When you feel overwhelmed, the way you react can actually make things worse. Here are five common, self-sabotaging mistakes to watch out for — and how to avoid them:
- You think you don’t have time for actions that might help you. Stop waiting for an ideal moment, and do something to help yourself immediately, such as taking a day off to rest, or calling up a friend.
- You don’t use your unconscious mind enough. It’s unreasonable to expect to be focused all the time. Try taking a walk and letting your mind drift and see what solutions emerge.
- You interpret feeling overwhelmed as a weakness. Being hard on yourself will only lead you to procrastinate or become more perfectionistic. Replace your self-criticism with compassionate self-talk.
- You default to your traditional approaches and defenses.Our strengths may not always work to our advantage; for example, thoughtfulness can become overthinking, or high standards can lead to perfectionism. Be mindful of your instinctive reactions in order to stay flexible in your approach to problem solving.
- You withdraw from your support system. Find ways to connect with people even when you’ve got limited emotional energy.
Make it a great day!