Anxiety and Dealing with overwhelm

I’m going to guess that you’ve been overwhelmed at times. You look at everything that needs to get done, and realize it’s just too much. You know, that "never-ending, on-going, mile-long to-do list"?

You feel stuck and full of dread.

You think, "I'm never going to get all of this done! It's just too much!" The feeling of dread takes over. You feel stuck, begin to panic, or think of ways to avoid having to do it all. You may even take it out and blame someone else for all of the stuff you have to do.

Let's face it- Feeling overwhelmed sucks!

I’m going to share a way to help you cope with this.

1 Tip to Get Through Overwhelming Anxiety

This particular anxiety tip will help you deal when faced with overwhelm.

“Chunking” Overwhelming Tasks

Instead of looking at the entire list or the entire task/assignment, "chunk" tasks by breaking tasks down into "bite-size" pieces.

Take this "real world" example that sometimes occurs in our household.

My daughter sometimes gets math worksheets that are due the next day. It is not uncommon for her to feel overwhelmed by the number of math problems given. So, instead of viewing the entire worksheet packet, with numerous math problems on each page, as one big, huge task (which is overwhelming), I encourage her to focus on the top half of the first page, or first row, to work on first. This is done before even thinking about the rest of the math problems on the page.

Why “Chunking” works

When you break down large lists, tasks, assignments into smaller "chunks", it helps you focus on smaller pieces instead of the whole entire thing. Smaller tasks will feel more manageable.

“Chunking” with time

This same concept can be applied to "time" as well, such as tolerating an unpleasant, but necessary, situation, like waiting for a phone call; or perhaps having to sit through a work meeting.

Instead of thinking about waiting for "hours" until something is over, break it down into smaller increments, like concentrating on getting through 30 minutes, or 10 minutes, or even 1 minute, at a time.

Here’s another example for this anxiety hack.

When I arrived at the gym, I saw the following WOD (workout of the day) posted:

21 snatches, 21 toes to bar, 18 OH squat, 18 knees to elbow, 15 push press, 15 pull ups, 12 thrusters, 12 hanging L sits, 9 squat cleans, 9 single-leg toes to bar, 6 hang cleans, 6 chest to bar, 3 clean and jerk, 3 strict pull ups

Hmmm... I could've looked at the entire workout and thought, "oh, hell no, this will take forever!" Instead, I broke the WOD down into smaller "chunks" and literally only focused getting one movement done at a time.

(Incidentally, Crossfit also implements "chipper" workouts, meaning, you consistently "chip away" at each movement until you're eventually finished with the workout. It's a really great idea to help athletes get through what looks like a really long, difficult workout.)

Put this anxiety tip into practice.

Now, it's your turn to put this anxiety "hack" into action. The next time you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, try "chunking" break down whatever it is into more manageable parts. I'm confident that it will help.

Philadelphia DBT & Anxiety Therapist

I'm passionate about helping people become "unstuck" from their anxiety. If you're looking for anxiety counseling in Lebanon, Harrisburg, York, Philadelphia, and Lancaster, PA, please give me a call at 717-685-5074 or schedule your free consultation for anxiety therapy here.