Fighting Feelings of Being Overwhelmed

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

New managers often tell me that feelings of being overwhelmed most of the time contributes significantly to their anxiety level. In today’s healthcare environment, there will always be more to do than there is time to do it. So how can you pace yourself to avoid these feeling of being overwhelmed? Michael Hyatt, a well-known leadership expert, observes that feeling overwhelmed is a good reminder that we are not in total control of our lives. Leaders often have so many balls in the air that when one or more drop, you can easily move into crisis mode. When this happens, we can become very anxious and feel overwhelmed. These feelings can lead to panic and sometimes we become immobilized with worry.

Here are five important actions to take when you begin to feel this way:

Stop focusing on the big picture

While it is important to begin with the end in mind with most activities, this can cause greater stress in the moment if you are overwhelmed. A one day at a time or one activity at a time is often a much better way to start. Long-term strategic goals need to be put on the back burner. Things will get better if you believe that this is only a short term disruption.

Slow down and do something even if it is just a small step

When I feel overwhelmed, I will often make a list of three things I can do right away that need to be done but won’t further stress my panicked brain. Focusing on small doable things at first is a good way to shut out the noise of everything that needs to get done. Overwhelming anxiety is an important indicator that we need to slow down and readjust our center.

Lower your expectations

Most leaders that I know have very high expectations of themselves often much higher than others have of them. Perfectionism can be your worst enemy. We all have our strengths. You will not be equally strong in all aspects of your leadership role. It is important to know the areas where you struggle and lower your expectations to a reasonable level of performance.

Ask for help

We often think that we need to do everything ourselves. Sometimes if you ask for help, you may be surprised at the generosity that others are willing to provide. If you are not going to meet a deadline, don’t suffer in silence – let the person know that you cannot meet expectations that you committed to and explain why.

Learn to say no

When you feel overwhelmed, it may be that you are doing too much. We often feel the pressure of our culture telling us to get involved in everything. You may look at your calendar and find that there are meetings you attend when your presence is not essential. This is the time to reconsider what is essential in your role and what is not.

There will be times in leadership where you do feel overwhelmed. It is a good reminder that you can do anything but not everything.

Read to Lead

Hyatt, M. (August 12^th, 2015) Escape the Overwhelm Podcast. Available at https://michaelhyatt.com/season-5-episode-01-escape-the-overwhelm-podcast.html