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Mental Health HomepageConditions LibraryConditions CategoryConditions CategoryHow to Manage When We Feel Overwhelmed
Table of Contents:OverviewWhat Causes Emotional Overwhelm?Symptoms of Feeling OverwhelmedHow to Prevent & Stop Feeling OverwhelmedHow Therapy Can Help When Feeling Overwhelmed
Anxiety DisorderRead Time: 7 Minutes
Published On: January 11, 2019
Reviewed On: January 11, 2019
Updated On: November 3, 2023
Overview
When confronted with being overwhelmed, it can be difficult to think and act rationally, and even function in a normal way. Needless to say, the experience of this overwhelmed feeling is uncomfortable and the causes and effects can span across your personal and professional life.
In this article, we’ll discuss what can cause you to feel overwhelmed, how to recognize it, and things you can do to prevent or stop it.
What Causes Emotional Overwhelm?
When a person believes the stressors are far too great to manage, they become overwhelmed — which means that any number of causes are possible.
What it means to be overwhelmed
Compare the feeling of being overwhelmed to being submerged after a rough wave. It’s a scary experience, you may not know which way is up or what way to swim, you may feel stunned and unable to react. You may be unable to think or act rationally or functionally and emotional overwhelm may impact your relationships or professional life.
Common reasons for feeling overwhelmed
Symptoms of Feeling Overwhelmed
This combination causes the intense feeling of total despair associated with being overwhelmed. Often, overwhelm is as uncomfortable as it is uncontrollable. It rears its head as anxiety, anger, or significant irritability and worry. Doubt and helplessness also make their way into a person’s normal thought process. Physically, it can manifest when a person lashes out verbally, cries, or has apanic attack. These negative feelings are often paired with a quickened heartbeat, perspiration, shortness of breath, or evenchest pain.
Whywe cry when we’re overwhelmed
Some people report crying when feeling overwhelmed. It is ok to cry! Everyone does it, but some more than others. Astudyshowed that women cry 30-64 times a year, while men cry 5-17 times per year. However, this gender difference highlights how crying has been unfairly stigmatized for men to signify a sign of weakness. Therefore, these results are likely inaccurately reported.
Crying is a healthy way to express our inner emotions, it even helps us to better understand ourselves. It has many positive effects and can decrease feelings ofstress, often leaving us with a cathartic feeling. You should speak to your doctor if you feel like you cry an inordinate amount, that you’re inconsolable, or if crying interferes with your daily life. If that is the case, crying might be indicative of an underlying mood disorder such as depression, or another mental health condition likeanxiety. An onlinemental health screening testcan help you learn whether there’s an underlying condition at play so that you can begin to seek treatment.
How to Prevent & Stop Feeling Overwhelmed
1. Accept the anxious feelings
Fighting off all-consuming emotions likely doesn’t do much to ease them in a particularly anxious moment. Try to remember that anxiety, to a certain degree, is a “normal” part of the human experience and use acceptance as a tool to work through those uncomfortable feelings (when possible).
Expert Insight
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-R), BC-TMHJill Daino
2. Reverse your overwhelmed thought processes
3. Take some deep breaths
There are plenty ofgrounding techniquesyou can use when feeling overwhelmed that involve deep breathing exercises. When you consciously try deep breathing, it triggers your body’s relaxation response and can come in handy during particularly stressful situations. Additionally, practicing yoga, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation can help calm your body’s response to anxiety, as each exercise helps you to focus your breath.
4. Be in the moment
If your thinking is focused on what the future holds — whether in a few minutes or several years down the road — it may make you more susceptible to becoming overwhelmed. Think about one moment, task, and experience at a time, in the present moment, to help remove the possibility of uncontrollable thoughts that may or may not come about.
5. Know your resources
How Therapy Can Help When Feeling OverwhelmedWhen you are not able to prevent overwhelming thoughts or feelings,therapyis a helpful way to address your response to them. In therapy, a qualified mental health professional is able to help you sort through the issues causing your stress or anxiety and better understand its root causes. When you gain a solid understanding of what stressors and stressful situations trigger this uncomfortable mental state, it helps cultivate a calmer frame of mind in the future.When looking for the right type of therapy to manage overwhelming experiences, there are different types of practices to consider:MeditationHypnosisCentering techniques (to help teach people to soothe themselves during times of distress)Journal therapyPhysical exerciseWhile there is no way to determine what life has in store at any given moment, there are ways to build up the mental strength to better take on life’s challenges and build resiliency. When you take time to learn what triggers stress and anxious thoughts, you can better manage overwhelming experiences before they occur. With the right tools and hard work, you can help minimize the occurrence and impact of becoming overwhelmed.
How Therapy Can Help When Feeling Overwhelmed
When you are not able to prevent overwhelming thoughts or feelings,therapyis a helpful way to address your response to them. In therapy, a qualified mental health professional is able to help you sort through the issues causing your stress or anxiety and better understand its root causes. When you gain a solid understanding of what stressors and stressful situations trigger this uncomfortable mental state, it helps cultivate a calmer frame of mind in the future.
When looking for the right type of therapy to manage overwhelming experiences, there are different types of practices to consider:
While there is no way to determine what life has in store at any given moment, there are ways to build up the mental strength to better take on life’s challenges and build resiliency. When you take time to learn what triggers stress and anxious thoughts, you can better manage overwhelming experiences before they occur. With the right tools and hard work, you can help minimize the occurrence and impact of becoming overwhelmed.
Jill DainoJill E. Daino, LCSW-R, BC-TMH, is a clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience as a therapist, clinical supervisor, and program director. She works to support quality clinical care at Talkspace. Her work as a clinician and trainer focuses on the mental health impact of body image concerns and eating disorders across the lifespan.
Jill E. Daino, LCSW-R, BC-TMH, is a clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience as a therapist, clinical supervisor, and program director. She works to support quality clinical care at Talkspace. Her work as a clinician and trainer focuses on the mental health impact of body image concerns and eating disorders across the lifespan.
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