it Comes in 3’s
Funny how that happens, isn’t it?
Things come in three’s. Today it’s about overwhelm. Three people today have spoken to me about their state of overwhelm, and its only morning. The feeling may be the same among all three people, yet each has their own expression of overwhelm.
Overwhelm
The definition:
overwhelm [ˌəʊvəˈwɛlm]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
To ‘overpower’ or to ‘overcome,’ are good ways to describe the feeling. Something to keep in mind is that overwhelm is self inflicted. It may be instigated by many things coming at us all at once, but it is in how we handle the deluge of activity or information that is important.
One of the most important things to remember when there is a lot of activity happening is to stop and breathe. Do you remember being taught in kindergarten how to act if there is a fire? You STOP, DROP and ROLL. It is ingrained into our psyche by the time we finish grade school. It’s something everyone remembers. So, use the same thought process for dealing with overwhelm when it happens. STOP, DROP Everything and BREATHE.
Let me repeat that.
STOP, DROP Everything and BREATHE.
Once you’ve spent a few minutes breathing, you will have slowed yourself down long enough to think more clearly. Then start by making a list of things you have to do, get them out of your head. Put the list in front of you and keep focusing on the fact that you can only do one thing at a time. Prioritize the list. What is the most important? Start there. Separate your emotional response from the list. Look at it objectively and see who or what can wait, then move them to the bottom of the list. Then stop and breathe, feel how much easier your breathe comes now.
Just remember the simple steps… STOP, DROP Everything and BREATHE.
Tags: mindfulness, overwhelm, stress
Health & Wellbeing | J | 
July 21, 2010 12:34 pm
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