Paraphrased advice from Mark Waldman (Loyola University):  

Ask yourself this question:  What causes me to feel overwhelmed?  Write  a list of 5 things, then look at your list and see if there’s a common thread. What kinds of thoughts are involved, and what does it really feel like, when you are overwhelmed?  

“Overwhelmed” is: The lived experience of feeling helpless. You might have unmet expectations. You might be caught up in a chaotic environment. You might feel confused, uncertain, or lost. Basically, you feel out of control.
 
What’s happening in the brain those overwhelming feelings creep in?  You are having too many unconscious positive and negative thoughts going on, and when this occurs, your prefrontal lobes shut down. Then the fantasy and imagination networks in your brain begin to flood you with worries and ideas, further disrupting other neural networks. Suddenly you discover you can’t turn off those excessive thoughts and feelings and instead you get lost in them.
 
There is a simple solution: You can train yourself to mindfully observe all those chaotic thoughts and feelings and hopes and fears. When you stop judging and reacting to them, you’ll immediately feel calmer. You don’t have to do anything!  Soon you’ll realize that it’s just a bunch of prefrontal “noise” and in this more relaxed state of awareness you can begin to intuitively – not logically – find simple creative solutions to organize your mind and plot a course toward success. You see, it’s not your brain that gets overwhelmed; it’s just a tiny area of consciousness called the mind!

Recognize the thought pattern you are in, and INTERRUPT it. One way to do this is to write down 2 columns - what IS NOT acceptable in my life or thoughts, and what MUST be in my life and thoughts, from this day forward. (Start imagining what can go right instead of imaging what can go wrong.)

Good article from Keith Harrell. "Why Your Attitude is Everything. One of the most important steps you can take toward achieving your greatest potential in life is to learn to monitor your attitude and its impact on your work performance, relationships and everyone around you."

Here are his 10 tips to develop a good attitude:

1. Self-Coaching Through Affirmations "Affirmations repeated several times each day, every day, serve to reprogram your subconscious with positive thinking. An affirmation is made up of words charged with power, conviction and faith. You send a positive response to your subconscious, which accepts what you tell it. When done properly, this triggers positive feelings that, in turn, drive action."

2. Self-Motivation Through Discovering Your Motives "Discover what motivates you—what incites you to take action to change your life. Basic motives include love, self-preservation, anger, financial gain and fear. Self-motivation requires enthusiasm, a positive outlook, a positive physiology (walk faster, smile, sit up), and a belief in yourself and your God-given potential."

3. The Power of Visualization Use visualizations either consciously or subconsciously to enhance and focus skills. 

4. Attitude Talk for Positive Internal Dialogue "Attitude talk is a way to override your past negative programming by erasing or replacing it with a conscious, positive internal voice that helps you face new directions. Your internal conversation—that little voice you listen to all day long—acts like a seed in that it programs your brain and affects your behavior. Take a closer look at what you are saying to yourself."

5. The Power of Words—WOW "Once released to the universe, our words cannot be taken back. Learn the concept of WOW—watch our words. What we speak reflects what is already in our hearts based upon all the things we have come to believe about ourselves. If we find ourselves speaking judgmental and disparaging things about our circumstances or those around us, we know the condition of our hearts needs to change. You can create a direct path to success by what you say."

6. The Power in a Positive Greeting Most people enjoy being with others who try to live life as a beautiful gift.

7. Enthusiasm: Vital Tool for Staying Motivated "Enthusiasm ... speaks through your actions from your commitment and your belief in what you are doing. It is one of the most empowering and attractive characteristics you can have."

8. Connecting to Your Spiritual Empowerment We need to feed our spirit because we are spiritual beings. 

9. Lighten Up Your Life with Humor "The more humor and laughter in your life, the less stress you’ll have, which means more positive energy to help you put your attitude into action."

10. Exercising Will Help Keep You Motivated

Link to Success article by Travis Bradberry. Here is the list:

1.emotionally intelligent. You need the ability to fully understand and tolerate strong negative emotions and do something productive with them. only 1/3 of people are able to accurately identify their emotions as they happen.

2.confident. “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t—you’re right.” – Henry Ford. True confidence—is not the false confidence people project to mask their insecurities.

3.neutralize toxic people. "Mentally tough people control their interactions with toxic people by keeping their feelings in check... Even when things completely derail, mentally tough people are able to take the toxic person with a grain of salt to avoid letting him or her bring them down."

4.embrace change."You need to have an open mind and open arms if you’re going to recognize, and capitalize on, the opportunities that change creates."

5.say no. "...the more difficulty you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout and even depression. Mentally tough people know that saying no is healthy, and they have the self-esteem and foresight to make their no’s clear."

