Feeling stressed and overwhelmed is an inevitable part of life. These feelings can show up on a regular basis, but that doesn’t make dealing with them any easier. In my life, stress and overwhelm can ruin a moment, a day, and even my whole outlook on life. No matter how commonplace these feelings are, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to handle them.
It’s helpful to have strategies on hand to help you cope when feelings of stress and overwhelm come up. Mindfulness is a great tool to add to your toolbox of coping methods. Practicing mindfulness enables you to pay attention in an intentional way, helps ground you in the present moment, and lessens the impact of difficult emotions and thoughts.
When practiced enough, mindfulness can become one of your unconscious habits. Try bringing it into your daily life as much as you can, especially during the more difficult moments. The benefits of mindfulness will not only help you get through your stress and overwhelm, but will also improve your quality of life.
Related Post: A Basic Guide to Mindfulness
Ready to beat those feelings of stress and overwhelm? Then read on and try out these eight mindfulness techniques!
1. Take a breath.
This is probably the easiest mindfulness technique you can use. Taking slow, deep, intentional breaths is a big help when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed. It forces you to slow down, take a moment to collect yourself, and create a sense of calm. You breathe automatically all day and all night, so this tool is readily available for you. The key is to breathe mindfully so you can calm those feelings of stress and overwhelm. Try this breathing technique: breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, and breathe out for eight counts. Do this a few times in a row and feel your stress and overwhelm start to wash away.
Related Post: 5 Simple Mindfulness Activities for Your Daily Life
2. Focus on your senses.
Focusing on what you can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch helps to ground you in the present moment. It also enables you to connect more to your surroundings and less to your invasive thoughts or feelings. Instead of getting caught up in your stress and overwhelm, take a few moments to focus on your senses. This will help bring you a sense of calm and lead you to appreciate the here and now.
3. Listen to your thoughts and emotions, then let them go.
I truly believe that the more we try to suppress, hide, or run away from our difficult thoughts and emotions, the harder they’ll fight back. Instead of pretending your feelings of stress and overwhelm aren’t there, acknowledge them and lend them your attention for a few moments. Try to understand why those feelings are there, build an understanding, and then let them go. Don’t dwell on them for too long, but try to give yourself enough time to listen to your stress and overwhelm and learn from it before you let it go and move on.
Related Post: 8 Ways to Deal With Difficult Emotions
4. Write it out.
Writing out your thoughts and feelings, especially during difficult moments of stress and overwhelm, can be a useful mindfulness technique. Take out a journal or piece of paper or even your computer and just lay everything out on the page. Write whatever comes to your mind and get it out. This can be a great way to work through what you’re going through and may even help you come up with realizations that you otherwise wouldn’t have. Writing out your stress and overwhelm can be a big help in working through and overcoming these feelings.
5. Talk it out.
No matter what you’re going through, always remember that you’re not alone. When you’re feeling particularly stressed and overwhelmed, it can be really helpful to talk to someone you love and trust. Decide if you want to reach out to someone for advice or if you simply want to rant and get everything off your chest. Make sure you’re open with the other person about what you need from them. I know that when I’m feeling super stressed or overwhelmed, I don’t necessarily want someone else to fix it. I just need them to listen so I don’t feel so alone. Opening up to a loved one can help you work through your feelings, gain perspective, and move forward, making it a very useful mindfulness technique during times of stress and overwhelm.
Related Post: 7 Benefits Counselling Will Have for Your Mental Health
6. Sit or lie in a comfortable place and have quiet time to yourself.
You can bring mindfulness with you wherever you go, but it’s even easier to practice mindfulness and meditation when sitting or lying in a comfortable place away from the noise of the world. Relaxing your body will inevitably help you relax your mind. Sitting or lying in a comfortable place and practicing meditation or mindful breathing will help you re-centre, bring you a sense of calm, and ease your feelings of stress and overwhelm.
7. Step away from the problem and focus on another task or activity.
It’s important to know when to step away from whatever is causing your stress and overwhelm. You might feel compelled to continue facing it because the task has a deadline or you just want the issue to be done and over with, but the more mindful thing you can do is step away from the problem to focus on something else. Put your attention onto a task or activity that has nothing to do with whatever was causing your stress and overwhelm. Do something that brings you joy and fulfillment and calm, so that when you do decide to return to the issue, you’re not as caught up in your stress and overwhelm.
8. Give yourself a break.
One of the most mindful things you can do during times of stress and overwhelm is allow yourself to take a break. You’re only human, and you can only handle so much. And that’s totally okay. You don’t need to be able to handle everything that comes your way. Life is hard, especially when stressful and overwhelming situations come up. Give yourself the space and permission to step away from the chaos of life to take a break from it all, because you always deserve it.
Related Post: 9 Healthy Habits for Your Mind, Body, and Soul
Stress and overwhelm can be hard to handle, but with some mindset shifts and mindfulness techniques, you’ll be more equipped to work through and overcome these feelings. Try these eight mindfulness practices and do what works best for you!
How do you deal with stress and overwhelm? Do you use mindfulness to help you through it? Let me know some of the coping methods and strategies you use when you’re stressed and overwhelmed!
what do you think?