Overwhelm is something I think everyone has experienced at some point in their life.
However, it’s rarely spoken about and I’m not sure why. I recently walked 160km over the course of seven days, part of the Camino trail in southern France, so I had plenty of extra thinking time.
Firstly, what is Overwhelm?
It’s defined as being buried or drowned beneath a huge mass of something, or to experience a strong emotional response to something.
If you have ever felt “overwhelmed” I think this would probably resonate with you.
The feeling of being buried alive by your “to do” list or an unsurmountable task with the weight of the world on your shoulders can be crippling. So, why don’t we talk about it?
Maybe we feel shame or guilt about not being able to get on top of things, or that we should have it all together and be grateful for all we have without complaining.
Maybe it’s because it can come on with the simplest of things, like deciding what you need from the shops or thinking about moving to get out of bed today; often it doesn’t really make sense as to why you even feel overwhelmed at all.
Overall, I think overwhelm is a little more complicated that what it appears.
It’s about the series of things leading up to that point, whether it’s past events or a series of recent health or financial challenges, needing to juggle a family with work and hold your own and everyone else’s routine in your head, feeling alone with all the decisions, or a combination of all of that and more.
Mostly I think it’s about the story we are telling ourselves.
Maybe we think we are a failure and can’t reach our goals or get everything done.
Maybe we just don’t believe we can do it anyway, or if we can’t do it perfectly then we might as well just give up now.
Maybe we think we don’t deserve a rest so must just keep going until we can’t see clearly anymore. The story and the reason behind that story is different for everyone.
The thought of walking 160km was initially overwhelming, as it’s the equivalent to walking from here to Caloundra and if someone told me they were going to do that I would probably suggest they need their head read.
I really wasn’t sure I could do it.
But there was planning and consultation, some practice runs, chunking it down into manageable pieces and a whole lot of determination and problem solving with my travel buddy along the way.
So, I guess I concluded that whether you are an ultra-marathon runner, someone that struggles with chronic pain daily, or somewhere in between, we all struggle at times to find clarity in our decisions and tasks.
A big part of our sessions at Physique include helping to problem solve and find clarity in your goals, or daily tasks, and aim to help you feel not so alone.
