How to stop feeling overwhelmed

Transcript:

Overwhelm affects all of us to some degree. And I want you to know that when my coaching clients come to me feeling really overwhelmed, they come from all different backgrounds and they have all different experiences with their overwhelm. They're all feeling overwhelmed for different reasons. In every single scenario, we can work through a five step process to overcome this feeling and to finally stop feeling so overwhelmed. 

This practice, this five step system, which I’ll share with you right now, is something that you can keep using again and again, no matter how many times you feel overwhelmed, no matter how overwhelmed you’re feeling or how it shows up for you, and no matter what types of things are feeling overwhelming for you in that particular scenario. 

Step 1 for how to stop feeling overwhelmed: Acknowledge what is happening. 

“I am feeling overwhelmed,” say it out loud, acknowledge what is going on, and also get really specific: What specifically is overwhelming to you? How exactly does that feel in your body and also in your brain? In your mind? What about this overwhelm is frustrating to you? 

Oftentimes what happens with my coaching clients is they might say, “Everything! Everything feels overwhelming to me!” So if that's you as well, I want you to still break it down: If everything feels overwhelming, then what to you encompasses “everything”? 

Here, we are really acknowledging all of the different overwhelm that you're feeling. That is step number one. 

Step 2 for how to stop feeling overwhelmed: Be kinder to yourself.

Show yourself the same degree of compassion and care and kindness that you would show to a loved one in a similar scenario. 

Is this something you struggle with? Here is my favourite self-kindness thought exercise! If you're the type of person who tends to beat yourself up a lot, if you tend to be really mean to yourself, if you have a lot of negative thoughts that go through your head, maybe a negative voice in your mind that is constantly you know, being mean to you and that kind of thing, then you will definitely want to check out that self kindness video. 

Again, with my coaching clients, a lot of them can be really cruel to themselves. They're extremely compassionate people towards others, but to themselves, they can be quite mean — and they have been able to get so much kinder to themselves where it actually becomes the automatic reaction is to be kind to themselves, rather than to be mean to themselves. So it's very beautiful, and anyone can learn how to retrain that voice in your head. 

That is step number two, be kind to yourself. 

Step 3 for how to stop feeling overwhelmed: Trust in yourself. 

Trust that you are capable of handling this overwhelm. Trust that this overwhelm will pass! 

(We work on building your trust self in our coaching sessions)

Step 4 for how to stop feeling overwhelmed: Zoom out. 

You are probably way too close to the details right now. You are probably so focused on all of the little minute details, all of the things that you have to do, that you are unable to see the bigger picture. 

Here, you are taking a step back, zooming out to view things differently. 

(FYI, I help you to do this exact thing and provide you with fresh perspectives in our coaching sessions).

Sep 5 for how to stop feeling overwhelmed: Make one seemingly small shift pivot in the right direction based on your new perspective. 

One of my coaching clients recently said to me, “I know overwhelm is a choice, but I'm still feeling overwhelmed.” Okay, yes, overwhelm is a feeling that you do have control over, but that doesn't make it easy! It's okay to feel overwhelmed. 

Again, we all feel overwhelmed from time to time. It doesn't make it easy, just because it is something that you can control. It is something that is happening within you – but that doesn't mean that it is something you can just snap your fingers and it disappears. It's not that type of thing. I really want you to know this: It's not something that is necessarily going to be easy.

And any one of these things that we just went over in that five step system — acknowledging what is happening, being kind to yourself, trusting yourself, zooming out, making one seemingly small shift — You might be sitting here and thinking, “Okay, that's all well and good, but how do I trust in myself? I don't trust myself. How do I even start to begin going on that path? Or when it comes to making one seemingly small shift, what small shift is it? What am I supposed to do?” 

I understand! It is okay. I know that all of this is easier said than done, which is why I am here to support you. 

If any — or all! — of these five things feel sticky to you, or if you're not sure the best approach to take, or if you want to just simply make sure that you are doing them in a way that truly serves you so that they are the most effective way they can possibly be, then book a coaching session with me today and we will do this work together.

And by the way, even if you're thinking, “My overwhelm is too much, my overwhelm is overwhelming, and just because other people can get past it, doesn't mean that I can,” if that is what you're thinking, then I challenge you to book a session with me — because I have yet to meet a single person who wasn't able to work through their overwhelm as a result of us doing a coaching session together. And I do not intend for you to be the first person who this doesn't work for! 

I KNOW that we can do this. I know that we can get you out of this cycle of overwhelm. Book your coaching session with me and I will prove it to you. 

There you have it: Now you know what to do for how to stop feeling overwhelmed! 

If you enjoyed this video, please hit the like button to give this video a thumbs up and also drop a comment on YouTube sharing your favourite takeaway from today's video.