6.fear is the No. 1 source of regret. "Dwelling too long on your mistakes makes you anxious and gun shy, while forgetting about them completely makes you bound to repeat them. The key to balance lies in your ability to transform failures into nuggets of improvement. This creates the tendency to get right back up every time you fall down."

7.embrace failure…"By revealing when you’re on the wrong path, mistakes pave the way for you to succeed. The biggest breakthroughs typically come when you’re feeling the most frustrated and the most stuck. It’s this frustration that forces you to think differently, to look outside the box and to see the solution that you’ve been missing."

8. …But don’t dwell on mistakes. "...where you focus your attention determines your emotional state. When you fixate on the problems that you’re facing, you create and prolong negative emotions and stress, which hinders performance. When you focus on actions to better yourself and your circumstances, you create a sense of personal efficacy, which produces positive emotions and improves performance."

9.Don’t let anyone limit joy…"When mentally tough people feel good about something they do, they won’t let anyone’s opinions or accomplishments take that away from them."

10. …and don’t limit the joy of others."Mentally tough people don’t pass judgment on others because they know that everyone has something to offer, and they don’t need to take other people down a notch in order to feel good about themselves. Comparing yourself to other people is limiting. Jealousy and resentment suck the life right out of you; they’re massive energy-stealers. Mentally tough people don’t waste time or energy sizing people up and worrying about whether or not they measure up. Instead of wasting your energy on jealousy, funnel that energy into appreciation. When you celebrate the success of other people, you both benefit."

11.exercise.
12.sleep.
13.limit caffeine.

14.don’t wait for an apology to forgive."The negative emotions that come with holding on to a grudge create a stress response in your body, and holding on to stress can have devastating consequences (physically and mentally). When you forgive someone, it doesn’t condone their actions; it simply frees you from being their eternal victim."

15.relentlessly positive."..mentally tough people don’t get caught up in things they can’t control... they focus their energy on directing the two things that are completely within their power—their attention and their effort."

A Blog and a video from Curt Landry: 
     "Don't give any person - nobody - the right to determine whether YOU are going to be happy and have peace - that in ONLY between you and God." And, if you have a "lonely hole" in your heart, let God fill that hole, then you will not look to any person to fill it. "There is nobody on earth special enough to tell you who you are and your value - that is a God thing." Meditate on God's love for you. Choose to feel peace.
     It is Idolatry to put a person's opinion of you above God's opinion of you. Don't let anybody limit you or mess you up -- follow God only. Sometimes this happens with a good intention, such as a sense of loyalty, but its still wrong if its not what God intends for you. "We want people to like us. We want to belong and feel accepted. As a result, we often put man’s opinion above God’s. But when that opinion does not align with God’s, we enter dangerous territory. It leads us into the sinful place of idolatry."

Tips from Christopher Cook about controlling your thoughts:
     “I have to manage my soul and nourish my body. I have to realize that my soul and body get exhausted before my spirit does.”
     If you think a negative / false thought, notice it and capture it. Don't dwell on the negative / false thought, because if you entertain the false thought, you'll talk yourself into it as if it were real, then you'll start behaving as if it were real, and you'll create that reality!

Two great quotes:

"What is a lie? Whatever is NOT the same as what God says is a lie." - Patricia King

"We define faith with this simple meaning: Acting like God is telling the truth." - Priscilla Shirer

     This is not a product endorsement. But it looks interesting. To teach children self-control. From the HeartMath Institute. 
     Smart Brain Wise Heart draws on the best of young peoples’ hearts and brains, empowering them to make smarter decisions and improve self-control, academic success and social skills.
Learning Standards: National Health Education Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, Social and Emotional Learning Standards, and Common Core State Standards. Smart Brain Wise Heart also draws on the Collaborative For Academic, Social and Emotional Learning’s five core competencies: 1. Self-Management 2. Self-Awareness 3. Social Awareness 4. Relationship Skills 5. Responsible Decision-Making.

    Recent research proves "toxic people" actually hurt your brain functioning. But there are ways to deal with these situations. Here is their list of the "Top 10" types of toxic people:
      1. Gossips. 2. Emotional / Temperamental. 3. Constant victims / irresponsible.
4. Self-absorbed. 5. Envious 6. Manipulators. 7. Negativity / pessimism / complaining.
8. Mean people (enjoy hurting others). 9. Judgmental people (put others down). 10. Arrogant.
   How to deal with them: Avoid them if possible. If you can't avoid them, be aware of what you are dealing with and keep an emotional distance (don't let them suck you in). Set boundaries.

     Excellent video from King & Hotchkin: "You are WAY more powerful than you realize. Win the battle for your mind, will and emotions."
     Every "fact" that doesn't line up with God's word is actually a lie. You are whole. You are well.