How to recognise overwhelm

Uh oh…here comes overwhelm!  Are you always feeling like you’re ‘spinning your wheels’?  

Like you just can’t keep up or that everything is going wrong, you’re SO busy but nothing is getting done?  

Feeling like you have to rush everything or just don’t know where to start?  

Overwhelm could be the thing getting in your way right now.  

Pesky Overwhelm Gremlin

Overwhelm can be a pesky little mindset gremlin that can cause absolute havoc on your mindset AND on your ability to get stuff done.

It’s also one of the number one reasons clients come to me for help and one of the main reasons we procrastinate. Argh!

Once you can recognise that’s what’s going on for you, it’s much easier to work out a plan to move forwards.  

If it’s something you struggle with regularly we need to create some new habits to stop it from happening.

Overwhelm can cause you to not trust your own judgement, which leads to indecision and not knowing the way forward.

The thing with overwhelm is it keeps us in a constant state of fight or flight.  You have all those stress hormones pumping around your body creating that feeling of anxiety.  That’s also REALLY bad for your health long term.

But it’s actually your thoughts that are creating it rather than your external circumstances themselves. Our feelings come from our thoughts and when we’re in overwhelm we have a massive tendency to overthink everything. It’s when our thoughts get out of control that the overwhelm or anxiety really sets in.

Thoughts can be changed, so that’s what we need to focus on to get through it and make sure it doesn’t come back so quickly.

Horrible loop of negativity

When the frustration and negative thoughts creep in that’s when you get into a horrible little negative loop, more of these thoughts come, then more cortisol and adrenaline comes, you feel more of the physiological feelings of overwhelm (heart beating faster, blood rushing to your head, anxious butterflies and the like!) and then you really start to feel like you’re in a pickle.

Time for some awareness

What we need to do is create awareness, break the cycle and then break it all down so you’re not focusing on the big huge scary task.

Our brain doesn’t actually love huge big picture tasks, it likes small manageable things to do.

So here’s a few ways to recognise it so you can start to create the awareness you need to break the habit.

For those who prefer to watch here you go…for the readers keep going below!

Are you overwhelmed?

> Your sleep is interrupted, you have ‘busy mind monkeys’ when you’re trying to go to sleep, or you wake up in the middle of the night with it…potentially along with some lovely heart palpitations thrown in for good measure.

>No matter how much sleep you DO get you still ALWAYS feel tired and have zero energy.

> Then when you DO wake up you instantly have that impending feeling of dread and doom about the day ahead.

> Your ability to problem solve and think rationally is nowhere to be seen.

> A MASSIVE lack of enthusiasm towards all the things you need to do…and life in general let’s be honest!

> You feel super stroppy and short tempered…feeling like a real sensitive snappy Sally! (This one is when I know…usually pointed out by the hubster ha!) Often you can feel like the slightest little thing will set off the waterworks.

> You’re procrastinating BIG time!  You’ve got a TONNE of things to do…but your facebook feed is just oh so enticing!  Procrastination is often your brain’s way of trying to give you a ‘break’ by doing something mind numbing but then you feel ALL the procrastination frustration and start beating yourself up for not getting anything done and for ‘wasting’ time…and it’s really not a fun loop to get into.

> You want to do ALL THE THINGS but your motivation to actually do them has upped and left the building.

> On that note…Your productivity is at an all time low…apart from somehow you’re just soooo busy!!

> You’re struggling to focus on anything and your attention span has decreased to minus numbers, you feel like you’re just ‘flitting’ from one thing to the next.

> Everything just feels a bit ‘frantic’. You feel like you’re ‘on-edge’ the whole time and totally unable to relax..even when you’re trying to. You just feel like you’re totally ‘out of control’.

> Your memory seems…like a distant memory!  You’re being super forgetful all the time and it’s driving you bonkers!

> You’re not looking after yourself.  You’re eating too much junk and drinking too much pinot noir/gin/porn star martinis…your poison…I won’t judge, and you can’t remember the last time you actually did anything for YOU!

> You’re cutting corners and rushing everything.  You’re doing things in a way you wouldn’t normally and have less care for things that could potentially have negative consequences, such as driving too fast, running across the road without looking properly anything you’d normally be very sensible about.

>You’re catastrophising every little thing that happens rather than looking at it with your rational problem solving mind.

> You feel like you can’t do anything and your confidence is plummeting in your work. You feel like you’re just ‘rubbish’ at what you do…which rational you knows is not true!

>You’re getting sick and feeling drained and run down.  You could be heading towards burnout so really LISTEN to your body on this one!

So there are a few ways to tell, there are countless more that will be personal to you.  

If you’re recognising any of these in yourself then head over to my other post ‘From Overwhelm to Action’ and ‘How to stop overthinking everything’ and find some great ways to combat it and get you back on track.  

As I said before, the key to this is recognising and becoming AWARE of any of these behaviours, they’re all signs you’re doing too much and it doesn’t have to be that way.

We need to find a way to help you focus, prioritise, break things down and find ways to get you being and feeling more productive.

You’re not alone, this is such a common problem and one of the core reasons i’ve created my ‘Proactive Pants Mastermind’ to help you get out from that overwhelm and procrastination frustration and get you into positive action, feeling on track, in control and actually making progress.  

If you want a little piece of that in your business and in your life then make sure you book a call with me because i’m only accepting people i’ve actually spoken to and there will only be 5 people allowed in at the early bird rate.  You can book your call in HERE.

If you want to explore this further, have any questions or want some accountability then come join me in my private community below  or book in a free discovery call to see if we’re a good fit to work together!!

Fx

Fran Excell, Subconscious Success Mentor – Helping Business Owners Overcome Self Sabotage & Get More Done In Less Time at www.franexcell.com

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