Overwhelm. Do you ever feel a sense of overwhelm? Maybe your task list is just too big and you don't know where to start. Perhaps there are too many things of high priority to get done and you are not sure how you will get to deliver them all? Or is it trying to balance work and family and everything in between?
I am all too familiar with overwhelm. It is something I use to live with often. Since studying the science of the brain and leadership, I can say I don't experience overwhelm anywhere near to the levels I once did. That's not to say however that it doesn't creep back in every now and again and it takes a great amount of Self-regulation for me to overcome it. What does that really even mean?
Here are a few tips that may help you to self-regulate when overwhelm sets in.
1) Recognise it. Be aware of what overwhelm looks and feels like for you. Once you are able to recognise it - that is when you can do something about it. For me it is being consumed by thoughts of I have too much to do, I don't know how I am going to do all this work and looking at an inbox for hours, trying to make an inroad on its contents and feeling like I am going nowhere.
2) Label it. Calling out the feeling you are experiencing whether it be stress, anger or exhaustion, the act of labelling what you are feeling has been proven to release neurotransmitters to dampen down the state of overwhelm.
3) Strategize. When you have been sucked in by overwhelm you need to take a step back, get your head out of the day to day, out of your inbox and make a plan. For me writing things down on paper helps take my focus away from the never-ending inbox and overwhelm. This changes my focus and activates different parts of my neural network which allows me to move away from the feeling of overwhelm and start focusing on what I can do as opposed to what is so hard for me to do. I'd almost describe it as coming up for air and being able to breathe again!
4) Storytelling. Dial down the negative voice in your head telling you it is all too hard and start to change the story you are telling yourself. The negative voice is wasting precious brain power and your brain juice is much better utilised focusing on what you can do. This process is called reappraisal and studies have shown that this technique also calms down the stress response.
So the next time overwhelm sets in for you, the moment you recognise it, take a deep breath, turn down the negative self-talk, self-regulate using some labelling and reappraisal, get your head out of the day to day tasks that are fuelling the overwhelm and take some time to and build a strategy to take you forward!
I'd love to hear from you if you know what overwhelm looks and feels like for you and what your tips are to conquer it. Please share with us in the comments below.