Opeyemi Omidiji

The events of these past days have left me feeling overwhelmed and I know I’m not alone in this. Just yesterday night, my siblings had to keep asking me what had happened to me in the space of going upstairs to charge my phone and coming back downstairs to eat dinner. I kept on telling them nothing was wrong when in fact, my attitude was saying otherwise.

Feeling overwhelmed with emotion?

Truthfully, something had happened to me and it was not physical. The thought of deadlines I had not met, classes I had to finish, expectations of my clients from me, money worries, my basic personal needs, and a long list of the to-do list I was not near crossing out got me feeling overwhelmed. I felt a sudden weight on my chest and I could not stop thinking. This affected my attitude towards my siblings, they knew something was wrong with me but I was not ready to accept that I was feeling overwhelmed. There’s just a lot of mental and physical health issues that keep making us anxious and weighing us down.

What should you do when feeling overwhelmed and anxious?

Is it ever possible to live life without stress? Have you ever thought about it that even if life can be devoid of stress, can it just be very minimal? I mean, we just want to live life but things won’t just stop happening to us.

Feeling overwhelmed is a sign and it should not be ignored. What then should you do when you are feeling overwhelmed?

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  • Snap out of it and stay in the present moment

It is normal you get lost in the thought of all the things you need to fix that you forget to live in the present moment. Focus on the things you can control at that present moment and just live.

  • Be kind to yourself

Sometimes it’s not your fault that you can’t get some things done as quickly as you thought you could do. Often times, things are beyond our control and the best thing to do is not beat yourself so hard about it. Be kind to yourself even if your mistakes brought you where you are.

  • Embrace the feelings

Do you know that a lot of mental stress can come from you trying to put away the feelings of being overwhelmed? Embrace the feelings instead of trying to get rid of it because it’s your reality at that moment. Embracing this feeling can even help you get clarity and eventually it will pass because it’s just a phase.

7 things to remember when you are feeling overwhelmed

It might take time to get out of the overwhelming zone but for some immediate relief, there are some things you should never forget when you are feeling overwhelmed. Here are some reminders:

1. Worry will not change anything

If you worry from now till eternity and then do nothing about your situation, nothing will change. It might not be easy but let that worry go because it never works. Write down your worries, think about what can be done to fix that worry, and let it go. Keep doing this over and over again till you are in a good space mentally.

2. You won’t die if you take a break

This is one thing I’m learning the hard way and not until I fall sick before I remember to take breaks. You won’t die if you take a break but you can if you don’t. To be productive, you need to rest. It is easy to feel overwhelmed when you overwork yourself.

Take time out, go for a walk, gist with a friend, dance, or do anything that will help you to feel refreshed.

3. You can’t please everybody so learn to say NO

We are burdened because we feel a need to be able to please everybody when in fact we are killing ourselves. The earlier you settle with the fact that you can’t please everybody, the better it is for your mental health. You have so many responsibilities to yourself and it is okay to say No to another responsibility from people if it’s not something you can work with. You are not obligated to pleasing people

4. Be unapologetic about you and what you want

It’s not a crime to be you and to want more so please stop apologizing. Please stop it!

You deserve every good thing that you might ever want and if you are feeling overwhelmed because the people around you feel you want too much, move from there and find new people. Find and be around people that align with you and your needs.

5. Don’t compare yourself to anybody

Comparison is a thief of joy. There are so many trends flying around now and it is so easy to lose focus and start comparing ourselves to other people. Doing this, we let negative thoughts take over our minds and we start doubting our capacity.

Remember that everyone is just really good at trying to keep things together so do away with the burden of trying to be like someone else.

6. Gratitude is key

Just that time when things don’t look the best, that is when you need to be grateful. Times, when you are feeling overwhelmed, is the time you need to be grateful. Be grateful for the good things and the not so good things because whether we like it or not, there are a lot of things to be grateful for.

It might be difficult but find reasons to be grateful. Read more on How To Develop An Attitude Of Gratitude

7. Spend more time doing the things you love

Doing the things you love and you are good at doing will boost your confidence, hence reduce your feeling overwhelmed. Spend more of your time in areas where you can create the biggest impact.

Don’t stop paying attention to how you feel per time. You have the capacity to make changes that will ease you feeling overwhelmed. Decide what matters to you and take things a step at a time. It’s not so easy but it’s not impossible.

That said, does this post resonate with you? Make sure to share your thoughts and opinions with me in the comment section. It’ll also gladden my heart if you share this post with your community. If you’ve not already subscribed, do well to subscribe to my newsletter for firsthand information.

Stay sane, Stay safe.

With love,

Opeyemi Omidiji

9 Responses

  1. Beautiful!!!
    Thank you
    It’s so easy to be overwhelmed by a lot of things but we have to snap out of it cos worry changes nothing

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