Even with the best of intentions it’s easy to become overwhelmed. My mother is back in the hospital, still in AFIB which is contributing to congestive heart failure, my contractor has the flu and has been MIA on my old house my son moved into so he is living in a construction zone. My relationship with my middle daughter is still strained and my step daughter is still heavily grieving and finding herself swamped by anxiety with the thought of participating in a holiday. Then there is work stress on top of that and my right hand going out on maternity leave in a few weeks.

It’s a lot. I’m definitely overwhelmed and trying not to burn out. I know things that will help it’s just a matter of doing them but when I find myself overwhelmed I shut down and stop functioning, unless it’s a crisis (the bi-product of being an adult child of an alcoholic). Maybe just the act of sitting down and writing about this will help lessen the load.

Things I know I can do to reduce the overwhelm:

1. Meditate – sitting quietly and breathing intentionally even if I only do it for 5 min.
2. Yoga – Take a yoga class – intentional movement and breath work do wonders for the body
3. Journal – let it all out on paper
4. Get Active – I have a home gym – I can jump on a bike or a rowing machine for 20-30 min and it will help change the chemistry in my brain.
5. Connect – call a friend and socialize. Just being with other people can uplift your mood.

I plan on doing some meditation a bit later. I have some chores that I want to get out of the way earlier. I am going to call a friend and make plans for the weekend and while I’m a bit too tired today I’m going to make sure I exercise tomorrow. I can actually feel my body relaxing as I write this.