Overwhelm can manifest in different ways in different people, the following is what it is like for me and if you are sensitive, (see here for more information on sensitivity) you might relate in some way.

So, in no particular order –

What does overwhelm feel like?

For me it feels like the ground has completely swallowed me up. I can see no way out, or forward, nothing seems possible and whatever I try doesn’t seem to work. I am tired but wired.

I become manic. I keep trying to do things, more and more things, anything to keep going. I (falsely) believe that if I just do this, or complete that then it will be ok for me to stop. When I do this, I keep making mistakes and pushing myself further into the abyss. Everything becomes SO much worse. I asked my partner what I’m like and he says:-

“You rush around like a blue arsed fly trying to do stuff, but nothing gets done and then you crumble and beat yourself up for not being able to do it all!”

If I’m lucky at this point I will start crying. I love crying, it allows so much release. I encourage everyone to cry. It really is ok to cry. We are meant to cry. Crying not only washes away something from our eyes, but it also washes away emotional distress too. It allows us to release whatever we’ve been holding on to. I liken crying to a pressure cooker when you need to lift the valve to let the steam out. If we didn’t do that the whole thing might explode; it’s the same with our emotions.

Overwhelm can also make me feel more anxious. I see it as my body’s way of telling me to STOP. Anxiety is one of my warning signs that if I keep going, I’m going to hit the deck in full blown overwhelm, or it manifests BECAUSE I have kept going.

Sleep is something else that is affected. Sensitive souls tend to have very active minds, we find it hard to switch off the thinking until it becomes ‘stinking thinking’. Sleep can be elusive when your mind is running riot. I think, a lot, and overwhelm just makes it worse. Then of course the tiredness increases, and round and round we go!

My irritability increases, my thoughts become negative and dark, my energy falls through the floor as my body feels like it’s about to give up on me. My eating can also go to pot – more chocolate and, even worse for me, I eat wheat.negative thoughts

This is a part of how overwhelm affects me and for years I didn’t know what was happening, what it meant and what the hell to do about it. This resulted in me continuing to stay stuck in the state of overwhelm for long periods of time.

Now I know different. I have learnt what I need to do to bring myself back into balance. I have learnt to stop, or at least slow down and REST. I have learnt that I can change my thoughts and that I can be in control of myself and my life. I have learnt that the choices I make will dictate how I think and feel, culminating in me getting ‘back to normal’.