12 Ways to Manage when Life is Overwhelming

The sad truth is that at some point in life all of us are going to be blindsided by some form of grief and overwhelm. You might have a child who is struggling in potentially disastrous ways, you might have suddenly lost someone you love very much or perhaps a job you were counting on has been yanked out of your grasp. Maybe it’s a medical diagnosis.

It’s horrific to be suddenly thrust into a situation where there’s no going back to “normal,” isn’t it? If I were there with you, I’d do my best to faithfully sit with you in your pain. I haven’t lived your exact circumstances, but I have walked through my own hopeless, overwhelming situation.

6 years ago when I escaped an abusive marriage I never could have anticipated the fallout I’d need to deal with, both in my life and my children’s lives. It’s probably good I didn’t know what I was in for!

It’s been 5 years since I was diagnosed with PTSD. 6 of my 12 children have also been diagnosed with a variety of serious mental illnesses ~ all stemming from so many years of abuse… PTSD, anxiety, depression, OCD. Last year one of my sons almost died when he was hit by a train in a suicide attempt. (shared with his permission) Thankfully he is recovering.

I understand how incredibly overwhelming life can be… sometimes for years on end.

In a quest to help my children and myself during the past 6 years I’ve experimented with many different methods to manage and help with debilitating PTSD/anxiety symptoms.

When I first was diagnosed with PTSD I went into research mode (I *love* researching different topics ~ it’s one of my superpowers, I think!) and tried to figure out how on earth to manage PTSD’s overwhelming symptoms.

I am going to share some of the things which I’ve found to be most effective in managing the overwhelmingness of life in a blog series here. (Also I will be opening registration soon for a members-only group where we will be exploring these topics more thoroughly during 2019 ~ *so* exited about this!)

Certainly everyone is different and will find different strategies to manage their own unexpected overwhelming life circumstances.

I don’t offer my experiences as an example of “how it should be done” but rather as a list of potential resources if you are searching for ideas as you navigate your own difficulties.

Ideally we will each become experts in what works for us. This takes experimentation and consistently showing up in a compassionate way for ourselves, but the payoff is huge.

I don’t utilize all of these strategies every day ~ that would be overwhelming in itself! But all of these resources have been tremendously helpful at one time or another in “keeping me going” each day.

They are like tools in a tool box… I’ve experimented with them and know how they help, so they are available to me when I most need them.

The topics I’ll cover can be helpful resources in living a whole-hearted life, whether you are currently in crisis mode, or not. Everyday life has plenty of challenges, doesn’t it?

Here’s a list of topics I’ll be covering in the next few weeks (and that we’ll explore in depth during 2019 in my membership group!):

1.Self-compassion and the way we talk to ourselves
2.Workouts and ideas for making fitness work for you and your lifestyle.
3. Meditation/ breathing/ mindfulness
4. Writing- journaling, mantras, truth statements.
5. Outdoor activities- walking, photography and more
7. Simplify- less choices, stuff, distractions
8. Sleep- including a weighted blanket review
9. Nutrition (Stronger U review)
10. Supplements
11. Relationships: How we are wired to need others, asking for help- relationship with the Lord
12. How animals can help. Service or therapy dogs, equine therapy, etc.

I’ll be back soon with the first post in my series! Stay tuned, and if you’d like an occasional email update (plus freebies), you can sign up on my sidebar for my newsletter.