We’ve all experienced what it feels like to be completely overwhelmed at one time or another.
For most of us that feeling passes when things settle down a bit and we have time to ourselves to take a breath and let go.
But what happens if our life never settles down…? If we never have the chance to be quiet and take a breath…?
What happens to our body, our mind, our psyche? and at what point do we realise that we literally cannot hold our heads above the water any longer and we are about do go under?
Emotional breakdown is very real in our society, (not to mention suicide) and once we go into an emotional breakdown we often shut everything down and we can no longer feel things in the same way that we used to. This is related to a fight/flight stress response and it is often the only way that we can survive at that point, when the pain is so great…
When we have to continue on, with still no time to recover, the pain becomes layered and again starts to build at an even deeper level and we can find ourselves in a freeze state where we are literally unable to feel anything. We’re shut down, numb, empty.
In client sessions when this comes up we need to allow space to allow the feelings to begin to release from the body.
Sometimes these things are held at a really deep cellular level and they are not always directly related to a traumatic event. Sometimes it can be from living in a constant state of busyness that leads to fight/flight so this can occur in people who have had a wonderful childhood, great adult life but are just overwhelmed with work or financial stresses. Basically anything that overburdens the mind, interrupts the natural let down cycles of the nervous system and suppresses the spirit can build up to the point that we feel like we are drowning.
Working with clients to transform these feelings is one of the most rewarding parts of my work – to see them be able to release and heal and then step into freedom is so beautiful but I always try to educate them on seeing the warning signs sooner… so that they don’t have to get to the point of nearly drowning before they can take a step back, get help and come back into balance again.
If you know someone that is overwhelmed and struggling to keep their head above water, make sure that you encourage them to take time out and do something that takes their mind off their stresses – a walk in nature, a swim, a picnic, watch a fun movie – just something to break their repeating stress pattern. Do this together regularly and encourage them to schedule into their diary some “down time” because their health and even life depends upon it.