(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, and references Anxiety and
mental health problems)
This post isn't a magical solution to feeling overwhelmed, but hopefully
it'll help a little.
Disclaimer time: I'm not a medical or mental health professional.
I'm someone with my own personal experiences of Depression/Anxiety which may
or may not be helpful to you. Always do what's right for you, k? K.
Sometimes it can be hard to keep moving forward. It can feel overwhelming
as f**k, let's be honest.
But to make it less overwhelming?
You have to take everything one step at a time - as goddamn irritating as that
can be, sometimes.
Do you ever get to the point where just thinking about the stuff you have
do to turns your brain into bemused* spaghetti?
Because I do that a lot.
I've done that with this post about five times.
(Luckily, I don't get disheartened when I delete several paragraphs at a
time.
Because sometimes those paragraphs were just scaffolding, and once you
remove them, the stuff that's left should be able to stand on its own
(in theory.)
...This is a weird allegory/metaphor/whatever, but just go with it.)
*In my defence - do you have any proof that spaghetti
isn't bemused?!
I think a lot of us are feeling a little (or not-so-little) bit overwhelmed
right now.
Whether we're in lockdown, taking steps towards leaving lockdown, or wondering
whether we should be in lockdown but someone put a toddler in
charge of the United States (shout out to the Americans! Love you, stay
safe!), things are uncertain right now.
And hooman beans don't always deal so good with uncertainty (I
certainly don't! ...That pun was unintended. But I'ma leave it in.)
But! (And this is the secret!): It's OK.
Because adulting and all that other stuff is hard enough without a
global pandemic, k?
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| Via Giphy |
And what me and you have gotta do is just take everything one itty-bitty step
at a time.
You want some simple, practical, tips though, yeah?
OK, I'll try:
- write sh** down - you won't forget it, and you can prioritise more easily
- be honest with yourself over what you can and can't get done within your time-frame
- accept that you can't do everything
- ACCEPT THAT YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING (I know it's repeated - it's that important.)
- Rest. A lot. - Everything looks more manageable if you're not exhausted (Hi! I'm Cee and I'm exhausted. So trust me on this.)
- Make time for self-care - seriously, this is VITAL right now
- remember that you don't have to prove anything to anyone
- take lots of breaks
- ask for help - whether it's help with the dishes, or going to the doctor for mental health issues, if you need help please ask for it. You deserve help, I promise.
- break large tasks down into smaller tasks - sometimes, you can break these smaller tasks down again and make them teensy tasks
- Focus on one smaller/teensy task at a time. Ignore the overall large task - we don't know her, we only care about the small task we're working on!
The most important thing is that you go easy on yourself, and take things
one tiny step at a time.
I know that sounds kind of cliche, but if it works it works!
Need help, or need to talk?
International readers can check for helplines in this directory, and readers in the UK and ROI can get in contact with The Samaritans to talk about anything at all.
Do you get overwhelmed sometimes?
Are you overwhelmed at the moment?
Any tips?
Talk to me!
Related Reading:
If you found this post helpful, please consider giving it a share on your
socials, and leaving a comment! <3
I mean, it's no secret that a lot of us overwhelmed right now. What helps for me is to make lists of all the stuff I want to get done during the day! Not only does it provide me with some great distractions, but it's also very rewarding to check off a thing on the list. This kinda goes with what you said about writing stuff down. I know a lot of people with mental illness have had their memory suffer. (Myself included!) Writing stuff down allows for me to not freak out if I forget to do something.
ReplyDeleteYeah - I get Anxious over the possibility that I'll forget something, which means that I end up repeating the list of stuff I have to do over and over. So, yeah, sometimes I really need to write that sh** down! Also, I've found that sometimes I had less to do than I thought - it's just that I was repeating it so often that I thought the list was a lot longer! *face palms*
DeleteYou're right though, checking stuff off is the best! ;)
I agree with your tips! I haven’t left my neighborhood in 2 months. Not working is making me squirrely, which seems weird because I complained about my job all the time. I thought I’d be happy without it. I'm trying to be chill and take things one day at a time.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
*Imagines you with a squirrel superhero outfit a la Squirrel Girl...*
Delete*coughs* ...Anyway...
One day at a time! (Break it down to one hour at a time if you have to!) :)
This was such a good post. Writing shit down is such an effective way to get a handle on what needs to be done. I like to organize it by more urgent to less/not urgent, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you! And yeah, that can be really helpful! (Normally I just kinda scribble sh** down, not gonna lie, but further levels of organisation are always a plus!)
Delete