I don’t know about you, but although many people might have a lot of time on their hands due to the situation at hand, there are others that don’t. Including myself. Unfortunately, with the excruciating pressures at work combined with the additional pressures at home, it ends up being one perfect mix for overwhelm. So how you really handle calming down quickly when you are overwhelmed? Well here are 5 tips that work for me.

Breathe

Yes, it does some pretty basic, but it works. Breathe? Breathing can really help calm your nerves and put you back into a place where you able to think about your next step. The pause that you give yourself when you breathe separates you from the next action that you were going to take that wasn’t so good. Breathing can take you from overwhelmed to controlled very quickly. It can be beneficial to understand different breathing methods and how by using them you can help reduce tension in your body and relax.

Walk Away

When you have met your breaking point, and are about to snap, it is best to walk away. I’ve learned this many times in my career. Especially if you are on the cusp of sending that really snarky email, you know, where you tell your client that you can’t make a ballroom pop out of the clouds with a snap of a finger? Yes, that email. If you find yourself in this position, before hitting send, walk away. Matter of fact, before you even type the words that express your feelings, walk away. This will help you to recalibrate the energy that you are building up to do something potentially very destructive, and convert them positively to help and refresh you.

Rest

After a long day of compounded challenges, it can be easy to just keep working right through your dinner, and right through midnight if you let it. However working incessantly long isn’t going to help you or anyone, especially at 7 am in the morning when you have to be awake for your early morning call. So, what is the best thing that you can do when you have so much on your mind and on your workload? Well, I would say that you should rest. Get a nice dinner, and go to sleep.

Reflect

Reflection can be pretty key to just replay some of the events that led to your overwhelm in your mind. Understanding how you arrived at your state of overwhelm can be key to you getting out of it. Perhaps you have some demands placed on you by the client that aren’t reasonable. Or perhaps you can find another way to do something in which you though you needed to do. Sometimes reflecting on what is positioning you in the overwhelm can be the key to you unlocking it. If you want more information on how to re-evaluate your life and overwhelm, check out this post.

Laugh

If you have a friend or co-worker that always places a smile on your face – and even better – a laugh – then let this person know that you will be calling on them to cheer you up. Align yourself with some people that will just crack you up, cheer you up and give you a good laugh. “Laughter positively affects all aspects of being.”, Sebastian Gendry mentions in this post. It is a preventative medicine that can help you physiologically, mentally, and emotionally.  So, when feeling overwhelmed, why not go and watch a funny movie or go to a comedy show – just make sure that you make sure that the power laughter is strong within you. Write yourself the prescription of laughter.

I trust that this post has helped you understand that if you are overwhelmed, you don’t have to stay there, you can always pick one of these quick tips to help you and get you well on your way to happiness.

Now, it’s your turn, what do you do to keep yourself from becoming overwhelmed?