwhelm" friend.
This is the friend where you can call or text and just get that list of overwhelm stuff out there. No solutions are needed during this time, just someone to listen. Maybe you establish a code word, but having that person to just be there is priceless. And, you, too, can be this person for someone else.
✨✨5. Give yourself grace.
You're human. Not perfect. Humans experience emotions; they get pushed to the edge. You're real. You'd probably give your best friend a whole bunch of grace if she was experiencing overwhelm - so remember to extend it to yourself. Grace to be real, grace to try, grace to take a break.
You're worth it.
Those are the four things I use to conquer that initial feeling of overwhelm. Remember, you CANNOT fix things while you're experiencing the intensity of overwhelm. You can fix things and make changes when you're out of overwhelm.
You've got this.
I believe in you.
~Rachel
