We all feel overwhelmed from time to time. You may be in a season of life where you must care for an elderly parent while also caring for your growing family and holding down a job. You might have continuing education classes to take for your licensure during the busiest season of the year.
Those feelings will go away as you near the end of that period. However, when you are continually working in a state of overwhelm, your body starts reacting and letting you know that something isn’t right.
5 Ways Feeling Overwhelmed Affects You
Having too much on your plate for too long will leave you with various negative consequences. Not only does it affect you physically, but it can also hurt your relationships:
1. You forget to take care of yourself: Being preoccupied with taking care of everyone else’s requests leaves you little room for yourself. You may start forgetting to eat meals, skip much-needed breaks, and struggle to fall asleep at night. The longer this happens, the worse you feel, until eventually, you may throw your hands up in despair of anything changing.
2. Your ability to think rationally will decrease: When you fail to care for your basic needs, especially getting plenty of rest, your ability to make rational decisions. This can then spiral out of control. You made a poor decision, and now you can’t sleep because of worry, which leads to more poor choices.
3. You may cry more frequently: It is not a bad thing to cry. It’s good for the soul. So, go ahead and cry unless it interferes with your daily life. There could be something more happening, such as a mood disorder, which needs to be reviewed by a doctor.
4. You will probably feel intense emotions that you cannot explain: Those who suffer from feelings of overwhelm will experience a myriad of emotions, like anger, fear, anxiety, or guilt. A cortisol dump in your system triggers these responses. Known as the stress hormone, cortisol surges through your body leaves you intensely anxious.
5. You may hurt some relationships: As your body responds to the intense feelings overwhelm brings, you might lash out at others. It could be a coworker, a partner, or your adorable five-year-old who spilled their milk on the floor. The emotions are strong and can make life hard for you and everyone around you.
Feelings of overwhelm will happen, and your body will react when they do. However, recognizing what is happening is the first start toward healing.