Feeling overwhelmed? Simple things to try when life feels like too much
Written by Amy Orsini, Reiki Master Teacher, Sound Practitioner & Life Coach at Three Little Birds, Purley, London.
You know those mornings where your brain wakes up before you do and immediately starts listing everything you haven’t done yet?
The bathroom needs cleaning. The floor needs mopping. Your inbox needs attention. There are appointments to make. Business things. House things. Life things.
And somehow, before you’ve even had a proper breath, everything feels urgent.
That was exactly where my first ever podcast episode came from. Not from a beautifully planned content strategy. Not from a calm, candle-lit morning where I sat down with a cup of herbal tea and thought, “Ah yes, today is the day I shall launch my podcast.”
Nope.
It came from a very real, very unglamorous moment.
I woke up feeling completely overwhelmed. I had too much in my head, too much on my list, and that horrible feeling of not knowing where to begin. Everywhere I looked, I saw something else that needed doing.
So obviously, I did something that was not on my list.
I went for a walk.
And not a quick walk either - a two-hour walk. Very rebellious of me, I know.
But do you know what? It really helped.
When I came back, the list hadn’t magically disappeared. The bathroom had not cleaned itself. The inbox had not politely sorted itself into order. Nobody had appeared to mop the floor while I was out.
But I felt different. Calmer. Clearer. Less like everything was an emergency.
And then I did something else that wasn’t on my list that day. I recorded the first ever episode of The Three Little Birds Podcast.
Why?
Because I realised that if I’d had something, or someone, to remind me of the tools that help when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I think I would have felt better quicker. And I wanted to be that voice for someone else.
So if you’re feeling overwhelmed today, this is for you.
Not a perfect routine. Not a productivity plan. Not another thing to add to your list. Just a few simple things that might help you feel a little calmer, a little clearer, and a little more like yourself again.
Start with the deepest breath you’ve taken all day
This is always where I come back to first.
Before you tackle the list. Before you reply to the messages. Before you try to work out what needs doing first.
Take the deepest breath you’ve taken all day.
Breathe in properly. Fill your lungs. Imagine you’re filling two balloons in your chest. And when you think you’ve breathed in as much as you can, gently take in a little bit more.
Then exhale completely.
Let your shoulders drop.
You might need to do that more than once. One breath probably won’t fix everything, which is inconvenient, but it can give your body the message that you are safe enough to pause.
And that pause matters.
When we’re overwhelmed, we often live entirely in our heads. Thoughts racing. Lists multiplying. Everything shouting for attention. A deep breath brings you back into your body. It says: come back here. Come back now. Start here.
Use self-Reiki, if you have it
For me, self-Reiki is one of the most supportive tools I have.
It helps me calm down. It helps me reconnect with myself. It gives me something gentle and practical to do when my mind is trying to run the entire show.
If you’ve learned Reiki, this is your reminder to use it. Even a few minutes with your hands on your body, breathing slowly, letting yourself receive that support, can make such a difference.
And if you haven’t learned Reiki, that’s okay too. There are plenty of other tools you can use.
Although I will say this: anyone can learn Reiki. It’s not reserved for special people. You don’t need to be chosen. You don’t need to prove anything. It’s a simple, beautiful tool to have in your belt for moments exactly like this.
Write down something you’re grateful for
I know gratitude can sound a bit obvious.
And I’ll be honest with you, on the morning I recorded the podcast, I didn’t sit down and write a lovely gratitude list first. I was too overwhelmed. I needed to get out of the house.
But gratitude is usually one of the things that helps me shift my focus.
Not in a “pretend everything is wonderful” kind of way. We’re not ignoring real life. We’re not pretending the bathroom doesn’t need cleaning or that the inbox doesn’t exist. We’re just reminding the brain that the list is not the whole story.
You can write five things. Three things. One thing.
A hot coffee. A sunny morning. A message from a friend. A body that keeps going. A moment of quiet.
It doesn’t have to be profound. It just has to be true.
Move your body
When you move your body, you change your mind.
That might mean yoga. It might mean stretching. It might mean walking, swimming, dancing in the kitchen, kickboxing, roller skating, or doing whatever movement feels available to you.
This is not about punishing your body. It’s not about earning rest. It’s about moving some of that stuck energy through you.
For me, that morning, it was a walk. I put my trainers on and went outside. I walked up to a park near me and stayed out for two hours, which was absolutely not the plan.
But it shifted something.
Sometimes we sit and stare at the list, hoping clarity will arrive if we just think hard enough. But often clarity comes when we stop thinking quite so hard and let the body move.
