Feeling overwhelmed is a symptom of stress, which affects nearly one-third of Americans.1 Overwhelm is caused by the sense that your stress somehow outweighs your own coping abilities. When experiencing overwhelm, you may feel like you have too much on your plate, not enough time to get things done, or completely burned out.
If you are overwhelmed, you may experience other negative emotions at the same time, like anxiety, irritability, anger, or depression. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to cope with feeling overwhelmed, like changing your thoughts and habits, engaging in stress-relieving activities, and speaking with a therapist.
Here are 25 healthy ways to deal with feeling overwhelmed:
1. Identify What is Causing You to Feel Overwhelmed
First, get to the source of what is causing the overwhelm. Reflect on what areas of your life are contributing to your stress. Are you overwhelmed at work, home, school, or in your relationships? Now, consider what specifically is causing you to feel overwhelmed in these areas of your life. Write down the causes so you have a clear idea of your triggers.
2. Utilize the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
- Label 5 things you can see
- Label 4 things you can touch
- label 3 things you can hear
- label 2 things you can smell
- label 1 thing you can taste (and make it weird if you can)
“The reason this method works so well is that it takes a lot of conscious effort which brings you back to the present. Overwhelming feelings are typically rooted in anxiety which make you ruminate on the future and spiral. You may also be experiencing somatic feelings (physical symptoms) and the use of all five senses can help you regulate your body more easily.” – Christina Powell, LMHC, LPC, Owner of Mental Perk Therapy
3. Reconnect to The Inner Wisdom of Your Body
“You may have heard, when emotions are high, intelligence is low. So when you are overwhelmed, don’t try and think your way out of it. Use your nervous system and the strong mind-body connection as your life vest. Begin to track your body. What sensations do you feel in your body? Describe them quietly or out loud: ie: I am feeling heaviness, achy, tightness, throbbing in my stomach. Do these sensations move in any direction? Follow where the sensations take you, while breathing into these spaces. Are there any areas of your body that you can turn to that feel more neutral or that feel pleasurable? Set the tone for curiosity with yourself and all your sensations.
As you reconnect to your body, you likely will find that any negative feelings such as overwhelm may have lessened. What seemed like a catastrophic or life threatening moment is now simply a calmer space in time. You have now recalibrated your nervous system to a more regulated state and can now actively use your ‘thinking brain’ to help you manage the overwhelm. You have more clarity to prioritize what matters most and take steps toward accomplishing each task at hand.” – Cecilia Minano, MD, MPH
4. Name Your Feelings
“Overwhelm isn’t really a feeling, it’s a state of mind. Underneath overwhelmed, most people have lots of more specific feelings going on. Fear, guilt, anger, and shame, to name a few. Oftentimes, those same feelings lead to a state of overwhelm. For example, taking on more work than is possible due to fear of failure. Mindfulness and meditation (practicing the awareness of thoughts, sensations, and emotions) can both be helpful in learning to identify how one feels. Ultimately, knowing how one feels is critical to figuring out what one needs and the best actions to take to improve their situation.” – Billy Roberts, LISW-S, Focused Mind ADHD Counseling
5. Identify What Is Within Your Control to Change
Ask yourself, are any of these causes within your control to change? For example, if you are stressed about your morning commute, consider your options. Maybe you can wake up a little earlier, take a different route, or find ways to make it more enjoyable. In other cases, acknowledging and accepting your lack of control can be a powerful coping mechanism.
6. Break Big Tasks Down Into Tiny Steps
“When you are feeling overwhelmed about something you need to do, take a few seconds to write out the task on paper and then break it down into tinier steps you can take each day toward the bigger goal. Then, looking at your list, ask yourself: ‘Which of these tiny steps can I take today?’ There’s usually one or two steps that feel the easiest to do. Seeing things mapped out on paper is an easy way to bring down your overwhelm in relation to what you need to do.” – Risa Williams, LMFT, author of The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit
7. Delegate!
“Too many of us feel like nothing will go right unless we handle it ourselves. Then we end up feeling compelled to take care of everything, which leads to feeling overwhelmed and unable to do ANYTHING.
Give some jobs to other people who can handle them—and don’t worry if everything isn’t done exactly to your specifications. This goes for your professional and your personal life. Have to proofread a marketing proposal? Maybe your intern can give it a first runthrough. Have to set out the snacks before guests arrive? Make the kids feel a part of the party action by creating their own food layout.” – Elisa Peimer, LMSW, Therapist at Resilience Lab
8. Practice Meditation
Meditation involves focusing your attention on something specific, like your breath, sounds, or sensations in your body. It may help you become more aware and less reactive. Studies on meditation have also found that regular practice helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.2 If you are a beginner, find a guided meditation online, use a meditation app, or set a timer for five to 10 minutes. As you practice, thoughts will inevitably arise; let them pass without judgment.
