How to handle overwhelm – a guide to resetting your mind and body
“I feel like I’m failing at everything”
This has been something of a theme this week. Almost half way through the school holidays and it’s getting harder and harder to keep all of the plates spinning. Trying to be your best at work, at home, with your friends, loved ones and strangers. It’s easy to forget that if we don’t take time to fill our own cups then it’s more likely that some of those plates are going to start to drop!
Do you recognise any of these thoughts and self-stories?
‘I’m failing at everything’
‘I’m losing it’
‘I can’t cope’
‘I haven’t got time, I’ve got too much to do’
‘Everyone depends on me’
‘I feel like running away and hiding’
‘I’m never going to be able to do this’
‘I should have known/been prepared/expected this’
The Role of Survival Mode
When we feel under pressure (from others and ourselves) and the demands are high, we begin to feel stressed. When we perceive there to be a threat (in this example, to our sanity, to our sense of control, ability to cope, our resources etc), this can trigger our survival mode – or fight and flight response as it’s also known. Essentially our bodies make all kinds of automatic adjustments to help us to stay and fight a physical threat, or to run away from that threat. All well and good if there is a physical threat but so much of what causes us stress now is less tangible and we can physically fight it or flee from it.
One of the key things that happens to our cognitive functioning is that our pre-frontal cortex – the place where rational, logical thought, problem solving, reasoning etc happens – is kind of switched off and the ancient part of our brain’s survival instinct (the amygdala) takes over.
So when you’re super stressed and you feel like you’re failing at everything and you can’t think straight, it’s likely that you’re in survival mode.
So, what can you do about it?
One of the quickest, simplest ways to over-ride this and reset your brain is to help your body to calm down through using your breath.
In this guided exercise we’ll start with some breath work and then create some space for you to gain clarity and move with intention and self-compassion into the next part of your day. I’ve deliberately kept it short because I know how hard it is to carve out even a few seconds for yourself sometimes. But you can extend each part of the exercise for as long as you need / are able to. Look out for the 90second version on my Instagram pages if you’re really pressed for time 🙂
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfbsSaIB5jI