Over the past few days, weeks, months, or years, how many times have you felt incredibly overwhelmed? Many of us have been overwhelmed with COVID stresses since the pandemic began. Would you be surprised to know, according to a survey administered to over 3,000 United States residents in 2020 by the American Psychological Association, 60% of those participating reported feeling overwhelmed by issues they have been plagued by? I am honestly not surprised, but lately, nothing surprises me anymore.

We may feel alone when we are suffering from feelings of being overwhelmed, but the truth is many are feeling this way daily. It is easy to deal silently with these feelings because we see so many awful things going on in the world. These feelings along with stress do not discriminate and can impact everyone. Age, gender, race, national origin, religious and political beliefs, or sexual preference does not matter with these feelings.

There are countless causes for stress and overwhelm that include work, relationships, traumatic experiences, finances, political issues, health concerns, job searches, and the global pandemic. I have been experiencing being bombarded with being overwhelmed and found a few ways to handle these feelings that I am going to share with you, in hopes it will help you as well.

The first step is to identify what is causing you to feel overwhelmed. Think about areas in life that are adding to your stress. Is it your job, lack of job, home, or your relationships? Determine what is specifically causing you to feel overwhelmed and write down the contributing factors, so you know and understand your triggers.

Keep yourself grounded by living in the present. There is a technique I recently read about called the “5-4-3-2-1” technique. This technique only requires you to use your five senses:

1- Look around and name five things you can see from where you are sitting or standing.

2- Just listen and name four things you can hear.

3- What are three things you can touch?

4. Take a deep breath, what are two things you can smell.

5. Lastly, name something you can taste.

There is an important phrase we should try to remember, especially when we are stressed and overwhelmed, “Outer order, inner calm”. When we are feeling overwhelmed, cleaning up the area around us can restore a little order in our life. It can be a small room in our house but tidying up that one room can bring us a calming and peaceful feeling.

When our life feels chaotic, taking tiny steps can resolve some of our stress. We all have many things we think we “MUST” do, so much that our list will become overwhelming. Do one thing at a time and do not rush anything. Everything will get done in time!

In a world full of uncertainty, it is critical to accept what we cannot control. This does not mean we should give up and throw in the towel. What this does mean is we need to allow for uncertainty and the uncomfortable, without complaints and resistance, and dwell on things we cannot change. Trying to only focus on what we can control, might reduce some stressful and overwhelming thoughts.

Sometimes through all things life throws our way, we must simply take a deep breath and walk away. There are times things causing us to feel overwhelmed are right in front of us and we need a little separation to have a short break to assess what we are feeling. This can promote relaxation and lower the stress we may be experiencing.

Create a gratitude list. When we feel stressed and overwhelmed, reminding ourselves what we are grateful for can be a powerful way to transform thoughts of stress. Simply write down 5-10 things you are grateful for at the beginning or end of each day. Reflecting on these things can be very helpful for our mental health.

Discover a creative outlet, such as writing, dance, music, art, or anything else that gets your creative juices flowing. Studies suggest connecting with our creative side at least once a week can reduce stress.

If you are not comfortable talking about things causing you to feel overwhelmed and stressed, consider writing out your feelings. This can be a quiet and private way to alleviate our anxious feelings. It does not need to be perfect, just write freely. Everything you write is kept between you and the paper. There will be no judgment or explaining why you are feeling the way you are.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post today. I hope you found it useful, and you will find ways to eliminate feelings of being overwhelmed. I know it is an unpleasant feeling and want to help others find peace from this. I would love to read what you thought about this post and if you have any other ideas that could help others. I will respond to all comments as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Happy Saturday y’all! Do you have any exciting plans for your weekend? I normally have nothing planned, but today I am going to pick up my new contacts. I know nothing exciting, but for someone that hardly leaves the house anymore, this is thrilling. I would love to say I was going somewhere fun, like Bath & Body Works, but nothing that fun, YET! Hopefully, there will be a day the COVID is in our rearview mirror and a distant not so pleasant memory, and thousands of people are not continuing to die daily because of the virus. A girl can dream, right?

When I looked at the world now and the way things are it makes me so sad. There is so much hate and anger, which I can understand anger because most of us have been since the start of the pandemic, but that does not explain why people are SO mean to one another. Life is fragile and short, so I think while we are here we should be trying to be kind to everyone. All humans have a beating heart, of course, some people are forgotten how to use it, but maybe if we try a little harder it would help those consumed with hate be kind.

In this life, it is crucial to have things that bring us joy and help us to escape from the stresses of life. Are there things you do that make you smile, even during hard times? What do you do that helps you to escape the stress you feel? One thing that always makes me smile, even when I feel like crying is our adorable cats. They are three of the most loving and funniest souls. I feel a little guilty because our smaller cat needs to get medicine twice a day one week out of the mouth. It is a liquid medication that I have to give her and the poor little girl hates it. I know it is to help her, but it torments her.

Thank you for stopping by my site today. I hope you enjoyed this post and the quote that I shared. I am looking forward to reading your comments and promise to respond as quickly as I can. I hope you have a relaxing and safe weekend, and is filled with happiness. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

How would you react if you were forced to live in fear of your life? What would you do if you knew driving a few miles you might be faced with a deadly attack on your life? When you leave your home, you see men with assault rifles or other military forces circling the border to your town, what would be racing through your mind? When there is nowhere to hide because troops are barracking your life with the means and plans to destroy you and everything you love would be a terrifying existence and not something anyone should be faced with.

Sadly, these fears are what those in Ukraine must be dealing with. Sharing a border with Russia and having to live with knowing that at any moment, missiles or bullets may invade their life. I cannot imagine knowing that someone I share a border with wants to cause irrefutable damage all in the name of control.

It would be difficult to be glued to the television, watching the news, and hoping to see good news across the waves. The decisions the Ukrainian people are having to make are painfully difficult. Deciding to flee the country they live in or become part of a country that is an authoritarian dictatorship would not be an easy decision because either way would be dangerous.

I have always been an empathetic person, so I am trying to put myself in the shoes of those living in Ukraine. I have lived in the United States my entire life and never had to be part of something so appalling and devastating. This would be like North Carolina or Georgia trying to overthrow South Carolina because they wanted to control. Would I learn to use weapons to protect myself and my family, like many in Ukraine are doing?

Although other countries are offering support to those in Ukraine, there is still massive levels of fear. Women, children, and men are learning to use weapons to protect themselves against evilness. They are living every minute of every day with the fear things will escalate. I feel it is unfair for anyone to live being terrorized by another country. For one moment, think about what you would do if you were in this situation.

I am not trying to get anyone to change their views on religion, but I do believe that those living in Ukraine could use some prayers. They may never know who we are or who is praying for their safety, but they could feel peace and hope through these tragic times through forces we may not understand. For those of you who have been following my blog, you know I normally do not discuss politics or religion but feel this is much different. I wanted to spread a little insight into what is going on between Russia and Ukraine in hopes we can send positive and uplifting energy to those in Ukraine.

Thank you for visiting today. Although I know how devastating the information in this post is, I hope it will provide you with the knowledge you need to try understanding. Thinking about what we would do in this situation can bring anyone to tears, but hopefully, it fuels you with compassion and love for those who are experiencing this tragic event. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa