When Things Get Too Much
I have a gut reaction to apologize for not posting for a while; I haven’t posted since August 9th. Instead of apologizing, I am going to tell you why, and how I’ve gotten myself back to a place where I am able to sit and take the time to organize all my thoughts and put this post together. Hopefully my tactics can also help you when you feel like things are getting out of control.
I’ve talked before about my own struggle with mental health, and anxiety has been something I have been dealing with and managing at levels I’ve never experienced before since becoming a mother and dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Once upon a time I would get overwhelmed, struggle for a day or two, and be back on my feet. This past month month, however, I fell into a rut that I could not seem to pull myself out of until now. I want to talk about what things got me there, and how I was able to pull myself out and start getting myself back on track.
In adulthood, I have become a very schedule-oriented person, to the point where I like to know the minute details and have everything written down. While on the surface this is a great quality to have, it can be a detriment as well because when I don’t know what is happening, I feel at a loss. I didn’t meal prep for a few weeks in August because we had two BBQ’s and I figured we’d have leftovers, but trying to make meals on the fly when they ran out was a source of anxiety for me that sent me in a bit of a spiral.
For me, once anxiety starts, it affects all aspects of my life. If I don’t know what I’m cooking, I can’t do the laundry. If the laundry isn’t done, I can’t clean the kitchen, if the kitchen isn’t clean, I can’t dust, if I don’t have my basic household chores done, I can’t sit and blog… on it on it goes until everything just feels SO overwhelming to me. I had a day at work where it just all came to a head and I just sat in my office fighting back tears because it was all just too much.
Thankfully, that was also a week that I had an appointment with my therapist. Let me tell you, if you don’t have a therapist, you need one. We talked about a lot of things, she put some things into perspective for me, and we came up with a game plan. I was tasked with setting intentions for at least 3 days a week, and trying to journal those same days as well. I also got back on schedule with meal planning, updated my home calendar, changed our sheets, and got on the laundry done.
For me, it is simple things like meal planning and de-cluttering my space that help me to de-clutter my mind and be able to go about every-day life in a positive, productive way. When all these things pile up, I get overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, which leads to anxiety and a feeling of not knowing where to start. I definitely think setting daily intentions is super important, even if it’s something simple like “get it done.”
My advice to others would be, when things get overwhelming, talk to someone, whether it is a therapist, a friend, a loved one (I also had a good conversation with my husband about all these things piling up and brainstormed ways to work on it together). If you are like me, maybe lists can work for you. Meal planning is a savior because I never have to think about my meals, I just make what I planned and shopped for. When you are feeling overwhelmed, it certainly doesn’t have to be forever, you just have to know how to manage and cope with the feelings. For me, it is talking about it and making a plan for going forward.
