Feeling overwhelmed? - Try this one simple thing
There’s one thing I find a bit annoying about the health & wellness industry and that’s the shiny exterior it presents. The “fake it until you make it” mindset (I kind of cringe because I’ve been guilty of saying that in the past). The “you’re in control of your life” mentality. The “if you don’t have it you mustn’t want it enough” approach.
These things don’t take into account empaths or highly sensitive people. It’s easy for us to get overwhelmed and overstimulated and faking being okay will just make it 100 times worse.
So, instead of telling you what you should have done to avoid becoming overwhelmed, I want to share a simple hack to help you get out of that state. And I warn you, this sounds too simple to be true but I am going to give you three reasons why it works. Ready?
Take a deep breath - several if you can.
Read on below for all the reasons why it works (or check out the video for all the answers).
3 reasons why deep breathing helps overwhelm
Conscious breathing (pranayama in Sanskrit) is a mindfulness practice. You can only breathe in the present moment. However, most of our overwhelm comes from the past (overstimulation or worry/regret about something that has happened) or the future (worry and anxiety about something that might or might not happen in the future. So when we take the time to breathe with intention it helps us come back to the present moment which is often safe from overwhelm. Not always though, so read on for the next reason why this works.
When you are in overwhelm, your body is in fight or flight response. The adrenaline and cortisol are pumping. Blood flow has moved away from the brain and the abdomen and is being directed to your arms and legs so you are ready to fight the perceived threat or run away from it. This is an ancient response that we carry over from pre-historic days. The big difference is that back then humans either ran away from or fought the perceived threat - another tribe or a saber-toothed tiger… Now days we can’t often run away from the problems we have (and we can’t punch our boss in the face either - that’s an example of the fight response btw 🤣). This means we can spend days, weeks, even years in this state of fight or flight. Deep breathing tells our brain that we are safe. That it is okay to move out of fight or flight. Think about those prehistoric days… if they had time to breathe deeply it meant that there wasn’t a war on the cards, everything was okay. A daily pranayama practice can be incredible for those that have had chronic stress. We cover this in my Magic Mornings program.
The last reason why taking deep breaths can help in times of overwhelm is that it reminds us we are worthy of our own love and care. Oftentimes we get into an overwhelmed state because we are people pleasing and taking on too much for everyone else. A simple deep breathing session can tell us that we are important too and may even give us the courage to say “no” next time.
Of course, the big trick is to remember to take deep breaths in these times of overwhelm. That’s why I like to take the preemptive strike approach and make conscious breathing part of my everyday routine. You can too. If you need support, check out Magic Mornings. It could be just what you need.
What do you think of this idea? Do you think deep breathing could help in times of stress? Let me know in the comments.