These times can be pretty overwhelming for all of us. We all have different reasons why we can feel overwhelmed though. It can have to do with the tasks and responsibilities that we have to do, but it can also be because of financial or health worries, thoughts about the state of the world or even something completely else. There are different ways how to deal with overwhelm and I share them in this episode. Listen to Under The Baobab Tree here.
This episode is the last episode of season 1. I hope you enjoyed this season. Let me know what topics you would like to hear me talk about in upcoming seasons! It is lovely to share with you in this way. If you enjoyed this podcast, share far and wide. As you sharing, following and rating this podcast helps other people to find it, too.
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If you want, you can read the transcriptions of Episode 13 of Under The Baobab Tree here:
A few months ago, I had a period where I felt super overwhelmed. And I had never experienced it in that way before. I had experienced overwhelm from emotions or overwhelm of the amount of love or gratitude that I felt. But these types of emotions didn't last very long they came and went as emotions can. But the overwhelm from months ago had such an influence on my life that it became a bit challenging to function properly. It felt as if there was cotton wool in my head. I don't know how else to explain it. It was as if my head was in a cloud. I didn't feel motivated to do anything, had low energy and didn't feel like myself. I honestly wondered sometimes if I was in a kind of burnout. I was also very sensitive for the tiniest things. And in a way my mind was overstimulated. And for some people that overstimulation makes it even difficult to think straight. I remember for me, I was in a period where everything was just too much.
And I can sometimes still have that I crave sometimes for this simple life that our ancestors lived in a way and I don't want to romanticize it, because I know it wasn't always simple and easy at all. But sometimes I can become really calm just by visualizing it, like how they may be had lived, without electricity, for example, and again, don't get me wrong, I love electricity, and I love internet, it's.... otherwise I couldn't even create these podcasts for you now, it's amazing. But sometimes I just crave for no electricity, no internet, no phone, and a fire, just the birds that sing. Not being aware of what happens everywhere in the world, not being in contact with so many people, not having so many choices, lifestyles, subcultures, conflicts, news, you know, it can really overwhelm me sometimes. And I mean, in a way, I also love it, all of it. I love how diverse our world is. But it seems to become more and more complex, sometimes rather than simple.
Anyway, another reason I became overwhelmed was because I was expecting too much from myself, isn't it crazy how you can create your own load or stress? When I think of overwhelm, I really see an image of someone being buried under papers or even buried under sand or something. And that type of overwhelm is very real, the overwhelm of the amount of things you have to do, because of different tasks or different responsibilities that you have. So the overwhelm, I felt was a combination of my own expectations, and therefore tasks that were unmet. And the thoughts about the worlds and then all of this gave me certain emotions, or lack of energy and all these things. But for everyone overwhelm can be different. It can also be because of responsibilities in your household, or at work, because of something happening in a relationship. It can be because of changes because of financial or health worries, because of traumatic experiences. It can also be you are overwhelmed because of the state of the world, like politics or environmental things, or the future. Or that you're overwhelmed by your emotions. And it can be any emotion, not necessarily only the one we call negative emotions, actually surprises, nice gestures, love can feel very overwhelming to.
So when you feel overwhelmed, it's often because something is too much or too challenging to manage. So in a way you struggle, how to deal with the current situation. It is almost as if you can't process everything what's happening. And that's why one of the best ways to deal with overwhelm is finding ways to regulate your nervous system. If you find a way to release tension out of your body out of your muscles, you can bring relaxation to your nervous system. Breath work, yoga and meditation are great ways to help regulate your nervous system. That's one of the reasons I decided to create a small meditation for you if you feel overwhelmed. You'll be able to listen to it at the end of this episode. Before we dive into the meditation, there are a few ways I want to share here that can help with overcoming overwhelm. Other ways besides meditation, if maybe that's not your thing, or maybe because you like different things or trying out different things. So other ways of regulating the nervous system, of course, can be singing, dancing, moving your body, painting, playing an instrument, listening to music, taking a walk, going into nature, physical touch, you know, like a massage or something or having a hug with your your friend or your partner.
One of the most important ones, is asking yourself, Why do I feel overwhelmed? So you're able to pinpoint the source of your overwhelm. Because once you know the source, you can ask yourself, "what do I need to stop or take off, so I can reduce my stress and feel peace again?" and listen to the answers you feel. Listen to the answers, you get. Or write them down. It can also be interesting to investigate, where you spend your energy and how you feel about giving your energy to these things.
Another way of overcoming overwhelm is accepting what you feel and giving yourself what you need, which often can be rest, or silence, are taking an emotional and physical distance from the stress or source. And this distance can be multiple days or weeks. But it can also be a few hours or just a break. Because not always, is it possible to take a big or longer distance or not always isn't needed.
Another great way to deal with overwhelm that I often use is called brain dump, you've maybe heard of it already. You just need a piece of paper, and something to write. And you just start writing anything that comes out of your fingers. Anything that you feel like writing is like a free intuitive way of writing. There are no rules here, it can feel very, very liberating. And amazing.
Another way of dealing with overwhelm is setting boundaries that feel good to you. So this can be around time, how long you're doing something or when you're doing something, about your workload, it can also be towards other people, towards the amount of info you take in, how much you use social media, because that also doesn't always help with the amount of information we take in.
Voila. So if you feel overwhelmed by the amount of tasks you have to do, or if you feel you're procrastinating another way that is also very popular, maybe you also know that one already, or maybe not, is the five minute rule. And this means you just decide that you will do a task or something you actually want to do already for a long time for just five minutes. So you just decide, I'm going to do it for five minutes. Because sometimes we are very overwhelmed by the huge task or the amount of things we need to do. But most of the time it is easy to start, if we know it is just for five minutes, then it feels not that big, you know. And once you're busy, often we're eventually working longer than five minutes on something.
Another way of dealing with the amount of tasks is to use the D rule: delegate delay, delete. I don't know if you've ever heard of this, but it's basically just that you ask yourself from all the things that I need to do. What can someone else maybe do for me? >> which is delegating. What can you delay to another moment? >> which is delaying. And what can you cancel? >> which is deleting.
But as said, overwhelm is not always tasks or responsibilities. It can also be about bigger things or emotions. And a tip here is to focus on what you can control. Of course, it's easier said than done. But really give your energy to what you can control or influence and try to let go of the other things.
Let me know what works for you. You can contact me here and I also offer one on one online healing, coaching sessions and spiritual readings, like aurareadings and cowry shell readings. We can work around this topic of overwhelm or anything else in your life where you feel you're holding yourself back or something is blocking you to really shine, to really be your true self. Or to finally have the guts to follow your dream, or to work realistically on your dream.
So dear people, this is the last episode of season one. I hope you enjoy this season. And if so, rate, the podcasts five stars if you want to, or give a review, as it really helps other people to find this podcast too. And share this episode with someone who may feel overwhelmed too because it might really help them you know, sharing is really caring in this sense.
Thank you so so so so, so much for listening, and I'm already looking forward to see you in season two. Enjoy the meditation of overcoming overwhelm (see episode 13).