That Overwhelming Feeling

There is not one human on earth (I’m willing to bet) who has not felt that overwhelming feeling. You know it: “I just don’t know what to do”; “How am I supposed to deal with all of this?”; “I’m so tired. Which way do I go?”; “How do I salvage this situation?”

I’m sure there are a number of us trying hard to deal with this feeling. If you are faced with losing house; dealing with a child whose school/college tuition is due; loss of a job/house/spouse or any other thing you are used to having in your life; and, my personal favorite, being the one who is designated as “the one”. You know, you have always dealt with a number of issues. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed since I’m the one who has “always” taken care of the finances, is responsible for locating new housing, dealt with medical issues, need a job, figuring out how to move, designed our healthy meals, and any other little item you can think of.

In marches the number of self-help books, life coaches, and everyday people who are examples of how you too can deal with the issues facing your existence. Go into a bookstore and check out the self-help section. Turn on the morning shows on any day and there will be a guru/book-selling individual who can guide you through the overwhelming process. Just the other day, a woman who had lost her job as an editor of a major magazine was on promoting her new book. Of course, this woman had sold her house, moved to the country, communed with nature so she could find herself again, AND then used her editorial connections to establish herself as an independent writer of articles. Right!

Some of us deal with that overwhelming feeling with negative behaviors: drinking too much, smoking too much, eating too much, exercising too much, sleeping too much – just pick something. And we do this even when we know the key is daily exercise; using your professional networks; making deals with credit card companies, banks, mortgage companies; reassuring and including your family members about the current situation since they might have ideas you haven’t even thought of; and asking family and friends if they know of potential solutions.

I don’t know what might really help you: the book, family, and/or friends. I do know that worrying definitely won’t help. Try coping with your own worry. I’m not sure what will work for each individual. But attacking the worry issue will at least give you a place to start.