Overwhelm: 3 Steps to Undo It

We’ve all been there. It’s happened to the best of us. It seems like it happens all of a sudden, but really it had been building for a while, under the radar. We didn’t pay attention to the nagging feelings of doubt, fear, or anxiety, because they were very low-level, not really huge in themselves, but they were there, nevertheless. We allowed our plate to get too full, slowly, the pile getting larger and larger, until finally . . . OVERWHELM!

In the moment overwhelm happens, all those nagging negative feelings surface with full unrelenting force, weighing down on our shoulders, neck, and back, the full fury of the entire pile we loaded onto our plate. It could be that individually, each of the pieces of this load is a small, easily managed piece, but added up, they are a force to be reckoned with. Your body goes into melt-down mode and your feelings are now front and center, caving in on you in the form of overwhelm.

You can distinctly and pointedly feel the overwhelmingly negative feelings that were just below the surface until now. And I say this is a GOOD thing. You have finally arrived at setting yourself straight and changing your course toward a healthy and strong outcome, instead of the downward spiral you were just in that lead to the overwhelm. Here are the first three steps you must take to get out of the overwhelm immediately:

Step #1: STOP
The very first thing you must do is STOP. I know it sounds like the last thing you should do, but that’s only because we live in an action-oriented world and you hear over and over how you should be DOING something to fix your problems. This is actually the opposite of what would help you for this situation of overwhelm. It was all the ACTION and DOING that got you into the mess of overwhelm, so ACTION and DOING will NOT get you out of it!

One way to stop the overwhelm is to give yourself a change of scenery. If you’re at the office, go to a quiet place where you can be by yourself, even if it’s a bathroom stall! Go outside if you can. Go to a coffee shop. Go make yourself a cup of tea. In any case, stop doing what you were doing, stop trying to fix anything, stop thinking about all that you have to do and give it a rest!

Step #2: BREATHE
Take a moment to breathe in deeply. Bring your awareness to your breathing and notice how it begins to help your muscles relax. Notice the tension that begins to melt away. Notice that you are alive! You are here for a reason and that reason has NOTHING to do with any of the “problems” you are facing in this moment. You are here to be free, to be in joy, to be abundant (do you notice that all these things are a state of BEING not DOING?). Your life is unfolding and expanding exactly as it was meant to and you are the one who can direct it if you so choose. Breathe to feel better in this moment.

Step #3: NOTICE THIS MOMENT
Overwhelm is about paying attention to too many things as once. If you want to feel better instantly, notice THIS moment. Here and now. Just for a minute, or even a few seconds. That’s all it takes. When you bring your awareness into the now, you truly notice that now is all there ever is, even if it’s just for a moment. You never get the same now; it’s always a new now. And guess what? That’s where we create from! You get to start over again each and every moment. So what do you choose to create from this moment?

Stopping, taking a deep breath, and noticing this moment here and now are the three keys to unraveling overwhelm. The next step would be choosing to reset your energetic vibration about all those little things that added up to the overwhelm. Start by taking one thing at a time, starting with the most important or pressing thing. Look at that thing and notice how you FEEL about it. Don’t judge yourself, just notice your feelings. If you feel mostly negative about it, think of something positive about it, something you truly believe, even if it’s a small step. You’ll be rewarded greatly for taking it!


Kim Markison for Hypno-Freedom.com

Kim Markison is a Life Coach and Intuitive dedicated to creating a more expansive reality in this world. She helps executives, entrepreneurs and other successful people to create their own expanded and abundant lives in joy and freedom. Kim can be reached at kim@hypno-freedom.com for more information and to schedule a free consultation.

Copyright 2008. If you would like to reproduce the content contained in this article, please reference: http://www.hypno-freedom.com.