Why so overwhelmed?

Analyzing what's causing you to feel overwhelmed, anxious, or to wake up with a sense of dread is the first step to developing new mental mindsets and habits to manage these troubling thoughts and feelings.

STEP 1:  Ponder these questions to help you get to the root of your anxiety:

1. How is your workload? Are you taking on too much?
2. What about your commitments?  Are you overly committed? Spread waaaaaay too thin?
3. Physically speaking, are you fit and well or are you dealing with chronic issues or nagging pain?
4. Have you experienced trauma recently that you are attempting to process? 
5. Are you plagued by any of those top  stressors, such as: death in family, moving, job loss...?
6. Have you slipped into procrastination, avoidance, laziness which may be limiting your overall productivity?

STEP 2:  Once you determine the root of your sense of dread and state of feeling overwhelmed, acknowledge in your heart and mind that this is an issue.

Get really specific in your analysis of why you are where you are.  For example, if you selected, #1 above, jot down as many details as you can about this issue.  It might look something like this:

• I am working 60+ hours weekly
• My employer has instituted mandatory overtime
• This overtime has no end in sight
• I'm constantly in catch-up mode
• My work to-do list is hardly manageable
• I am saying "yes" to just about anybody for just about anything without considering the impact on my mental wellbeing

STEP 3:  Commit to prayer

Once you isolate and examine what is causing you to dip into a mental danger zone, it's time to bring the issue to God in prayer.  Acknowledge before God your emotional condition and ask Him to guide you on handling the issue.  You may be surprised at just how He will direct you.  

Simply acknowledging that you are overwhelmed, that you are filled with dread or anxiety is the powerful overarching first step to turning your mind's "ship" in a new direction.

Next post:  We will develop a plan of action to help us overcome these types of toxic feelings and emotions to steer us toward a healthy, vibrant, joyful existence that God intends for us to have.  We're in this together!  We can do it!

---

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
Phil. 4:6