10 Signs I Was Overwhelmed + My Self-Care Strategies

Life can be tough. The stress of work-life, home life, and everything in between can feel like a lot to handle. One way to better manage our overwhelm is through self-care. Recognizing signs that you are overwhelmed early on and implementing self-care strategies can help prevent burnout.

What is self-care?

According to the Oxford dictionary, the definition of self-care is “the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health.” It is regularly taking the time to do something you enjoy that nourishes you mentally, emotionally and physically. As crucial as self-care is, it is often not made a priority as we make it through our hectic lives.

Why? Well, being selfish is often how it’s perceived.

Guess what folks! There is NOTHING selfish about protecting your well-being. When you nourish your well-being, the better equipped you’ll be at helping to nurture those around you. After all, you can’t pour water from an empty cup!

Read more: 6 Types of Self-Care & Ways to Practice Them

After learning from my own overwhelming experiences and with the hopes of encouraging you to make your well-being a priority, here are some signs you may be overwhelmed and some self-care strategies to help with each.

10 Signs You May Be Overwhelmed + Self-Care Strategies

# 1 – You Have Difficulty Sleeping, or You’re Sleeping Too Much

One of the signs you are overwhelmed is a change in sleeping patterns. You may notice you are restless throughout the night, and unable to get a good night’s sleep, despite how tired you may feel. On the other hand, you may be sleeping too much. You may find yourself sleeping in too long, or yearning to spend any downtime asleep. A healthy sleep schedule is essential to maintaining one’s mental health.

Try These Self-Care Strategies ↓

• Establish a nighttime routine and stick with it. Try being in bed and waking up at a specific time each day. This process may take some trial and error before you’ve found what works best for you
• Limit alcohol.  Alcohol can disrupt your sleeping patterns and reduce the quality of your sleep, which may lead to oversleeping
• Practice relaxation exercises before bed to help calm the mind, such as meditation, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, etc.
• Consume a soothing drink before bed, such as a chamomile tea
• Fall asleep to a scent that helps foster relaxation and sleep, such as lavender
• Speak with your doctor about any concerns with your sleeping patterns.

# 2 – You Are Always Tired, No Matter How Much Sleep You Get

When overwhelmed, your mind is on overdrive causing you to feel exhausted all the time. This fatigue may persist even after you have gotten some sleep.

Try These Self-Care Strategies  ↓

• All tips from #1
• Eat healthy foods that give you energy
• Exercise – it not only provides mental health benefits but may also tire you out enough physically to help you sleep and get a better night’s rest.

# 3 – You Lack Energy

You may feel a lack of energy when overwhelmed, and generally more fatigued each day.

Try These Self-Care Strategies ↓

• The tips I’ve mentioned above would work here as well

# 4 – You Are High-Strung / Anxious

You may be feeling high-strung or anxious most of the time, with the inability to calm down or relax.

Try These Self-Care Strategies  ↓

• Tips above will also apply here
• Take little breaks throughout your day to help ease your nerves.  For instance, going for a walk or grabbing a healthy snack throughout your day
• Limit or avoid caffeine and alcohol
• Find time to be active.  Exercise helps relieve stress and improve mental health.

# 5 – You Are Stressed Out

When you are overwhelmed, you may notice your stress levels increasing. And things that may have once seemed insignificant and minor may now be leading to stress.

Try These Self-Care Strategies ↓

• All tips above also apply here
• At work, speak with your manager to ask for additional time to work on/complete tasks that have been stressing you out.
• Take a Mental Health Day off work
• Break large tasks down into smaller ones, and focus on completing the smaller ones (one at a time) instead
• Establish more balance in your life, i.e. a healthier balance between work and relaxation

# 6 – You Have a Loss of Appetite or You Are Overeating

You may notice a change in your appetite, either under-eating or over-eating when you are overwhelmed.

Try These Self-Care Strategies  ↓

• Try establishing an eating routine, by eating at regular times each day, and sticking to that.  Your brain will learn to follow this.
• With a loss of appetite, try eating smaller snacks throughout the day, and eating a bigger meal when you’re feeling most hungry
• Eat healthy foods that give you the most nutrition and energy. These will have you feeling full longer (i.e. healthy fats and protein)
• Limit caffeine intake as this will also add to a loss of appetite
• Exercise, and reducing your stress and anxiety (with the tips mentioned above), can also help you establish and maintain healthy eating habits

# 7 – You Have Difficulty Focusing

Because you’re high-strung and restless, this may lead to difficulty focusing.

Try These Self-Care Strategies  ↓

• Break down large tasks into smaller ones
• Establish a plan of action and write your plan down.  When things are written down, they can become easier to follow
• Make lists and check off completed items as you go
• Take little breaks throughout your day to refuel, and refocus the brain

# 8 – You are less motivated

You may feel less motivated to do things and start to procrastinate.  Although you may be swimming in To-Do’s, you just can’t seem to find the motivation to get any of them done.

Try These Self-Care Strategies ↓

• Check out the tips I’ve mentioned for #7 – they apply here too.

# 9 – You’re Keeping To Yourself More

You may notice you are becoming more withdrawn and spending less time with others. You may be keeping to yourself more and limiting your socializing, because being around others may begin to feel like too much effort or a chore.

Try These Self-Care Strategies  ↓

• It’s okay to take some time for yourself.  Take this time to improve your well-being by doing activities you enjoy, such as reading a book, watching a movie, etc.

# 10 – You Are Moody / Emotional

You may feel more emotional than usual and moodier. You’ll be on edge emotionally, less patient, and lash out at individuals easily.

Try These Self-Care Strategies  ↓

• Speak with your doctor if you are feeling depressed, or are concerned about your overall emotional state
• Call 911, or a crisis line near you, if you are feeling suicidal
• Confide in a good friend. It helps to feel heard
• Try counselling.  Free counselling services are available at your local community health centre if money were a concern.

The Takeaway

Recognizing the signs that you are overwhelmed early on will help you prevent burnout. Implementing much-needed self-care strategies will help re-energize you, reduce the effects of you feeling overwhelmed, and get you back to being your healthy and balanced self. Here’s to living a life of balance and overall wellness! Thanks so much for stopping by <3

Let’s chat! What are some ways you practice self-care?

The content you find on this blog is written by us based on our personal research or lived experiences and is designed to inform and inspire – not to provide medical or health advice. Although we strive for accuracy, we do not make any warranty as to the correctness of our content. Always consult your doctor when it comes to your personal health or before you make any changes to your lifestyle.