Feeling Overwhelmed?

This time of year it is easy to feel overwhelmed with all the holiday activities and expectations. But holidays are not the only time when we feel overwhelmed. Preacher offers steps to help us when we feel overwhelmed by life. I would like to share his thoughts with you today.

Assess the Situation

First off, Preacher suggests we assess the situation that is making us feel overwhelmed. Then ask ourselves a few questions. Why are we feeling this way? What has caused us to feel this way? Preacher suggests if we can figure out what’s causing the stress of feeling overwhelmed, we can then begin to deal with it in an appropriate way.

Address the Situation

After we access the situation or situations causing our stressful overwhelmed feelings, we move on to addressing them. Preacher’s following suggestions are designed to help us when we feel overwhelmed.

Take it to God in Prayer

Pray about whatever is overwhelming us. Spend uninterrupted time alone with God. Tell him how we feel. Ask for his help. Let his peace fill our heart. Limit media noise. Focus on God. It’s in the quietness that God usually speaks.

Accept Those Things in Life that We Cannot Control and Control Those Things We Can

An important part of dealing effectively with the stress of overwhelm is identifying what we can control and what we cannot control. Trust God. He, not us, is in control. If we know for certain we can’t do anything to remedy the problem, we have to trust God with it.

Accept Limitations and Learn to Say No

We all have limitations. Not saying no can lead to feeling overwhelmed. We can’t do everything other people want us to do. And we can’t do everything we want to do.

Strive to Live a Balanced Life

Without balance we can become disoriented and have difficulty moving forward. Remember the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”? We need to balance our work, rest, and recreation.

Don’t Do Too Much

Preacher says one of the most important things we can do when we’re overwhelmed is to do less. It all doesn’t have to be done at once. We need to pace ourselves.

Don’t Be in a Hurry

Hurrying can lead to feeling overwhelmed. When we hurry, we often make mistakes. Our bodies tense, our adrenaline rushes. Hurrying can cause our heart to race and stress to increase. Next time we feel in a hurry, we should ask why we’re hurrying. Then ask what changes we need to make the next time.

Don’t Take Our Self Too Seriously

Believing it’s up to us to solve every problem is a sure recipe for feeling overwhelmed. Remember, it’s not about us. We’re not the center of the universe. Preacher adds, if everything in our world depends on us, we’re living in a rather small world.

Give Our Mind Time to Recharge and Refresh

To prevent the stress of overwhelm, we need to give our brains time to rest. Take a walk. Daydream. Sit outside. Engage in a conversation with a friend. Take a break from the constant processing of information.

Laugh a Lot

When we’re stressed and overwhelmed we don’t tend to laugh very much, but research shows there is something therapeutic, and even healing, about laughter. When we laugh, we decrease the amount of stress hormones our bodies would otherwise release. Laughter releases feel-good endorphins. Proverbs tells us a merry heart does good like medicine.

Stay in Today

Whenever we feel overwhelmed, it’s good to stay in today. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own troubles. Thinking about all the things we need to accomplish can cause us to feel overwhelmed and stressed.

Focus on Jesus Not the Circumstances that Seem So Great

Preacher believes this final step is the most important step we can take when circumstances in life overwhelm us. Whatever we focus on tends to become larger and larger in our minds. So it’s best to keep our focus on Jesus, no matter what we are experiencing. Scripture tells us God will keep in perfect peace those whose mind is on him, because we trust him.

Your Turn

Which of Preacher’s points do you believe will be helpful the next time you feel overwhelmed?

For me, I believe it is shifting my focus from whatever is causing me to feel overwhelmed to focusing on Jesus instead.

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:1-2 NKJV

You can find my December Inspire a Fire post here. Please stop by and read it.

I wish you well.

Sandy

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