9. Take a Sensory Break
“When we are feeling overwhelmed it can be really helpful to reduce the amount of sensory information we are exposed to. If you think of your five senses, you might automatically come up with some strategies.
Vision and Hearing are the two areas that process the most information. You can reduce input by dimming the lights, avoiding colorful or visually stimulating environments. For hearing, you can avoid loud spaces or environments where there is constant noise. Wearing earbuds throughout the day can dampen noise but still allow you to engage in your surroundings. For taste and smell you can avoid further overstimulation by choosing less flavorful or aromatic foods. Finally, for sense of touch, you can self-soothe by using a weighted blanket or removing restricting clothing.” – Naomi McKinney, R.Psych.
10. Use Ice as a Distraction
“Grab some ice and either eat it, make an ice pack and place it on your head or chest, or dunk your face into ice water. This helps to distract the fight or flight response (amygdala being activated and making your body respond with cortisol [stress hormone] and adrenaline), and allows your neurotransmitters to refocus on the ‘pain’ response of the ice.” – Christina Powell, LMHC, LPC, Owner of Mental Perk Therapy
11. Color Away the Overwhelm
“Sometimes, overwhelm feels beyond description, and your brain feels fuzzy or foggy. This technique allows you to experience relief quickly, in a fun way.
Lay out a sheet of blank paper, the bigger the better, and have a bunch of different colored crayons available—a minimum of eight colors. The more colors, the better.
- Get in touch with whatever is overwhelming you, and the emotions that overwhelm evokes.
- Then, look at your crayons and choose which color best represents how you’re feeling now.
- Then, use the crayon to make marks that feel like your feelings. So that might be swirls or dabs or jagged lines. Don’t make a picture. Just make abstract marks that represent your feelings.
- When you feel complete with one color, choose the next color that best captures your feelings. Do the same thing with making shapes.
- Repeat this a few times, imagining that as you lay down color on the paper, you are letting go of and transforming your feelings of overwhelm.
My clients often share with me that the Color Away the Overwhelm technique gives them a quick way to move blocked emotional energy, so they feel relaxation in their body and mind.” – Susan Bernstein, MBA PhD, Executive Coach + Leadership Consultant
12. Ground Yourself – Literally
“Take off your shoes and socks and feel the ground/floor/dirt beneath you. Spread your toes, stretch your toes, plant the soles of your feet deeper into the ground. Notice the temperature of the floor beneath you. Notice the surface beneath you.
Here, you are actively and intentionally choosing where to focus your attention, moving away from the overstimulation you may be experiencing due to a multitude of demands/stressors/responsibilities/noise in your life at this moment in time.” – Melissa Barsotti, LCSW, Mindful Therapy Practice
13. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness, often confused with meditation, also involves being present. While the two are similar, mindfulness does not require a quiet space free from distractions.3 First, spend a few minutes noticing each one of your senses. What can you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell? Spend a few minutes on each sense. Rather than analyzing or judging what comes up, make an effort to be present. When thoughts come up, envision them as passing clouds.
14. Prioritize Your Tasks
“If you are feeling helpless or as if things are starting to get out of control, one thing you can do to help is to exercise more control over how you manage your affairs. This can involve scaling down your to-do list so that you are not doing too much. Focus on your priorities and leave the other tasks for later on. Using the action priority matrix can help you prioritize your responsibilities. If necessary, let others know that you feel like you are becoming overwhelmed, and be assertive enough to say “no” when you must. You can also ask those around you for help.” – Ellie Borden, BA, RP, PCC, Clinical Director and Clinical Supervisor of Mind By Design® Psychology and Coaching clinics
15. Take a Step Back & Do Something Fun
“Get your mind off of whatever is stressing you out by doing something you enjoy. Watch a movie, read a book, go for a walk, or spend time with friends or family. Doing this and remembering there’s more to life than whatever you’re stressing about could also give you some perspective.” – Heather Wilson LCSW, LCADC, CCTP, Executive Director of Epiphany Wellness
16. Do 10 Jumping Jacks, 10 Push-Ups, & 10 Sit Ups
“Exercise does a great job of making your bodily functions refocus their energy, and can be used to burn up some of that fight or flight response and exert that feeling of panic or overwhelmed sensation.” – Christina Powell, LMHC, LPC, Owner of Mental Perk Therapy
17. Change Your Body Posture
“Open up your arms, as if you were about to do a lateral pull, activating your trapezius muscles, back muscles, pushing out your chest, aligning your spine and neck, raising your head up straight. Changing your posture in this way will literally send signals to your brain and result in a calmer, more empowered state. There is a whole field of psychology dedicated to the focus of the interconnections between the body, brain, nervous system, and mood states (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, pioneered by Dr. Pat Ogden). In a nutshell, Dr. Pat Ogden, Dr. Peter Levine, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Janina Fisher, and Dr. Jamie Marich (just to name a few pioneers and leaders in the field of trauma) teach us that our body holds memory. Notice how your mood state shifts when your shoulders are slumped inward and your face is down, as opposed to when you engage in specific yoga poses such as warrior II, updog, and crescent lunge.” – Melissa Barsotti, LCSW, Mindful Therapy Practice
18. Get Your Thoughts Down on Paper
“Often, feeling overwhelmed is due to having too many things going on in your head. By writing down your thoughts, you can get them out of your head onto something more tangible like paper. This will help you to organize your thoughts and figure out what’s really important and what can be put on the back burner for now.” – Heather Wilson LCSW, LCADC, CCTP, Executive Director of Epiphany Wellness
19. Avoid Drugs & Alcohol
Drugs and alcohol may alleviate stress in the short-term, but abusing them can cause long-term problems.6 If you think you may be dealing with an addiction, speak to your doctor and contact a mental health professional that specializes in addiction.
