What to do when you feel overwhelmed?

Hint: maybe you don't need to do anything

Overwhelm!! Ah!!

We all know the feeling. Sometimes we just have too much going on. Personally, I am launching a business and getting married! So, just a few things going on.

Now, overwhelm is not a new experience for me and I’m sure it’s not for you either. I love doing. I love creating. I love the energy of it all. Because of this love for creating, I sometimes have a habit of putting a bit too much on my plate - there’s just so much I want to do!

I know I’m overwhelmed when my brain feels fuzzy, my chest feels tight, and I start making small mistakes that don’t make any sense. A great example being when I told my sister yesterday that she spelled ceremony wrong. Spoiler: she didn’t spell it wrong.

So, what do we do when we feel overwhelmed? Ahh, what do we do? Do you see the irony? Do, do, do. That’s why you’re overwhelmed in the first place! There is also the reality that you have to get things done! Perhaps you have a very specific timeline like the countdown timer on my wedding website I check everyday. Well, there are many different techniques you can use for overwhelm but if you were to really listen to your body - what would it say?

This is a practice I use all the time. I check in with my body (it knows much more than my brain) and ask it what it needs. I’ll also check in with my higher self or source/love/whatever you want to call it and see what I need. So, yesterday what I needed was to work from my bed, make an iced matcha latte, watch Everwood (current comfort show), and cry. Cry a lot. I needed to vent to a friend, write in my journal, and cry it out! I had all of this pent up energy in my body and it needed somewhere to go! No amount of breath work or meditating or stillness was going to help yesterday. Today? That’s a different story. Today I could use some energy work, deep breathing, and moments of mindfulness.

how self-care looked for me yesterday: working from my bed, drinking a cozy matcha latte, and reading up on energy medicine from the lovely Donna Eden

My point here is - if you are feeling overwhelm, how can you check in with your body? Ask it what it needs? Maybe it needs to just be. Maybe it needs to feel the emotion and let it move through your body so you can process it. Check in with your intuition and ask yourself - what do I need today?

Cozily,

Chelsea