Mindfulness Techniques To Help With Overwhelm

If you feel like you are drowning underneath your responsibilities, worries, and stress,
you might be dealing with a bad case of overwhelm. This can seem like something
everyone deals with, but it does affect your mental and physical health, which means
you don’t have to just deal with it. There are ways to reduce your overwhelm, starting
with mindfulness.

You might have heard of mindfulness before, as it's been a popular topic recently. It can
sound intimidating, but is nothing more than living and thinking in the present and
helping your mindset to reflect that. There are many benefits of mindfulness, including
helping to reduce stress and overwhelm.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness has a broad application. It's used in personal development,
mental health, and also in reducing stress in your life. Mindfulness is wonderful for so many
areas of stress, including overwhelm and burnout.

So, what is mindfulness? It is a state of being more aware of your thoughts and
intentions, finding a place of acceptance, and living in the present. There is a lot to
mindfulness, but this is the basic definition of what being mindful means.
It's the practice of being aware of what's happening in the present moment. It may be noticing your bodily sensations, thoughts or emotions - with a non-judgmental, accepting attitude. You can practice mindfulness while eating, listening to music or focusing on a craft project.
No matter what you are doing, you can
benefit by being more mindful.

 “The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” 
Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Living in the Present

The first part of mindfulness is living in the present, which can help a lot if you have
been overwhelmed lately from stress in your life. When you get overwhelmed, it can be
hard to focus on what is most important. You tend to have so much going on in your
brain at all times, that it feels hopeless and like you will never be able to manage it all.

This is where mindfulness comes in. Mindfulness allows you to live in the present,
where you are only focused on this very moment. What is important right now? Not in a
week or a month or a year. Not worrying about what already has happened. Just focus
on Right Now. This can help you to organize your thoughts and find what your
priorities are.

Mindful Exercises and Techniques

Mindfulness can be a very simple process, depending on what you need it for and the
situation where you are trying to be mindful. The basic technique just involves being
present, sometimes writing down what you are doing, thinking, and feeling in that
moment. For example, if you are trying to be more mindful during your meals, you can
get out your journal and really be detailed with how you feel eating these foods. Are
they nourishing you? Do you enjoy them? Are you happy with your choices? This can
be a great tool for intuitive eating as well.

There are also some different exercises that can help you with mindfulness if you are
new to it, or struggling to stay in that present state. Here are some good exercises to
start with:

Body scan – The first technique is not only used for mindfulness, but for meditation as
well. This is a body scan exercise, where you are going to mentally scan each part of
your body, one section at a time. This allows you to be more mindful by focusing on how
each part of your body feels in that moment, but can also get you into a relaxed,
meditative state.

Instead of thinking about what is worrying you at the moment, you instead think about
parts of your body, like your scalp, ears, chest, stomach, arms, legs, hands, or feet. Go
through each body part one at a time, really focusing on it.

Breathing – You can also try a breathing exercise with mindfulness. For this, just the
action of practicing your breathing gets you into a meditative, mindful state. You will be
thinking about your breathing right in this moment, and not worrying too much about the
past or the future. Breathing exercises are simple – just sit in a quiet space where you
won’t be interrupted. Inhale deeply, then exhale. Each time you inhale and exhale, try to
hold it for a few seconds, and relax your mind and body as you do this.

Use Your Senses – The last mindful exercise you can try out is where you try to use all
of your senses in this moment. For example, what do you smell? Do you feel anything
near you? If you’re eating or drinking, what do you taste? Use all 5 of your senses for
this practice.

If you're feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed, why not try practicing mindfulness? What have you got to loose?