I have to Adult to Get Over Overwhelm

I have to be an ADULT to Get Over Overwhelm.

Shoot. 

Whenever I am in a state of overwhelm, my insides feel like an out-of-control toddler tantrum.
Overwhelm is a word that is often OVERused, but there is some truth to it, so we have to honour it to work through our adult tantrums.
Overwhelm ( MUCH of the time) is in our mind. It feels like our brain won't or can't process what is occurring and happening in the future.
And we feel out of control and don't know where to begin.

Sometimes our description of overwhelm is appropriate, And it is a lot of mind drama causing us to feel this. It's essential to unpack the whole suitcase of overcome and discern what is true.
When we find ourselves in circumstances that are out of our sphere of influence, like grief or illness, it is helpful to reach out to friends, family and professionals to support overwhelming feelings.

Figuring out what we can influence will help release overwhelm, and it's good to measure to start by tending to our nervous system to create clarity and calm. Then, we will have more ideas to work on whatever overwhelms us.

When I am in a place where I am telling myself I am overwhelmed, that's a signal that I need to take a time out, catch my breath (and by that, I mean many and for at least 10 minutes) and sit still.

In that place, I can remind myself of my agency.
Pay attention to the feelings that our overwhelming thoughts (and the circumstances generate). It doesn't mean stopping.
Curiosity will begin to let the air out of overwhelming
What kind of feelings ignite when I think about the circumstances this way?
Notice the mind drama and overloading thoughts.
Write it out.
We must understand the connection between our thoughts and feelings as it will determine our response or reaction to what we perceive as overwhelming.

Identify the thought and feelings combo that is causing the mind and body to experience the stress response to overwhelm.
Notice if we resist the overwhelm and do not deal with it, we try to numb it or react to it.
Pretending the overwhelm doesn't exist won't work.

Inquiry Into:

A. Decisions; what decisions can we make? What decisions are we not making?

B: Planning, reverse engineering, time frames, making lists, reaching out to others, and scheduling help us to make inroads into the overwhelm

C: Simplification: How can we make this easy? What can we delegate? What can be simplified?
D: Deeper Questions: If I could change one element, what would it be? How could I make one inch of progress? Am I willing to try, and is it worth it?

Bonus Insight: As a coach (and a human who does this too!) What we procrastinate on often feels overwhelming to us. However, the overwhelm will start to move out if we begin taking action.