Today I want to share 4 tools for people who have been feeling overwhelmed lately.
Tool #1:
The first thing that I want to suggest to you is to give yourself some permission to reach out for help. Don’t try to play the hero and pretend like you have to do it all by yourself. So very often we think that if we turn to others and ask for help when we’re feeling overwhelmed that it’s a sign of weakness, but that’s really not the case. When we enlist support it just means that we’re being proactive and good at advocating for our needs. Also, when you hire professional support such as coaches like us, the research is very clear; as soon as you book your first appointment there’s a sense of relief that sets in because you know that support and tools are on their way.
Tool #2:
The second strategy we like to use for clients who are feeling stressed out and anxious is helping them identify their circumstances. We help them get clear on which circumstances are entirely outside of their control and giving them support around those, but also looking at the circumstances that they can have some control over. We explore the ways that they can show up differently and start handling things differently, and also empower them with new strategies and insights for the things that they can have control over.
Tool #3:
The third important thing to do if you’re feeling overwhelmed is to get a second set of eyes on the thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions that you have about your situation and your stressors. Every single one of us has blind spots at times, errors in our thinking, and assumptions that we make that may or may not actually be the case. When you can get a second set of eyes on how you’re perceiving the situation, often times those blind spots get revealed and new possibilities that you have never even considered open up.
Tool #4:
Fourth and finally, if your stress level is too high, I’m going to encourage you to find some positive, natural ways to soothe your nervous system on a regular basis. Sure, you can go home and pound a couple of beers and that will help temporarily. However, it’s more beneficial if we can incorporate some exercise and guided visualizations and learn some new tools and strategies that you can actually pull out anytime, anywhere when you need to bring your stress level down a notch or two.
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