“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.” Lily Tomlin.

In a world that can be full of activity and busy-ness, sometimes a pause, breath, reflection and acknowledgement of where you are right now is what is needed. It can be so easy to live in the past, ruminating about things that cannot be changed or fly to the future and worry about things that haven’t happened yet (and might never happen!). This can be thought loop patterns that contribute to overwhelm.

What does one do from a feeling of overwhelm?

Different people will do different things. The two most common patterns are:

– overwork and efforting to do everything (flight and fight response)

– or doing nothing, losing all motivation and giving up (freeze response)

Is there another way?

Yes there is a choice of another way. Rather than thinking about the past or the future, a thought such as “I can figure this out” can bring a sense of calm and grounded-ness from which to work out what to address first. You might choose a different thought to re-direct your mind to that is believable to you.

So if you find yourself in overwhelm and exhaustion and really want a break, starting with a thought that creates a sense of calm may help you have a more relaxing break. As compared with sentences in your mind that are critical of your choice of rest.

A tool I often share with clients is to actually schedule rest in your calendar! It’s such an important factor in burnout prevention, and may only need to be 20-30 minutes.

Other ways to slow down include journalling for 5 minutes. By writing by hand, our thoughts slow down and a sense of processing occurs simultaneously.

Wishing you some refreshing down time.