Struggling To Keep Calm when Life Gets Overwhelming?

5 Tips for Finding Calm in the Chaos

In a perfect world, we would feel calm, stress-free, and time abundant. Life would move at a calmer pace, we wouldn’t be caught up in a rat race. Slowing down and reflecting, integrating before moving forward, all of these extremely important concepts would be more widespread. But, we live in a different reality. One where there are bills to pay, roles to play, and unlearning to do. The “rat-race” way of life can be extremely overwhelming for many, many people. (Hi, I’m one of those many people)

The good news is, there are ways to hack the busyness. To calm the body, mind, and ultimately soul to help you stay connected to YOU when life gets swirly. Don’t let the system win, you’re more powerful than that. 😉

Stop & Breathe

Sometimes you only have a few moments to spare for you, the simplest way I find calm for myself when I feel like I’m swirling in a storm of to-dos or on the go, go, go…is to pause and take a few deep breaths.  Slow in through the nose, hold, slow out through the mouth, hold…and repeat.  You’re refreshing your system with new oxygen, calming your mind for a few moments, and grounding into presence.  You’d be surprised at the magic hiding in this simple practice.  So, feeling overwhelmed?  Pause, close your eyes, and breathe, my friend. 

Bonus tip: use an essential oil like peppermint or a grounding blend to heighten your practice.

Write Down Your Schedule

You know when the to-dos start piling up and you feel so scatterbrained you can’t even remember to put your underwear on the right way?  Calm your mind and get some of that real estate back by writing down your to-dos.  Get them out of the flow of chaos and somewhere more concrete. 

I use Google Calendar so my husband and I can both have our schedules with us anywhere, any time.  No more arguing over “I didn’t know you had that going on” … nope, it was in the shared calendar. 😉  Many people prefer to put the pen to paper and use a physical planner or calendar in the home.  Whatever method works best for you…DO THAT. It’s not about a right or wrong way of doing it, it’s just about finding a stress-free method that makes sense to you.

Tidy Along the Way

Maybe you’re like me , a professional piler, who struggles to keep the house picked up when the schedule gets busy.  And then you get stressed cause the house is a mess and you can’t find your stuff when you need it because it’s in last week’s clean laundry hamper you still haven’t folded and…yeah you get it.  So first, GIVE YOURSELF SOME GRACE.  Join me in constantly reminding yourself you’re a living, breathing human being that is worthy of taking up space and it’s okay if shit gets a little untidy. 

But…try to help yourself along the way by doing the littlest things that seem mentally harder than they may actually be.  If it takes less than one minute to accomplish…stop, drop, and do it.  There’s nothing better than finishing a busy schedule marathon and not having a million little to-dos that now feel exponentially more overwhelming than they did in the present time.

Additional Hack: The Ten Second Tidy from The Big Comfy Couch (it’s from the 90s my Gen Zers). Okay, but seriously there’s something about a quick sweep of all the clutter that visually calms the place down. Take a trip down memory lane, or tap into the magic of some inner child play and have a lil fun while you tidy. 😉

Play Time

Speaking of inner child play…don’t forget to be a little silly. Life is sooo boring when you’re all straight laced and no laughter and gotta be an adult all the time. Not to mention, all that pressure from not releasing in play will build and build until finding calm is literally impossible for you. Sounds harsh, but it’s kinda true. Now, play doesn’t have to take a long time, and it can look however you want it to. Play your favorite song and dance around the living room, pull out your favorite board game and challenge a friend or family member, stop at a playground and swing around for 10 minutes, there are infinite options. Think back to what you most enjoyed doing as a kid and start there. Life is often about getting back in touch with what “little you” enjoyed, how you felt about the world when you were your most pure, unfiltered self.

Disclaimer: If you’re in a depressive season right now and this feels far too overwhelming, don’t judge yourself. Trying to do literally anything can feel impossible, playing and having fun? Yeah, right. But what if you started small? Pick the funniest movie you can remember watching, put it on, and see if it can pull even a chuckle or two from you. Heck, even a brief smile could help shine just one ray of light, and that one ray could make all the difference today.

Hydrate

Maybe drinking water is easy for you, maybe it feels impossible. I fall in the this feels impossible category, but I just keep on trying, and you should too.  It really makes all the difference, let’s do it together, eh?  Dehydration can actually increase feelings of anxiety, who’d have thought? So, struggling to stay calm, feeling sluggish or foggy, got an unexplainable headache?  Drink yo water, add some electrolytes (either powders or even plain ol’ salt with lemon) and notice the difference that a hydrated body makes.  It’s the elixir of life, just drink it.  Your body and mind will thank you.

Rest & Restore Your Energy

You ever found yourself acting snappy, or disengaged, or just “not you” when you’re tired? This is your reminder that rest is not an indulgence or privilege, rest is a necessity. Your body like, actually needs it. Lack of rest is known to lead to heightened stress levels, and it’s no mystery that stress and calm do not go hand in hand. Obviously, different life seasons are going to welcome different rest schedules, so it’s about finding ways to infuse rest when, and where you can. That may look like 8 hours of sleep every night, or a cat nap every other day, or a 5 minute meditation session on your lunch break.

One of my favorites for a deep reset in a short amount of time is Reiki healing. As an attuned practitioner, I practice on myself nearly everyday and highly recommend this practice to anyone seeking overall alignment and restoration. If you are curious about this type of healing, visit the Reiki page and see if a 1:1 session may be just what you need. Sometimes a guided session is the best jumpstart to developing a rest/recovery practice on our own. Carving out time for you communicates to The Universe, Divine, God, that you are serious about taking care of you, not just everyone around you. So, when it comes to rest, however it looks, find a way that fills your cup a bit. You not only deserve it, but you owe it to yourself.

“To be calm is the highest achievement of the self.” ― Unknown

Take a Tool, Leave the Rest

These tips are in no way conclusive. They are just a few suggestions that I have found helpful in my personal experience. As with everything else on your healing journey…take what resonates, leave the rest. Try something new on, see if it fits. If it does, great, you’ve got a new tool. If it doesn’t, also great, you can cross something off the list of what doesn’t work for you. Here’s to finding calm among the chaos, even if just for a moment or two.