Overwhelmed? Yeah, me too. Between changes that I can’t control, two college classes with a lot of reading, additional work, catching up on housework, and getting ready for the winter (can’t believe it’s October and we’re talking snow already), I’ve been feeling like I’m treading water.
I’ve been hearing a lot of you are and I wanted to share with you these 5 things to help myself through some tough overwhelm that seems pretty heavy right now:
1. Daily prayer and Bible reading. I’ve been finding myself treading water the last few weeks with SO much going on and changes being made to my schedule. The daily act of settling before God before I start anything else has been very needed. Prayer is the other half of this and I find myself praying each day about things that I don’t need to carry myself (burdens I shouldn’t take on but feel like I do because of my empathetic nature Can you relate?). I’m praying through what I feel I can’t handle and asking God to give me wisdom where I need it most – situations I don’t know how to handle and when I feel like I can’t handle things on my own.
2. Drinking stress-relieving tea from Pique Tea. I recently made the switch from decaf coffee to tea and it has been so great. Quite honestly I wasn’t planning on getting rid of coffee but the tea has made me feel so good and the benefits are astounding, I don’t plan on going back to drinking coffee every day as a wake-up thing. Plus, Pique has tea for fasting which is great for my intermittent fasting. Additionally, (and I’ve been bad about this) is cutting out sugar. Sugar is so not great for the body and cutting it out can be helpful (once you get through the extra difficult withdrawal symptoms). Addressing why I’m stress eating has been a good practice because let me tell you, I DO stress eat. (This is another area for prayer). Eating well when you’re stressed and overwhelmed can be so hard, but gosh, I feel so much better.
3. Using My Essential Oils. There are so many great oils to help with overwhelm but the ones I’m using right now are ones that keep me energized, awake, motivated, and help with self-sabotage. I’ve been reaching for Panaway (energizing), Palo Santo, Highest Potential (full of tree oils to help calm and motivate), Envision (the oil for overwhelm in the Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils book – put at your temples if you’ve got this oil), and Rosemary for (the oil for self-sabotage in the Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils book). Stress Away, lavender, Joy, and Peace and Calming are also great oils while you’re overwhelmed.
4. Time blocking. This helps me figure out what my time looks like and where I’ve got time to add or where I need to make more time. I love the visual layout it gives me of my time and helps me do tasks in bulk so I save myself time and brainpower. I’ve got a video you can watch here on how to do this if it’s a new concept for you. I’ve also got a download of my time blocking pages if you’d like and you can download those by clicking here.
5. Exercising is SO stress relieving and helpful for when I’m feeling overwhelmed. I love Pilates with The Balanced Life with Robin Long. It’s the perfect mix of stretching and strengthening and has been life-changing for my healing my diastasis recti from pregnancy and helping me gain my strength back. Plus, the videos are between 10-15 minutes and fit great into my schedule.
I hope these rhythms are helpful for you – honestly, start small. Do one thing at a time. If you need essential oils, I’d love to help you get started. If you have questions about anything don’t hesitate to email me at dmr@daniellemroberts.com.
Blessings friend – you’ve got this!
