Emotional Overwhelm

By - karengray
01.07.21 11:20 AM

Breathe...

Yesterday, as I was getting ready to send out this week’s article on weight management, the events at the Capitol began to unfold. Like many others, I stopped what I was doing and watched, and like many many others, I felt a lot of things. 


There has been a lot to process this year, and if you are feeling overwhelmed you aren’t alone. Emotional overwhelm is something that most people will experience at some point in their lives. It’s a lot like the experience of trying to multitask too many things at once. We become flooded with information and emotion to the point where it becomes difficult to function. It can affect your ability to think and act rationally or prevent you from performing daily tasks.


The causes of emotional overwhelm can vary from person to person, though it typically stems from a build up of stressors: problems in a relationship, world events, financial strain, health concerns, career demands and responsibilities, sleep deprivation, trauma, and other major life changes.


If you are feeling overwhelmed, it may be difficult to pinpoint exactly why. Often there are many stressors contributing to emotional overwhelm rather than one particular event.


During emotional overwhelm your emotions may bleed into seemingly unrelated parts of your life. You may feel like your brain freezes up, or that simple tasks are more difficult than they need to be. You might experience a disproportionately big reaction to seemingly insignificant situations, like panicking when you can’t find your keys.  You might feel physically ill or fatigued without knowing why or have trouble focusing or completing simple tasks. You can find yourself withdrawing from friends and family, and your emotions can influence your perception of the world.


First, Breathe.

In the moment, all the emotions circling around the mind can cloud any capacity for rational thought. In this case, taking slow, deep breaths is crucial to bringing the heart rate down. Abdominal breathing increases the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes a state of calmness.


Sit (or stand) comfortably and push your stomach out as you take a nice, long, deep breath in - filling your lungs completely. Hold that full breath for just a moment before exhaling slowly. This is an abdominal breath, and it will trigger a relaxing response from the parasympathetic nervous system.


Square breathing is a simple tool you can do anytime and anywhere. With your eyes open or closed, take a deep abdominal breath as you count to four. Hold that breath as you count to four. Exhale as you count to four. And hold that exhale as you count to four again. 


Just focus on your breathing and counting in a steady rhythm. Don’t worry if your mind is busy or wandering. It doesn't matter how fast or slowly you count. Focus instead on pushing your stomach out as you inhale and the steady rhythm of your counting.


As you're doing this, you’re already beginning to notice that your body is beginning to relax, you can let go of the tension in your shoulders and muscles, and your mind begins to clear. 


Practice this at least four times a day, when you’re feeling good, when you’re feeling stressed, and even as you’re falling asleep. The more often you do it, the more effective it becomes, and the better you feel.


Check In With Your Feelings

What’s happening in your body and mind today? Sometimes, our feelings sneak up on us, and our body can experience emotions before our conscious mind is aware of them. While you’re checking in with yourself, ask these questions:

Are you sleeping well?

Are you having trouble concentrating?

Do you feel any symptoms of anxiety?

Are you experiencing intrusive thoughts?

Has your appetite changed?

How are you feeling physically?


Answering these questions for yourself will help you to understand your feelings and how those feelings are affecting you, especially if those feelings are happening at a subconscious level.


Self Soothing

Instead of pushing down any negative feelings, find ways to process and resolve them so they don’t continue to build up. These simple things can help you to begin creating the habit of being relaxed.


Breathing. Deep abdominal breathing activates the parasympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system and slows down your reactivity. Breathing slowly, deeply, can de-escalate a full-blown panic attack in a matter of minutes. 


Hand on the heart. Neural cells around the heart activate during stress. Your warm hand on your heart calms those neurons down again, often in less than a minute. Hand on the heart works especially well when you focus on positive thoughts, feelings, images of safety and trust, ease, and goodness at the same time.


Reset your Mind. Sit back for just a moment and take a deep breath. Let your eyes close and imagine a time when you felt the most relaxed. Maybe it was a vacation, or just relaxing on a beautiful day. Imagine that moment as if you are there again, with all that you can see, all that you can hear, and how it feels being there. After a few moments you’ll feel like you’re ready to open your eyes, feeling much better.


Self Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a specific set of tools designed to help people use their own skills, abilities, and resources more effectively to take back control of the parts of their lives that felt like they were out of control before. Hypnosis breaks down the barriers that held you locked in unwanted behaviors and thought patterns, and empowers you to create new healthier behaviors in their place. A great way to begin is by using self-hypnosis. The steps below will guide you through a very basic introductory self hypnosis experience.


Remember that you don’t have to create pictures in your mind in order to be successful. Some people see things very clearly in their minds. Other people just get a vague idea of the thing they’re thinking of. As long as you can “sense” what you want to achieve, you can self-hypnotize.


Find a comfortable place you can safely sit with your eyes closed for about 5 minutes. Turn off your phone and minimize other distractions. Take a few deep breaths. Let your eyes close or let your vision go soft and blurry. Imagine a place where you felt truly relaxed. Imagine that you are in that moment from your past again right now. Just sit quietly and let your mind wander while you imagine being there. Make it as real as possible by imagining that you can see the things around you through your own eyes, hear the sounds of that place in your own ears, and focus on how it feels being there. Just be there in your mind for a while.


While you’re there, imagine that you can carry this feeling of peace and calm with you wherever you go. If this feeling had a color, what would it be? What shape would this feeling be? Imagine that you carry this feeling with you in a pocket, so that you can bring it to the surface any time, Like carrying a small token in your pocket that brings up the wonderful feelings of the things it reminds you of.


Practice this exercise at least once a day for a week. You’ll begin seeing positive changes in the way you think and feel almost immediately.


For some people, seeing a professional is the best option, but if you aren’t able to do so right away, begin to practice these techniques on your own and see the positive changes you can incorporate into your life.



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Karen Gray is a Certified Hypnotist, Registered Nurse, and Director of Green Mountain Hypnosis. For more information on how you can use hypnosis to change your life, schedule your free Strategy Call HERE


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