Am I Stressed, Anxious, Or Overwhelmed? What Is What And How Do I Cope?
Stress, anxiety, and overwhelm are all (most likely) familiar experiences and can happen at the same time or trigger one another. Today I wanted to break each one down so you can start examining which you are experiencing and need support with. This can help decide what you need to do to manage, decrease it, or cope with it.
Stress - is and means that there is a STRESSOR (an external source) putting you under pressure. It tells you that you need to get something done. Stress isn't actually a bad thing, it’s just when it becomes chronic or unmanaged then it can impact us quite negatively. But a little stress is inevitable and helpful. It’s usually short term. When it crosses into impactful territory it can look like:
Irritability & agitation
Headaches & digestive issues
Low frustration tolerance
Heart rate increase, & jaw clenching
Trouble with sleeping & appetite changes
Fatigue & feeling down
Memory problems
Çrying more
Getting sick & compromised immune system
Acne a& hair loss
Decreased productivity
Restlessness
Loss of joy or pleasure
Overwhelm is when you feel like there is too much to do whether tasks and to-dos, responsibilities, expectations, and not enough time or resources or capacity to do them. With overwhelm it's quite important to identify what's the priority here and decide what you're going to let go of. This may look similar to stress, however there is often a shutting down response - feeling so overwhelmed that you end up freezing and not being able to do anything at all or take steps. It can look like:
Isolating
Flooding of thoughts
Wanting to avoid whatever’s making you overwhelmed in the first place
Shutting down and feeling paralyzed or unable to do anything next
Worry being triggered and other irrational types of thinking
Having trouble making decisions
Forgetting things more
Emotional exhaustion
Upset stomach, headaches, dizziness, tiredness
Trouble sleeping
Anger, irritability, crying easily
Feeling hopeless or pessimistic about your situation getting better
Anxiety is a sense of dread, uneasiness, impending doom and a fear response focused on future perceived threats. Anxiety often looks like the fight or flight fear response, activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Anxiety is your body’s reaction to the stress and triggered mostly by internal cues. It also usually lingers for longer. When it does remain chronic and impacts everyday functioning it can become a “disorder.” It can look like all of the signs of stress, and:
Worrying about the future and what hasn’t happened yet
Wanting to avoid whats making you feel anxious
Ruminating - thought loops about the same thing and what you could/should have done but didn’t
Having racing thoughts
Indecisiveness
Jumping to worst casescenario believing that outcome is likely
Nausea and stomach aches, chest tightness, and adrenaline responses
So - the similarities here. Stress and overwhelm can trigger anxiety. Stress and overwhelm are typically shorter term and manageable, anxiety is usually lasting longer. Excessive, long term stress and overwhelm can turn to burn out. Excessive long term anxiety is more like an anxiety disorder and can trigger panic attacks too. Here are some reminders to manage and work through each:
Recognize what triggers stress for you, what triggers overwhelm, and anxiety and recognize the warning signs.
Think about times you've felt each one and write down what it looks like as it's coming on. For example, if you are someone who's quite social - a sign that you are overwhelmed may be a desire to avoid and isolate from people. Also note the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral ways each shows up.Identify which one it is so you can name it and then know what to do with it.
If its stress - note what the external trigger was and also make sure you actively do something when the stressor is gone to move through the stress cycle to complete it. For example walk, breathwork, processing with a therapist, writing, dance
If its overwhelm - take a pause and remind yourself one step at a time. Decide what you are going to attend to now and decide what can be put on the back burner for the time being, you cant do it all. Take a few breaths or go for a walk first.
If its anxiety look at whats it’s tell you, get curious about it, don’t avoid whatever its telling you to avoid and find something grounding to get back into the present moment.Make sure you are getting sleep, cutting substances, moving your body, nourishing your body, and surrounding yourself with good people.
It’s hard because sleep is the number one thing impacted by all of these, however we need quality sleep to be able to better manage and not exacerbate all of these so its a viscious cycle. Substances are often looked at as ways to manage and cope with all of the above, however scientifically we know that substances make all of these worst. So if you were drinking a lot over the weekend, your stress and anxiety will increase come Monday.
It’s extremely important to be moving your body daily whether by walking, exercising, stretching - they help you move through these feelings and regulate emotions. What you do or don’t eat also impacts your brain health and mental health. And lastly, who you surround yourself with matters - our nervous systems pick up energy from others.Outside of outlets, ways to cope, and self care - make sure you are talking to someone about it.
Whether a loved one or a therapist, it's really tough to navigate these emotions especially on a consistent basis. Talking through the experiences, the triggers, and just laughing and having a good time with someone can help you move through these different states.Please know, if you experience these chronically and especially unmanaged- its a fast ticket to burn out.
Burn out is an emotional exhaustion and a state where you start caring less about what you are doing and find less accomplishment and pleasure from what you typically would. Burn out is much harder to recover from and takes big changes. Chronic stress and overwhelm can lead to burn out if unmanaged and not taken care of. So it’s important to get on top of that.
If you are currently under a lot of stress, overwhelm, feeling anxious, or burnt out and would like to work with me in individual therapy - please schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation here! Include your name, age, location, and a brief line or two on what you are seeking therapy for at this time. You can also email me at alyssakushnerlcsw@gmail.com to ask questions or find other availability for a call.
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