How do I overcome overwhelm?

Published Feb 13, 2022, 2:38 AM

The waves of overwhelm are beginning to crash over me! How am I going to stay afloat? It's NOT a silly question! Come and join me, Carly Thomson, as we discover how we can overcome the wave of overwhelm.

Links & Resources from this episode.

  • Atlas of the Heart, by Brene Brown
  • The Bible, Psalm 61: 2
  • Carly@carlythomson.com
  • For a full transcript head to

The wave of overwhelm is beginning to crash over me. How am I going to stay afloat? It's not a silly question. Grab a cuppa with me, Carly Thompson, and take a little spiritual soul time out as we talk about riding the waves of overwhelm. We all get to that wave of overwhelm moment, don't we? Where it just all feels like a little bit too much. Earlier this year, I had a moment of overwhelm right before I was meant to start teaching. Those are the worst moments. I had been thinking all night about the needs of my class and I had been beginning to feel a little bit stressed out, and then it moved into overwhelm as I was wondering how on earth I was going to meet all of those kids' needs, as well as continue to meet the needs in my own family and my own spiritual health. And I just, I felt that wave hit me hard. I might have even got a little teary, which you know is not want right before you're about to start teaching. So I've been there, that overwhelm, and sometimes it's in other areas of your life. Maybe you're overwhelmed with all the things you've got to do in your home. Maybe there's other parts of your life that you are finding more stressful at the moment. Overwhelm can hit us all. In her book, Atlas of the Heart, Brene Brown describes overwhelm as an extreme level of stress and emotional and/ or cognitive intensity to the point of feeling unable to function. I call that the wave, the wave of overwhelm. It leaves us feeling stuck and unable to make any good decisions. She also writes in her book, there is a body of research that indicates we don't process other emotional information accurately when we are feeling overwhelmed, and this can result in poor decision- making. That is not what we want to hear when we are constantly making many emotional decisions throughout our day as educators. But also, we're making decisions in our personal lives too, and we don't want the overflow of overwhelm to be growing in our lives so that it affects our home lives as well. Two things that we do when we're in overwhelm are, one, we are either worrying, so we're in a state of worrying about different things. That was like me with the kids in the class and wondering how I was going to meet all of their needs whilst still being a mom and a wife and having a life outside of teaching. The second thing we do is we avoid things. We don't show up. We procrastinate. We go and clean the bathroom instead of getting our programming done. We do things to avoid being in that thing that's overwhelming us. Both of those are fear responses. The Bible reminds us not to sit in fear, but to sit in peace and love and a sound mind. Rest and self- care are so important when you're feeling overwhelmed. Now you might be thinking, Carly, I cannot rest when I am teaching in front of a class, or I have got a deadline, or dinner needs to go on the table. Yes, you're right. I've been there, I get it. You can't just walk out, can you? But one thing that I like to try is just five deep breaths. A moment to just be still with Jesus, to be in His presence and to acknowledge that He is with me. And so I'll breathe in for 10 and out for seven, or whatever works for you, for just five deep breaths to calm myself, to bring myself back into that place of fear, a place where I know that I am loved by God, no matter what, and that my mind can be sound. Because as I read before, from Brene's book, our mind isn't clear when we're in a state of overwhelm. So the most important thing we can do when we're in a state of overwhelm, but we can't just walk away from it and have a timeout, is at least to take those five deep breaths and think about Jesus. Be with Jesus in that moment. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel. You just can't do it. You need to take that moment, it is so important for you. Philippians 4: 6 reminds us that we do not need to worry. Jesus tells us to bring those worries to him. That's really hard sometimes too, let's be honest. Bringing those requests to Jesus can be really hard. Sometimes we're just trying to handle it. Sometimes we don't think he even cares about it, but it is so important to stop. Maybe it's just a moment, you're in the classroom, something has happened, you're worrying about something and you just pause for a moment and you pray in your mind, whatever that is, just hand it to Jesus. Ask Him for the wisdom, ask Him for some insight, ask Him for His peace. Here are a couple of tips for you on ways that you can ride the wave of overwhelm. Firstly, if you find that you are in a constant state of overwhelm, I really encourage you to find a professional who can help you walk through this. Sometimes our bodies and our minds get caught up in a bit of a cycle, and it's hard to break it on our own. So please go and see somebody. It is such a healthy thing for you. And especially, because long- term damage can happen to your body if you are not looking after yourself. Second thing is, write down the stories you are telling yourself. Why are you feeling the overwhelm? Maybe you're telling yourself things like, I can't keep doing this. There's too much to be done. Why does everyone else seem to be okay? Or, I'm just not doing a good enough job. Those things are worries, they are fears, they are anxieties, but you can replace those with some different meditations. Tell yourself some truths about what's going on in that situation, or reflect on what is going on in that situation. Why am I feeling like this? What things could I change to feel differently? Sometimes it can be a very practical, physical move around of things, tips and tricks that could help you better with routines or changing the way you do things. But sometimes it's about our mind and the what we're thinking on and dwelling on. Words are incredibly powerful. And if you rewrite the things that you're telling yourself, to be beautiful truths about what you are doing well, it might just change the way you see yourself and the way that you are feeling about being overwhelmed. Number three, make note in your diary when you are feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes there are different seasons of life, as a teacher, where we feel more overwhelmed. Report cards, for instance. Whenever it's report card time, we know it's going to be a busier time for us. So in your diary, mark out not seeing people, unless it's an essential part of your rest and plays to go and see people. Make sure you put some time in with people. Whatever you need to do to not feel overwhelmed, create that space for that season of your time. Maybe it's end of year and you know there's lots of things coming up and you are responsible for a lot of things, slot out your time so that there's other things are off your to- do list at that time. And you can just pair it back to be a little bit less so that you are not feeling as overwhelmed. Perhaps you can ask a partner at that time, say, " Hey, it's report card time coming up. Can you please look after dinners this week? Can you think about what they need to be? Can you make sure that they're cooked?" Whatever, there might be some other practical things that you could be doing to help take away the overwhelm. And the last thing that I want to say, number four, just make time to be with Jesus. I know it sounds simple, but honestly, taking that time out with Him can do your soul a world of good. Whether it's going for a walk, maybe you've got some other kind of thing you like to do. Maybe you like to sit and knit, doing some knitting with Jesus. Go for a walk with Jesus. Bake a cake with Jesus. Whatever it is that brings you joy, do it acknowledging that you are in His presence. Enjoy playing together. That He is with you, He's loving on you, He's delighting in you taking some time to rest so that you can go and do your ministry in the fullness of overflow in your life, instead of in the space of overwhelm. Remember to be kind to yourself this week, and show yourself so much grace as you begin to make these changes. I am enough, even when things aren't completed to perfection. I can ask for help. I can say no. I can do hard things. I can change the way I think. I will show myself kindness and grace through the changes. I will take time to be with Jesus. Thanks for joining me for Episode Two of It's Not A Silly Question, A Spiritual Soul Timeout For Teachers. You can email your questions about soul care to me at Carly@ carlythompson. com. You can hit subscribe or share this with your friends, I would love to hear from you. Next episode, we will be looking at how mindfulness can increase our wellbeing as well as our students. Be gentle with yourself. Take some time out to refresh, rest and restore, and return to His presence. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2.

It's NOT a Silly Question! A Spiritual Soul Time Out for Teachers.

It's NOT a Silly Question! A spiritual soul time out for teachers is a safe space to grab a cuppa, t 
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