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Newsletter July 28, 2010                           You Can Overcome Overwhelm                                               


Overwhelm is a modern "disease". You don't have to get it, but if you do you can take charge and overcome it in quick time. That is, if you know how.

Remember when "overwhelm(ed) was a verb?

Somewhere in recent times it became a noun. Now we talk about being "In Overwhelm" or "Experiencing Overwhelm".

What do we mean by that?

Overwhelm is a precursor to Stress. It's not quite as bad but if not contained and managed will take us right up to Stress's front door.

So featured in this newsletter:

  • How To Overcome Overwhelm
and
  • The Key To Success - Never Give Up.

It is not a failure to succumb to "overwhelm" in our fast-moving, high expectation workplaces. It is a failure to not develop the skills to overcome it. 

You can do it, so learn how NOW!


Maree Harris. PhD.

How To Overcome Overwhelm.

Remember when we were "overwhelmed" with delight by the number of people who turned up to our workshop. Or we were "overwhelmed" by the support of friends after a car accident. Or again, we were "overwhelmed" by the numbers of cards we received when we won that award.

It was much more than we expected, an over the top reaction. It left us, at least temporarily, without a ready reply or response because we weren't expecting it. Being overwhelmed like this leaves us lost for words. We don't function with our normal level of competence. We don't make the brilliant speech. We stutter and stammer. We are unable to maintain our usual stance of being completely in control of what is happening. Yet no one cares. In fact, people are quite delighted to see us disarmed and spontaneously transparent in our responses, being truly who we are.

"Overwhelmed" the Verb became "Overwhelm" the Noun.

Sometime in recent years, however, the verb "overwhelmed" became a noun. We are now "in overwhelm" or "experiencing overwhelm". It's nearly always got negative connotations.

This is where the over the top nature of "overwhelm" is excessive, is straining our levels of response, maybe even beginning to crush us. This doesn't do our reputation any good. No one wants to be around people who are constantly in overwhelm because they drain us and sap our energy. They also are usually irritable and intolerant. This is the overwhelm we are talking about here.

When Does Overwhelm Emerge?

Overwhelm happens when we have too much on our plate.

We may have done it to ourselves.

  • We can't say "no".
  • We don't like asking for help.
  • We can't delegate work.
  • We don't trust anyone else to do it as good as we do it.
The overwhelm that results from these situations is often difficult to address because people usually can't implement the strategies for dealing with it. It involves changing some fundamental beliefs within themselves. These kinds of things take time and these people tend to become extremely stressed before they realise they need to do that.

Overwhelm may creep up on us, even when we are very good at managing our workloads.
  • We are the only person in our organisation working in our specialisation and the organisation's growth now demands more than one person there.
  • We have taken on a new project and under-estimated how much was involved.
  • A number of significant and/or serious events/situations/circumstances all emerged at once in our lives, all unexpected and out of left field.
People in these latter situations are much more able to work through their overwhelm once they have recognised it and realised they need to do something about it.

What Can We Do About Overwhelm?

1.    The first thing we need to do is create a "Stop Doing" list, not a "To Do" list.

If we try to keep pushing ourselves to work through what we have on our plates, we just become even more overwhelmed.

  • To help us do that, we need to give ourselves permission to just STOP temporarily what we are doing. We are not working effectively anyway. By stopping and taking some time to get hold of our situation we give ourselves the opportunity to re-assess.

  • On a sheet of paper brainstorm and write down everything you have on your plate at the moment.
  • Divide them into 3 categories - personal/family, professional/work and community/social.
  • Prioritise each list with the most important at the top.
  • Starting at the bottom, where things are least important, put a line through everything that you can stop doing right now without significant repercussions. It doesn't mean you won't take them up in the future, but for the time being you are going to let go of them.

2.    The second thing we need to do is assess what we can do about what is left.

What can I do something about?

We need to take this question seriously. Often we think we can't do anything about our situation. When we assess it, however, from the position of realising that we have to do something for the sake of our health and well-being, or even our sanity, we find there are many things we can do.

  • This may mean going to our manager and renegotiating our workload.
  • It may mean delegating some of our work to someone else.
  • It may mean renegotiating the deadline on some work.
  • It may mean sending an apology to a meeting we usually attend.
  • It may mean getting other family members involved in looking after our elderly parents, for example, instead of us having full responsibility.
What can't I change?

This is an important question because if we actually can't do anything about certain situations, then we need to accept that and develop a positive and proactive attitude towards it.

3.    The third thing we need to do is take the things we cannot change and break them up
       into smaller pieces.
  • Take each one of the situations/events/circumstances/projects that you believe you can do nothing about and break each one down into parts. It's amazing how something that looked overwhelming and complex when looked at as a whole becomes quite manageable when broken down into parts.
  • Break each part then down into steps that you can take action on to lead to its completion or resolution.
  • Having done all that just get on with it. Make an absolute commitment to resolving the overwhelm and JUST DO IT!
4.    The fourth thing we need to do is support all that very practical re-organisation with
       nurturing ourselves.
  • Eat high energy foods.
  • Drinks lots of water and few stimulant drinks.
  • Relax and unwind each day.
  • Get plenty of sleep.
  • Spend time every day with people who support the action you have taken.
If we don't proactively manage overwhelm, we find ourselves in a very short period of time in a state of full-blown stress. This is much more difficult to overcome.


The Key To Success - Never Give Up.


He failed in business in '31.

He was defeated for state legislator in '32.

He tried another business in '33. It failed.

His fiancee died in '35.

He had a nervous breakdown in '36.

In '43 he ran for Congress and was defeated.

He tried again in '48 and was defeated again.

He tried running for the Senate in '55. He lost.

The next year he ran for Vice President and lost.

In '58 he ran for the Senate again and was defeated again.

Finally, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States.



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Copyright © People Empowered-Maree Harris 2010
All articles in the People Empowered newsletter by Maree Harris are copyright, but they can be reproduced as long as they include on the bottom the following short biography- "Maree Harris PhD. is the Director of People Empowered. She is a coach, consultant and facilitator of professional development, specialising in the development and enhancement of soft skills http://www.peopleempowered.com.au "
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