Go outside if you can
Nature has a way of putting things back into perspective.
Not always instantly. You don’t necessarily step outside and become a calm woodland fairy with no responsibilities. Although wouldn’t that be nice?
But being outside helps.
The sky is bigger than your to-do list. The trees are not rushing. The birds are not worrying about your inbox. There is something about fresh air, daylight, and open space that reminds your nervous system that the world is bigger than the little storm happening in your head.
Even five minutes outside can help. Stand in the garden. Walk round the block. Sit in the park. Open the door and breathe.
And while you’re there, remind yourself:
It’s okay to go slow. Not everything is an emergency.
Drink some water and eat something steady
This is very basic and also very easy to forget.
When we’re stressed, we can end up running on caffeine, grabbing sugar, skipping proper food, and then wondering why we feel shaky, tired, emotional, or like we might cry because someone asked us what’s for dinner. Again.
No judgement. We’ve all been there.
But your body needs support.
Drink some water. Eat something that will actually nourish you. If you want something sweet, have something savoury first. Your blood sugar will thank you.
You are not a machine. You need care.
Get it out of your head
This is one of the biggest ones for me.
Do a brain dump.
Get everything out of your head and onto paper, or into the notes app on your phone, or wherever works for you.
The work things, home things, appointments, messages, things you keep forgetting, things you keep noticing, things you feel responsible for, and the random “must remember to…” thoughts that pop up when you’re trying to relax.
Write it all down.
Your brain is not supposed to be carrying all of that. That’s what paper is for.
Once it’s out of your head, you can look at it with a bit more space. It might still be a long list, yes. But at least it’s not spinning around inside your mind, shouting at you every three seconds.
Choose a maximum of three things
Once you’ve written everything down, do not try to do the whole list.
That is not the assignment.
Choose a maximum of three things.
Not thirty-three.
Three.
And make them the things that would genuinely help you feel like today has moved forward.
For me, that might be replying to client emails, working on a lesson plan, and ordering something I need for the business. If I do those things, that’s enough.
Would I like to do more? Probably. Will there be more things I could do? Always.
But we are not aiming for everything. We are aiming for enough.
And enough is allowed to be enough.
Delete, delegate or do
Once you have your brain dump, look at it properly.
Some things need to be done by you. Some things need to be done, but not by you. Some things can wait. And some things can be deleted entirely.
This is where we need to be honest with ourselves.
Do you really need to do that thing today? Does it actually matter? Is it yours? Could someone else do it? Are you carrying it because it belongs to you, or because you’re used to being the one who carries everything?
Because here is the biggest reminder from the episode:
Not everything is your responsibility
Some things need to be done by you. Some things can be delegated. Some things can be deleted entirely. And some things were never yours to carry in the first place.
Especially if you’re someone who automatically steps in, fixes things, remembers things, smooths things over, and picks up whatever everyone else puts down.
You are allowed to pause.
You are allowed to ask, “Is this actually mine?”
You are allowed to protect your peace.
That does not mean you stop caring. It does not mean you refuse to help anyone ever again. It does not mean you become cold or selfish or unkind.
It means you stop automatically handing over your peace every time something needs doing. It means you let other people pick up their own responsibilities. It means you stop assuming that because you can do something, you must do it.
You are allowed to put things down.
A simple reset for overwhelm
So if you are feeling overwhelmed today, try this:
Take the deepest breath you’ve taken all day. Use self-Reiki, if you have it. Write down something you’re grateful for. Move your body. Go outside. Drink some water. Eat something steady. Brain dump everything. Choose a maximum of three things. Delete, delegate or do.
And keep asking yourself: is this actually mine?
You don’t have to carry it all
Overwhelm often tells us to speed up.
Do more. Think faster. Fix everything. Reply immediately. Sort it all out. Keep everyone happy.
But calm usually asks us to slow down.
To breathe. To step outside. To write it down. To choose one thing. To let enough be enough.
So take the deepest breath you’ve taken all day. Let your shoulders drop.
And remember:
There is nothing worth giving up your peace for.
If you’d like to listen to the full episode, I’ll pop the link below so you can listen while you walk, clean, make dinner, or do whatever life thing is happening next.
And if this is something you’d like more support with, The Safe Space Membership Community is coming soon - a calm corner of the internet full of supportive resources you can access whenever you need them, and a community of like-minded women who understand.
You can join the priority waitlist below.
Have a wonderful day, my friend,
Amy
💜🤟
Listen to episode 1 of the Three Little Birds Podcast here
Join the priority waitlist for The Safe Space Membership Community
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