Everyday worry and when to seek more support

Worry can be part of ordinary life. A delayed message, a difficult conversation, money, health or an uncertain decision can all occupy your thoughts for a while. There is no need to decide immediately whether …

Taking a short pause during a busy day

When the day is crowded, taking a break can feel like one more thing you do not have time to do. You may move straight from a call to an email, from caring for someone …

Building an evening routine you can actually keep

An evening routine can sound like another ideal to live up to: the right bedtime, a tidy room and a long list of calming activities completed in the correct order. Real evenings are rarely so …

A gentler transition from work to home

You have left the workplace or closed your laptop, but part of your attention is still there. Perhaps you are replaying a conversation, wondering about tomorrow’s workload or reaching for your phone to check one …

When everything feels too much: where to begin

Some days, the difficult part is deciding where to start. There may be a work deadline, a family responsibility, a bill you have been putting off and messages waiting for an answer. Each needs something …

The “sit with it” exercise

Often, when we are feeling overwhelmed, we want to push difficult feelings away. We try to bottle them up, or to distract ourselves with other things so we don’t have to feel. Chances are though, …

The Say It Out Loud Exercise

This is a super simple exercise that you can do any time you are feeling overwhelmed, or struggling to cope with your thoughts. Out loud, describe an activity that you do on a regular basis. …

The Post It Note Exercise

If you often feel like you just have too much on your plate, be that a never ending “to do” list, feeling as though you hold lots of responsibility for others (and have little time …

Ice, Ice, Ice

One of the best ways to help ourselves to feel calmer when we are overwhelmed is to tune in with our physical senses. In psychology we call this grounding and it’s a great way to …

What is overwhelm?

Overwhelm means that something is having a strong emotional effect on you. We can feel overwhelmed by all kinds of emotions, including happiness, excitement, fear, worry and sadness. You might be overwhelmed with happiness or …