20. Watch Your Self-Talk
“Start to listen to how you’re talking to yourself about what you need to do, does it sound overly negative or harsh? Lighten up your talk, try to add in more soothing, gentle phrases like, ‘Just take it one step at a time…’ and ‘You’ll figure it out as you go…’ This can not only boost our motivation but also lower our stress in relation to completing the task we have to do.” – Risa Williams, LMFT, author of The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit
21. Connect With a Loved One
Make it a priority to maintain contact with your support system or connect with new people. This could involve spending time with a trusted friend or family member, joining an in-person or online support group, or participating in a social activity that interests you.7
22. Spend Some Time With Your Pets
“Studies have shown that spending time with pets can help reduce stress and anxiety. If you don’t have a pet, maybe visit a friend who does or go to a shelter and spend time with the animals there.” – Heather Wilson LCSW, LCADC, CCTP, Executive Director of Epiphany Wellness
23. Find a Creative Outlet
Consider different ways to get your creative juices flowing, such as art, writing, dance, music, or acting. Studies show that these types of creative outlets are associated with lower levels of stress.8 If you can, try to connect with your creative side at least once a week.
24. Write a Gratitude List
Feeling gratitude when you are overwhelmed is a powerful way to transform the way you think about stress.9 Write down ten things you are grateful for every morning or evening. It can include people, places, things, or even just the fact that you have clean drinking water and heat.
25. Consult a Therapist
If you find yourself struggling to cope with feelings of overwhelm, you may benefit from speaking with a therapist who specializes in stress management. They can help you identify the triggers for your stress, change negative thinking patterns, and learn healthier ways to deal with your feelings.
When To Seek Professional Help When You Feel Overwhelmed
If feeling overwhelmed is interfering with your life and causing you anxiety, you should consider seeking professional help. Signs of anxiety or an anxiety disorder include restlessness, irritability, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, sleeping problems, and muscle tension.10 To be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, you must experience these symptoms nearly every day for at least six months.
Types of Therapy that May Be Helpful
Therapy, which is usually the first line of treatment for anxiety, can help you understand the causes of your symptoms as well as how to manage them.
Here are two kinds of therapy used to treat anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): teaches coping skills — like mindfulness and deep breathing — and helps you change negative thoughts and beliefs that contribute to your anxiety11
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): focuses on accepting negative emotions associated with depression, anxiety, and addiction by using mindfulness and behavioral strategies12
How to Find a Therapist
The most common ways to find a therapist are contacting your health insurance company for a listing of in-network providers, asking your primary care physician (PCP), getting a recommendation from family and friends, or using an online therapist directory. Once you find a therapist that seems like a good match, call or email them for a brief consultation to determine whether you’d like to move forward.
In some cases, you may be able to reach your goals in just a few sessions, but many people find that staying in therapy long-term helps them stay on track. Studies have found that about half of people in therapy recover in 15 to 20 sessions.13 Talk to your therapist periodically about your goals and expectations for length of treatment.
Cost of therapy varies depending on healthcare, the therapist’s credentials, years of experience, and location. In general, therapy can range from $50 to $250 per session without insurance. If you have insurance, it may cover all or a portion of costs. Some therapists also offer a sliding scale, which is a reduced fee based on income.
Final Thoughts
You are not alone when it comes to dealing with negative feelings like stress and overwhelm. In fact, nearly one-third of people report having these feelings at any given time.1 If you are searching for answers on how to deal with feeling overwhelmed, remember that there are steps you can take to cope with these feelings. Consider practicing mindfulness or meditation, exercising, connecting with a loved one, or reaching out to a therapist for help.
For Further Reading
How to Deal With Overwhelm Infographics
