When You're Feeling Overwhelmed

One year when Julie was a school counselor, she sent out a daily email to encourage her students. I was reading through her articles the other day and found a gem on what to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Below you can find some practical advice on how to handle stress. This is wisdom I hear her pass on to others all the time, and I thought it would be good to share it here. If you’re struggling today, try it. It works! 

-Drew Kizer

Take ten deep breaths.  Research shows that we tend to breathe more shallowly when we are stressed, which only compounds our feeling of anxiety. Taking a few minutes to mindfully breathe deeply has been proven to instantly lower stress.

Do a brain dump.  If your head is racing with all of the things you have on your plate, the best thing you can do is get those things out of your head and onto a piece of paper. Write down every obligation or to-do item that comes to your mind.

Separate the must-dos from the should-dos. Once you've got all the to-dos out of your head, it is time to analyze and prioritize. When things are in our heads, the less important things tend to take up just as much space and mental energy as the critical things. But once we can get them onto a place where we can see them, it is a lot easier to separate the most important tasks from the ones that can be put off until later. Take the time to rank them in order of importance, then only focus on the most important item, followed by the next important item, and so on.

Ask for help.  Another benefit of making a to-do list is that you might be able to see which items you could delegate to someone else. It's okay to ask for help!

Take a walk.  This might be the last thing you feel like doing, but a long walk - or even a short one - can help clear your head and get your blood flowing. There is a ton of research that says both exercise and spending time outdoors are proven mood boosters.

Get more sleep.  This is a biggie! While it may be tempting to sleep less in order to get more done, there is no better cure for feeling overwhelmed than a good night's sleep!

"Do what you can with what you have where you are."  -Teddy Roosevelt