Too much?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed?  Perhaps you’re a student with far too many papers to write and class projects to complete and only a short time in which to do so. Or maybe you’re working and your supervisor has given you for more tasks than it seems humanly possible to complete.  What do you do when it all just becomes “too much?”

In my experience, we all feel overwhelmed sometimes.  It might happen when we really have been given far more than is necessary, but sometimes we become overwhelmed with even regular life “stuff” when it gets thrown at us repeatedly.  It may not even be all that difficult to handle, but we just reach a point of overload. And the aggravation that causes is extreme!

So, what can you do when it all just feels like it’s “too much?”  First off, recognize that what you are feeling is normal.  Everyone becomes overwhelmed sometimes.  Don’t build this into an even larger issue by thinking something is wrong with you.  It’s not. It is just life playing out as usual.  So, accept that this is going to happen sometimes.  Once you embrace that, you can move on to the next step:  identify the parts of the situation over which you actually have control.  You might find that most of your frustration is at things you can’t even influence.  Let them go.  If they are out of your control, there’s no point in moping about them.  Accept that and everything becomes a lot easier.  

Now that you know what you can control in your situation, you have a place to start.  You may still feel overwhelmed, but at least you are now focused on things you can change.  Choose ONE of these and begin working on that solitary piece of your puzzle.  Don’t try to attack the entire situation at once.  Just address one of the problems that you’re facing.  You’ll be amazed by how much stress is relieved when you’re able to finish even a single, small task.  After you successfully navigate that one stressor, identify the next.  Repeat. Keep going until your overwhelming situation is now no more than an indistinct shadow in the rear view mirror of life. 

Breaking an overwhelming situation down into manageable chunks, leaving aside all of the parts over which I have no control, has been an effective strategy for me.  I hope it work for you, too!