Bouncing Back from Overwhelm
Sometimes life can be pretty challenging. Looking back - who taught you how to deal with stress, and who gave you the emotional skills to meet these challenges? Most of us didn’t have the best of examples, and none of us were taught this stuff in school.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. How do we navigate? Even the little things can add up to big stress when we aren’t consciously dealing with them one at a time.
I recently had a moment. A big reminder that “handling stress” isn’t just about remaining calm and doing small portions of self-care. Sometimes, it requires digging a little deeper and allowing that emotional release. It was that last part that I had temporarily forgotten.
I’m a stress professional. (Or, I used to be.) I was a massage therapist for over 20 years, and certainly dealt with my fair share of stress during that time. But, 2019 ended in a rough way for me personally, and we all know how 2020–2021 has been. So, my stress accumulated, layer by layer, even though i was seemingly doing all the right things. Then, I added one more thing — intentionally, because I really wanted to up my game as a coach (help more people, share more things, and creating something truly transformational). Well, that perturbation became a bit of a razor’s edge. Overall, I was feeling strong and capable (as I said — I’m a professional stress handler — throw me into a global pandemic and I roll up my sleeves and get to work supporting others). However, sometimes I would slip off that edge and fall into a deep dark emotional pit and I’ve got to be honest — I noticed that was happing more often than i was comfortable with. One or two “bad” days are no big deal, but a few rollercoaster weeks snapped me to attention.
So, as with much of my personal growth process, I began to ask myself questions. What were “all the things” I was balancing/dealing with? I wanted to get really real and see exactly how much I was carrying around. So, I wrote it all down. It started with grief. My brother passed away toward the end of 2019 and I didn’t have much time to process that before another big bang occurred in my life, then another, then another …
The next question was something I ask my clients regularly. “What do you need?” I realized that though the perturbation was a good thing in terms of my personal and business growth, I still had some tears I needed to shed and some emotional space to face “all the things”. So, I pulled back a bit more from social media and dove deep into the ritual of caring for myself. I began to create more time and space for me, my big feelings, and all those little things to help me soothe and process. Then, I had a great chat with my loving and supportive partner. Expressing all those thoughts and feelings sure made everything feel a bit lighter.
At any given time, I check in with myself to see what I’m experiencing. It’s easy to brush past things in the daily load of life. And frankly, I need me. I deserve my own attention. As much as I like to give, I also need to receive — and it’s lovely to be able to do both for myself. It’s a part of this intentional relationship I have with me.
None of us have everything figured out all the time. And sometimes we need those reminders to keep doing the work, or adjust it to meet our shifting needs. And all of that is perfect, as it should be — because every single one of us is human.
So, set those boundaries. Face those feelings. Express it all in whatever ways feel best for you. Nourish and nurture yourself. And reach out for support whenever you need it. Because YOU MATTER!
If you’d feel like you’re ready for some transformation and could use some personal assistance through life’s overwhelming challenges, please check out: yourhumanbeing.com .
