What to Do When Everything Feels Too Much
Post in our ongoing daily series on the top concerns clients bring to Integrative Mind Body Psychiatry.
There is a specific kind of exhaustion I hear in my practice more than any other — the moment a patient says, 'I just can't do everything.' Not depression. Not one crisis. Just… everything. The children's needs. The parents' health. The bills. The news. The body. The marriage. All at once. Every day.
Overwhelm is not a character flaw. It is a nervous system that has been asked to hold more than any one system can carry. And it responds to a specific kind of care — not more effort, but strategic subtraction.
Five Whole-Person Steps When Everything Feels Too Much
Do the next right small thing. Not the next big thing. The next small thing. Water. Bathroom. Sit down. Text one person.
Take one thing off your plate today. Not tomorrow. Today. Cancel it, delegate it, or let it be imperfect.
Get sunlight and protein within an hour of waking. This is not optional — it is the biology of coping.
Say the words out loud: 'I am carrying too much.' Say it to your partner, a friend, a clinician, or God.
Sleep is not a reward for a productive day. Sleep is the tool that produces a productive day.
You are not failing. You are past capacity. There is a difference. I see patients via telehealth in Utah at integrativemindbodypsychiatry.com.
Tomorrow: Estrangement — When Family Becomes Unsafe.
Respectfully, Beth Makar, RN, Dual-MSN, PMHNP-BC · Integrative Mind Body Psychiatry · integrativemindbodypsychiatry.com
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