Community Questions (article 6)

Community Questions (article 6)
Overwhelmed and Disorganized

Having the opportunity to speak with many people who share their thoughts and challenges I know I do not stand alone in finding myself easily overwhelmed; falling into a trap of shutting down and procrastination. My “to do” box often seems to get cleaned out by passing deadlines.

Years ago we did not have the excessive environmental stimulation and technological interruptions that we are faced with today. Just think of sitting in an office and no longer having just a stationary phone. There is probably a cell phone that also rings, texts and sometimes alarms, there is a computer that snatches our attention and chimes in e-mails, there may be intercoms, overhead announcements and even walk-ins that cause interruptions. Such variables can cause constant reorganization and overwhelmed feelings.

It is tradition with each New Year to set goals to break a cycle within ourselves that keeps us from being the best we can be. Developing a game plan to battle the resulting disorganization within our brain may be the key in achieving such goals no matter when we set them.

I personally have found that our brain at times can be our own worst enemy. We have the primitive brain which I describe as our “automatic pilot”; responding and reacting to learned behaviors. We also have an evolving brain which allows re-training to take place. If we want to change the way we think and behave then we should consider changing our self-talk or the inner conversations we have within ourselves throughout the day.

Feeling overwhelmed is really a loss of control. The action plan therefore would be developed to gain control. Too many times I hear people say “I have ADD.” If a person is going to be a victim to symptoms, a disease or illness then they hold themselves hostage. Prepare for stagnation if you remain captive. There are many resources to managing symptoms of ADD and other ailments, so if affected find what supports you and move on. Stop reinforcing the negativity that will weigh you down.
Find a tag line when faced with a challenge. Mine is “get in…get out.” My personal challenge is perseverating on thoughts when others respond to me in a negative way. The primitive response of my brain is to “protect” myself and too much of my energy is wasted being defensive. That takes away from the energy and focus I need to stay on track, so I identified that as a distractor I needed to get control of.

I “get in”, by listening to what is negatively said or interpret an undesired behavioral response as I want to stay open to validation. After brief consideration, if it has no bearing or truthfulness I simply “get out” and therefore gain control. I will no longer become defensive, choose to rationalize or perseverate on thoughts that are truly only affecting me at that point. That tag line is very easy to remember, I have changed my inner dialog, and I am now free to move on.

Becoming aware of such distractors and applying an action plan may help reduce such feelings of being overwhelmed. We do have control of reducing environmental stimulations, interruptions, and our own self-talk. Become creative, write your plan down and apply it. Even if one thing in your plan proves helpful, that can become life changing.