4 Effective Habits to Put Overwhelm on the Back Burner

Written By Cynthia Hammer, MSW

By Cynthia Hammer, MSW,

Author of Living with Inattentive ADHD

 

Imagine someone has invited you for tea and they keep filling your cup until it is overflowing.  You are surprised, and cry out them, “Watch what you’re doing!  Can’t you see that the cup can’t hold any more.? It’s overflowing.”

Now imagine the cup of tea is your mind.  How often do you attempt to overstuff your mind with too many thoughts, too many concerns, too many anxieties. 

When you mind is too full, how can you empty it so you become calm and relaxed? Here are four, mind calming habits to include in your life.

1.     Get out in nature.  Take a walk. Take deep breaths and engage with your surroundings. That’s it.

2.     Do a brain dup.  Type or write everything that is occupying your mind.  Just get it all out.  Save it or destroy it. You decide but getting it down is where the help and freedom lies.

3.    When overwhelmed with anxieties, change your focus.  Force yourself to look for the positives.  Reassure yourself that you can handle this, that you have survived worse in the past, that you know how to problem solve and you know people who can help.

4.    Beware of the friends you keep, the things you read and watch and how you spend your time.  What kinds of thoughts to you let into your mind?  Are they uplifting, happy, peaceful thoughts? Become a vigilant gate keeper and prevent the worrisome, depressing thoughts from infecting your mind. 

A positive outlook work wonders.

 If you regularly employ these four strategies, you will stop feeling overwhelmed in its tracks. 

 

Cynthia Hammer, MSW

Cynthia Hammer, MSW, was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD in 1992 when she was 49 years old. The following year she created the non-profit organization, ADD Resources, with a mission to educate adults and helping professionals about ADHD in adults. She ran the organization for 15 years before retiring.

During the Covid isolation she wrote a book about her life with inattentive ADHD which should be published by the end of this year. In writing the book, she was dismayed to learn that children with inattentive ADHD continue to be under-diagnosed and adults with inattentive ADHD often are incorrectly diagnosed with depression or anxiety.

She created a new non-profit in 2021, the Inattentive ADHD Coalition (www.iadhd.org), to create more awareness about inattentive ADHD and the need for early diagnosis and treatment.

https://www.iadhd.org
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