What Happens When You Become Friends With Overwhelm

That feeling of panic may, in fact, be your best ally in self-care

Sarah Weiler
Forge

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Photo: Marie Bertrand/Getty Images

If you’re a variety seeker/lover-of-doing-fun-things, you may be most energized and in flow when you’re right on the verge of being too busy.

I love this space — the buzz and vibrancy of having of exciting things on, and needing to be really on top of it all to not miss anything. But then I’ll always get a bit cocky and take on one more thing, and BAM, I’m in that wonderful place known as overwhelm.

This is the opposite of relaxed. We all have different reactions, but for me it’s sweaty palms, quick breathing, a full-body high-alert panic. I feel like I’ve just had a million coffees.

I don’t think I even noticed the sensation because it was the only place I operated from. I was constantly trying to fit everything all in, and beating myself up when I had to cancel on people, or be flaky or stressed. For most of my life, I thought that this was just the normal way of living. The noise was so constant, I couldn’t hear it.

It’s only recently that I’ve been able to see this overwhelm not as something to be ashamed of, but as a huge gift. It’s a deeply intuitive, wise part of me that is looking ahead and shaking my entire body into sense. Like a mother…

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