You Can Manage Overwhelm, Who Knew?
You know that old adage “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”? Well, today I found out that…I am the horse! Just like you, I have a ton of stuff (not exactly the word that actually describes it, but I’ll let you guess what word that should be) going on in my life. Some of which I have control over and some I don’t. However, at the moment, it all seems out of my control and I am overwhelmed. Have you ever noticed that when you feel overwhelmed with life, life brings more challenges your way?
Seriously, I already felt like I was drowning in my day-to-day life, just trying to put one foot in front of the other. When suddenly, I was hit with a feeling of fear. This fear came so quickly it overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t even pinpoint where it came from. All I knew was that I was drowning, and this fear was pulling me further down.”
I Wasn’t Trying to Manage Overwhelm
So, what’s a girl to do? Well looking back on it now with a calm state of mind I realize that I have a Santa Clause-sized tool bag of techniques available at my fingertips to help me manage overwhelm. See, I’ve spent countless hours, and let’s not mention the amount of money I’ve spent just to learn these techniques so I could add them to my tool bag. Oh, and of course have them available when I feel I need to manage overwhelm and stress. But what good is a tool bag or the tools themselves, for goodness sake if I don’t reach in and pull them out?
Honestly, that’s like hiring a handyman who arrives with the nicest most handsome tool bag full of…absolutely nothing! Or worse, brand-new tools that are still in their plastic containers. He’s not going to be very helpful, now, is he?
Drowning in overwhelm, not managing it!
Well, this was me! Drowning, overwhelmed, and at my limit. Yet did I reach for those tools? Nope! Not even close. I chose to continue to tread water, feeling the pull of the junk trying to drag me down.
I am not sure how long I could have continued without being pulled under, but it doesn’t really matter. Today it was as if someone flipped a switch or more to the point someone threw me a lifesaving ring and I suddenly remembered I am not nor do I need to be a victim of my life.
With that one thought, I was flooded with the memory of all the tools at my disposal. I remembered I had Heart Coherence and the amazing EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique to help me manage the overwhelm and stress, but a thought is just a thought, right? That’s right, I had to choose to use one of my tools to put that thought into action.
It’s not easy managing overwhelm when you’re overwhelmed
It wasn’t easy putting that thought into action. Are you as confused as I am? I mean have I mentioned I was drowning in overwhelm and fear? Why in the heck wasn’t it the easiest decision in the world?
Well, I felt tired and beat down, taking my control back felt like more work and if I am honest, I didn’t believe I could really change it. However, instead of questioning it and dancing around like an angry 5 year old who I didn’t want to go to bed.
I did what seemed impossible at the time. I opened my tool bag, chose both the Heart Coherence and Emotional Freedom Technique, and began to clear my struggles. You’ll be happy to know I no longer feel like I am drowning.
Overwhelmed Managed✔️!
Wowzah, did I make that sound like I just “Tapped” away all my problems? Well, not exactly. My dear you and I don’t have the power to simply tap and breathe away our problems. They still existed for me, they didn’t magically disappear which meant I still had to deal with each one of them.
So, what changed? Well, as I began to take my control back from the overwhelm and stress feeling I found that I was not only able to pinpoint where my fear was coming from, but I was able to release it. See the fear was of not having enough. Enough time, money, energy, patience, and strength. Because I let this fear well up inside of me, it grew bigger and bigger. Once I was able to identify and release it suddenly that feeling of drowning diminished.
As it diminished things began to get clearer. Instead of this one ginormous weighted ball pushing me down, I could see everything separately, which allowed me to work on each area one at a time. Now with the pressure released and “everything”, which was less than it felt, feeling manageable, I am back to taking on the world…in a good way! I am focused, more at peace, and definitely more in control!
Don’t Just Manage Overwhelm, Control It!
When you find yourself in a similar situation, I want to encourage you to make the conscious decision to use your tools! And if you don’t have any tools…get some because it is so easy to get stuck in the “freeze” part of our natural stress response of Fight-Flight-Freeze. When we get stuck, we tend to do nothing to save ourselves. Personal healing tools can help you manage overwhelm and stress while giving you back control.
Even when it seems like the hardest thing to do, we must fight our fear and choose to save ourselves. Because you are worth saving!
Get to know me and the techniques I use by clicking here or schedule a free consultation/discovery call by visiting: https://healinglightwellness.as.me/consultation
No matter where you find yourself on your journey today, I am sending you love and light.
~Charlene