Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Learning to Deal with Anger and Overwhelm.

I have been operating under a consistent state of overwhelm for the last several weeks.

I don't recommend it.

I don't think my family does either, for that matter. :0P

My Hero (a.k.a. The Mr.) saw what was going on last week and told me to take the evenings "off" all week. So, as soon as he got home, I grabbed my handy dandy backpack, loaded with my netbook, my sketchbook & markers, and various notebooks where I scribble my thoughts, along with a fiction book for brain candy breaks, and disappeared.

It was BLISSFUL.

I actually got to THINK!

Whole thoughts!

And finish an entire email! (in fact, lots of people got emails from me last week as I worked my way back to "inbox zero") :0)

And I got in some reading on some very helpful subjects, like preventing overwhelm, and how to handle it if it does happen. I've been learning how to stop reacting and start responding; which I've known for a long time is the way it's supposed to be, but not how.

Because I know from homeschooling 8 lil monkeys that teaching or telling someone else what you just learned is the best way to really "get it" yourself, I'll be sharing here as I learn.

First then:

When I am angry or overwhelmed :

B R E A T H E.

Repeat.

Remember that there are very few true crises. This most likely can wait 15 more seconds.

Pay attention to the breathing.

Breathe all the way in, fill up. Feel the air going into you.

Hold it a second or two.

Let it out slowly, feeling your self relax as you do.

Now.

Ask yourself: "Why am I angry / overwhelmed? What do I want?" Usually we get angry or overwhelmed because we're not getting something we want. Often what we want isn't realistic, or is dependent on other people, and we can't make others do as we want (so wanting to isn't realistic!)

Just realizing that what I want isn't realistic is enough for me to calm down and deal with things without feeling so frantic.

There are more questions I ask myself, more steps to take, that I"ll share in the next few posts.

Meanwhile, a great blog to read to learn about how to handle things when you realize that what you want is dependent on other people is Assume Love. It's technically a marriage blog, but the principles there are applicable to almost any relationship.

1 comment:

  1. Yay for the Mr! I'm so glad you got time to recharge. Being "on" for days and days on end is enough to turn my insides into a fire-breathing dragon. You are incredible for home-schooling all those little ones. :^*

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