Feeling Overwhelmed

I have spoken about my anxiety in previous blog posts so it should be no surprise when I say that I get overwhelmed quite easily sometimes. Obviously it is related to my anxiety. New situations make me anxious. Meeting new people or socializing with groups of people make me anxious. Changes make me anxious. And when I am anxious, I get overwhelmed. There is so much going on and then, on top of that, I have to deal with everything that my anxiety brings to the table. I get overwhelmed by too much happening at once or feeling like I am being rushed. There are ways to deal with it though and here are some things that I have learned for dealing with anxiety and being overwhelmed.

Stop for a moment and take a breath: You have probably already heard about how much breathing can help calm you down but it is definitely something that I myself forget to do in situations where I am overwhelmed and my anxiety is acting up. I used to get a lot of anxiety when getting needles (I still get some anxiety but having to get IV infusions every 8 weeks has gotten me more used to needles) and had to ask the nurses to remind me to breathe because my breathing would act up and I would start sweating or even shaking in some instances. When I get anxiety, my breathing often goes funny and I will sometimes hyperventilate. Taking a moment to just stop, leave everything to the side, and take a few deep breaths can really help clear your head and set you up to tackle whatever situation you are in. When you are feeling overwhelmed, it feels like things just keep piling up so pausing and taking a breath can stop that feeling of things piling up.

Let people know what you are going through: In certain situations when you are with people and you are becoming overwhelmed or you think that your anxiety is going to act up or it is acting up, telling the people you're with about it can really help. When I started volunteering with my local chapter of Crohn's and Colitis Canada, I told the president of the chapter about my anxiety. When I joined a local community band, I ended up letting the conductor know about my anxiety after the first few band rehearsals since my anxiety had gotten quite bad during them. In both cases, it really helped me, even if it did not necessarily help calm my anxiety. It just helped to know that they knew what I was going through instead of thinking that they must be judging me for acting strange or think that something else is wrong with me. When I told them, they were also very understanding so I knew that if my anxiety acted up again they would be understanding then too. 

Ask questions to clear things up or ensure that you are on the right track: I know that, for me, not knowing can cause a lot of anxiety and make me feel overwhelmed because I start worrying about what is to come, whether I am doing something right, etc. I therefore ask lots of questions and like knowing what to expect. It helps lessen the anxiety and makes me feel less overwhelmed because there is a plan laid out. Even if there are a lot of steps to the plan or it is only a very basic plan, I at least have something to work with and I can use it to figure things out one step at a time.

Take breaks to recharge: Taking a break and getting away from people or a situation for a little while can really help clear your head and help you recharge so that you will be ready when you return. As an anxious introvert, I need my alone time. Even if it is just a few moments alone in a washroom. People and certain situations can feel suffocating and I just need to go somewhere where I can finally breathe.

Take things one day at a time or even one moment at a time: Life can be so overwhelming and we just have to remember to take things one step at a time. Even if we feel like we need to get everything done now and feel like we are in a rush, we need to remember that that is not how things work. Everything takes time so we need to slow down and take the time needed. Sometimes we might feel like we just want to get something over with and can't wait for it to be done because it is causing us a lot of anxiety but we need to take things one moment at a time and we might actually end up enjoying whatever it was that was causing us so much anxiety in the first place. When it came to my library placements, I had a lot of anxiety. Before even starting the placements, I was already telling myself that it was only 15 days per placement and that I just had to get through it then it would all be over and I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. In the end, I actually ended up really enjoying my placements and learning a lot despite my anxiety and was actually sad for my first placement to be over and am sad that tomorrow is the last day of my second placement.

I hope maybe these things help you as much as they help me.

Cheers,
Kaylie