PIN GOODBYE, OVERWHELM FOR LATER:

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Overwhelm. It plagues us all.

Especially as the year comes to a close.

And if you’re a quiet, sensitive soul.

I’ve had so many conversations in the past few weeks that have led to replies such as:

“Life is just so busy right now.”

“I’ll wait until the new year to get started.”

“Things are so hectic, I’ll be back in touch when life settles down.”

The problem is, though, when you’re a highly sensitive person, a BUSY highly sensitive person, with a family, with a job, with a business, with a life… does it ever really settle down?

I know for a lot of my life, especially once we start to feel that overwhelm really burning us out, it can take months (even years) before things feel settled.

Here are a few things I’ve learnt about overwhelm:

 

OUR ENERGY IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY

We can’t help it that we’re highly sensitive, introverted souls. We were born that way and there are certain factors that are totally out of control (like how reactive our nervous systems are to external stimulus, and how much grey matter we have in our brains).

But it IS our responsibility to take care of ourselves and our energy.

Not by shutting ourselves off from the world (although that is really nice sometimes), but by adopting some simple practises, not unlike showering and brushing our teeth to feel our best.

When we aren’t looking after ourselves, overwhelm and external circumstances fry us out much faster than when we’re on top of it.

 

WE DISCONNECT QUICKLY

Many of us have grown up believing that it’s not okay to be emotional, quiet, or sensitive. For this reason, we quickly disassociate from our bodies and flip up into our heads.

Overthinking much?

Related:  How to Overcome Overthinking

There’s a good chance you’re using your mind (and all its stories) when the answer lies within your body. 

Bringing your focus and energy into your breath and back into your body can instantly help you to feel more connected and less overwhelmed.

 

EXTERNAL SITUATIONS AFFECT OUR INTERNAL PEACE

It’s well known that introverts often feel drained around other people, highly sensitive people feel affected by external stimulus, and that empaths take on the energy and emotions of others.

Related: The Quiet Energy of Introverts, Empaths, and Highly Sensitive People

Naturally, this can cause overwhelm not just on our nervous systems, but also our minds and our energy, completely throwing our natural rhythms and making us feel frantic and out of control.

We often can’t control or change external situations, and our survival systems are hardwired to go into fight, flight, or freeze when certain situations occur, but the more attention we give to our internal world, to focus on and understand how we work, the better we get at knowing what we need and speaking up about it.

When we feel like we can’t control things in our lives, we sometimes hang on even more tightly to some aspects to feel that we’re in control. But what if we put that energy into taking care of ourselves and reclaiming our inner peace?

 

OVERWHELM ACCUMULATES

I don’t know about you, but it feels like overwhelm accumulates when we don’t feel a release in some way. Whatever that is for you – crying, talking it out, journalling, or sweating it out at the gym – it’s so important that we find healthy and helpful ways to let go of that stress from our bodies.

Sometimes it can feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, we get bogged down in all the stuff going on around us that we forget that there’s more to it than our present situation.

But we are more than that, and it’s up to us to find ways to release overwhelm from our bodies, our minds, and our energy.

 

SAY GOODBYE TO OVERWHELM

Because so many people have been talking to me about overwhelm lately, I decided to put together a 5-day audio course to start putting some really simple and effective practises into place and opening up to new ways of thinking about our quiet energy and overwhelm.

It’s free and it’s nice and short so you can give as much or as little to it as you have the capacity for.

You’ll get:

// 5 x audios

// 5 x journal prompts

// 5 x action steps

// 5 x intention affirmations

** UPDATE: This live challenge has ended, but you can access the content directly from The League of Extraordinary Introverts Community. Come over and join us!