When Life Has Overwhelmed You

It happens, doesn’t it? Life can sneak up on you and in the time that it takes to order a cup of coffee you are awash with the sense that you cannot bear one more burden, one more sorrow, one more voice that needs your attention.

I think I’ve been there a time or two, and I’ll bet that you have as well. I never seem to handle things well when I am overwhelmed, but I am attempting to create a path to see past the state of overwhelmed the next time it jumps on my back. It is pretty simple, and has only been put to the test three times. So, here you go. What to do the next time life overwhelms you:

1. 1. STOP! No, I don’t mean stop your mind or your thoughts. I mean physically stop. Once stopped – think quickly…What am I truly feeling? Am I experiencing the reality of this sensation, or am I piling on myself with unmet human expectations?
      
   2. Quickly get where you can think of two things in your life that aren’t part of the overwhelmed sensation and write them down. You see, once written down, they are in front of you and you can now be grateful for them! Quickly – Thank the Divine for those two things, even if they are inanimate.
      
   3. Find someone you love and/or someone you trust. Tell them how you feel, not why you feel that way. It’s difficult to articulate the sense of being overwhelmed to someone that has never been there and cannot phathom how people get overwhelmed. Ask them to do one thing – and only one thing – Pray for me, now!
      
   4. Find a place of solitude and quietude. Once there, shout, scream, pray, sing or weep. Get it out. Unload. It’s like eating bad tuna fish. The sooner you get it out, the sooner you can feel better.
      
   5. Read Psalm 121 at least two times out loud and thank the Divine that He is where your true self finds true help. Then thank Him.
      

I know, I know, it’s not a fluffy, “wish I could do it over again” topic. But for those of you that have to fight the good fight while overwhelmed, I pray this is of some help. And just for the record, I only write this as I have put this to the test three times today. When I allow this human life and weight of human hurt overwhelm me, I often wonder if I’m the only one. But I’m pretty sure that we both know the answer to that, right?

–AChuck