Stressed Out & Overwhelmed?  Try This

Today I wanted to talk about being stressed and overwhelmed.

Stress can come from many different areas in our life, and everybody gets stressed and overwhelmed sometimes, so you’re not alone.

Sometimes stress can even be a good thing. It can light a fire under our butts and help us to be more productive in our lives.

But when you’re chronically stressed and overwhelmed, it is not healthy. And it can take a toll on you, not only mentally, but it can also physically take a toll on you.

So why do we get stressed and overwhelmed sometimes and what can we do about it?

In a study done by the American Psychological Association in 2021, they said that 74% of Americans feel stressed at times. And in the study done the year earlier, they said that 60% of participants felt overwhelmed by certain areas of their lives.

So what are some of the signs that you’re feeling Overwhelmed?

Well, you could be…

• Pessimistic about things and feeling hopeless about certain situations or have…
• Disproportionate reactions: That means like overreacting to seemingly small things like I lost my car keys and you blow up. Or somebody says something minor to you and you just overreact and, and, and blow up in that same situation.
• Have irrational thoughts. Things just don’t make sense and you’re feeling unclear about things, or you could…
• Feel Paralyzed. This is where you feel like you shut down and almost… can’t do anything at all. And so you withdraw or can’t even do the simplest task, or you have mood changes.  You’re up and down, you’re feeling sad, depressed, lonely for seemingly not the right reasons, or you have …
• Difficulty concentrating. You just can’t think clearly because you’re feeling so overwhelmed.
• You could even have physical symptoms. You have headaches, stomach upset, dizziness, fatigue.

All of these different things could be possible. Signs that you’re being overwhelmed.

Now, those are some of the signs of being overwhelmed, but what are some causes and what are some stresses that trigger us to feel overwhelmed at times?

Well, it could be your ..

• Work orWorkload, 
• Relationships,
• Financial problems,
• Traumatic experiences.
• Major life change or
• The loss of a loved one.
• Political issues

All of these and other not mentioned here can be stressors or triggers to causing us to feel overwhelmed.

So, if that’s some of the signs of being overwhelmed, then we can see some of the stressors that trigger us to feel overwhelmed.

What can we do about it?

What can we do to reduce our level of stress and feeling of being overwhelmed?

One of the best ways that I’ve found to decrease stress and the feeling that you’re overwhelmed is to get some perspective, get clarity about what you want, and to start working towards that.

Now remember, stress doesn’t come from any of the events in your life. Stress comes from your thoughts about the events of your life.

Now, I’m going to give you one of my tools to help decrease your stress and the feeling that you’re being overwhelmed.

And it’s called the… 

4M Mindset Method.

1. Make The Choice
2. Make A List
3. Make A Plan
4. Make A Schedule

You may have heard me talk about this before because I feel it works so well.

But first, to change your perspective, I want you to just step back, take a few deep breaths. Whether it’s go for a walk, count to 10, talk to a friend, do some exercise, whatever it is, so you can kind of reset your mind to get more focused.

And now we’re going start the 4M Mindset Method.

The first M is…

Make The Choice:

Not make A choice;  like get a cup of coffee or a tea or a sandwich.

It’s Make The Choice.

Make the choice that you know your thought process and what’s making you feel stressed is not working for you right now, and that you’re making the conscious decision to change your mindset.  

It’s to change your mindset to a more productive mindset.  What I call a Positive, Proactive Mindset.

It’s the thought process that has you looking at the world as if it’s happening FOR you, not that it’s happening to you, which it can feel like sometimes.

So the first M is to Make The Choice for change.

The second M is to Make A list.

It’s actually make three lists.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed there’s too many things going on and you don’t know what to start first.

The first list are the things that you have to do that are making you feel overwhelmed, the things you need to get done today and tomorrow. So that’s the first 24 to 48 hours.

The second list you’re going to make is the list of things that you need to do, but you can put them off to after 72 hours into next week.

The third list, and this is the most fun list is the list of things that you cannot control, that you feel you’re worrying about.

It’s the external things that you feel are affecting you, but you have no control over. It’s somebody’s thoughts and feelings about you. It’s somebody else’s actions.  Things that you cannot have an effect on and have absolutely no control over. So therefore, the worrying that we’re doing about those things are needless worries.

And this list, when you write that list down, you’re going cross that list out, or you can cross them out one at a time. Then that will start to get your mind to release and let go of the things that you cannot control.

So the third M is to…

Make A Plan.

This is where you set your goals. This is where you figure out, “okay, I just made this list of things I have to do today, tomorrow, and next week.” 

Well, The Plan is, how you’re going to make that happen.  You’re planning out the actions that are necessary to get things done so you can check off that list.

And the fourth M is …

To Make A Schedule.

Some would say if it’s not scheduled, it doesn’t exist.

This is when you schedule out your day in blocks of, let’s say 15 to 30 minutes. I like 30 minute blocks to get the things done and the actions that are necessary to check off the items on your list.

And this will help to organize your thoughts and your mind and your actions to move you forward.

Because as you get more organized, your mind will have less stress and there’ll be a tendency to be less overwhelmed.

So let’s quickly review that. The 4 M’s are to…

• Make the choice for positive change.
• Make a list. Remember, make three lists of what I need to do today and tomorrow, what I can do next week, and what are the things that I can’t control (and cross that list outto “let it go”). 
• The next M is to Make A Plan. Plan out what you’re going to do and what are your goals for what you want and how are you going to make that list happen.
• And remember, the fourth M is to make a schedule.  Schedule it out so you know exactly how you’re going to take the actions necessary to make your list get checked off.

And what you’ll find is as you change your perspective and you become more positive and you start to break down the things that are overwhelming you, into manageable chunks and lists start to get done.

Then, as you organize how you’re going make that happen, you’ll start to decrease the stress and the overwhelm that you have in your life.

But if you continue to feel stressed and overwhelmed on a chronic basis and you feel it starts to progress into depression or anxiety, then make sure you see somebody about it.

Make sure you talk to a loved one, make sure you see a health professional, possibly a counselor or a therapist. And this can be very helpful in progressing you towards where you want to go and what your feelings are.

So try my  4M Mindset Method. I guarantee, if you sit down and give it a chance and do it consistently, you’ll see a tremendous difference in your life.

Remember, our stress comes from our thoughts about the events in our life. And it may not always seem that way, but you have 100% control over your thoughts and actions.

Well I hope this information helped you in your day.

Have a wonderful Week!

Be Positive, Be Motivated, Be Focused and Be Well,

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