Are you feeling overwhelmed?

In today’s society it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Whether it’s personal issues, such as family problems or relationships, unemployment or school work, the unrealistic expectations that society bombards us with on a daily basis or even tedious day to day tasks of keeping the abyss you call your wardrobe tidy. When tasks or worries begin to pile up, regardless of whether you’re in a good head space or not, it can become overwhelming and even affect your mental health. Here are a few tips to help when life starts to become a little too much.

Stop! Stop, breathe and acknowledge your thoughts.

When you have so many different things whirling around your mind it seems like everything has just melded into one huge ball of stress. Actually sitting down and realising the different sources of your stress can help you hugely in dealing with them.

Grab a pen & paper.

Write out everything that’s making you feel overwhelmed – even if it’s only something small. You don’t need to write an essay, bullet points will do.

Break it down.

Got lots of college work that needs finishing (or starting)? Is your room in dire need of a clear out? Prioritise all of the tasks you need to be done. Break them down into small doable pieces so they are less intimidating and you’re also more likely to get them done.

Check in with yourself.

How is your mental health? Check in with yourself. Have you been sleeping? How’s your diet been? When’s the last time you had a break or did something you enjoyed? When we’re up to our eyes with work our mental health is one of the first things to take a hit. Having good mental health can help when tackling day to day stress. It’s important to check in with yourself and see how you’re getting on. Make it a priority not to neglect your mental health.

One step at a time.

Don’t put loads of pressure on yourself to get everything done at once. That’s just going to cause you more stress! Take your time, be patient with yourself. Check in with yourself, some days you might not be in a place to get as much as you’d like done. Take everything one step at a time, take breaks when you need them and you’ll get there eventually.

Treat Yo Self!

So you’ve decreased that once ginormous to do list into something shorter and more manageable. Don’t forget to treat yourself! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; it could be a movie or your favourite tub of Ben & Jerry’s. Just make sure it’s relaxing and something that makes you happy. If you feel that you can’t manage by yourself know that you don’t have to. Reach out to somebody that you trust, or to an organisation such as the Samaritans for help. It’s easy to be overwhelmed, stressed and generally just feel like curling up into the foetal position while waving a white flag. But, with the right approach you can overcome these feelings while taking care of your mental health and that ever growing to-do list.