Feeling Overwhelmed? Avoid These Mistakes

 

When you feel overwhelmed, the way you react can actually make things worse. Here are five common, self-sabotaging mistakes to watch out for — and how to avoid them: You think you don’t have time for actions that might help you. Stop waiting for an ideal moment, and do something to help yourself immediately, such as finding a therapist, taking a day off to rest, or calling up a friend. You don’t use your unconscious mind enough. It’s unreasonable to expect to be focused all the time. Try taking a walk and letting your mind drift and see what solutions emerge. You interpret feeling overwhelmed as a weakness. Being hard on yourself will only lead you to procrastinate or become more perfectionistic. Replace your self-criticism with compassionate self-talk. You default to your traditional approaches and defenses. Our strengths may not always work to our advantage; for example, thoughtfulness can become overthinking, or high standards can lead to perfectionism. Be mindful of your instinctive reactions in order to stay flexible in your approach to problem solving. You withdraw from your support system. Find ways to connect with people even when you’ve got limited emotional energy.