Overwhelm (Secular)

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.)