Feel Overwhelmed? Try this 30 Second Technique

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 658 Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2023

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Feeling overwhelmed literally makes parts of your brain shut down. You might experience cognitive fatigue, sensory overload, burnout, physical exhaustion, a flood of thoughts, confusion, or the stress response, you may feel anxious, sweaty, teary, or panicky alternating in quick succession with wanting to give up, shut down, curl up into a ball, procrastinate and avoid everything. Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.co... Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanut... Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com?utm_medium=YTDescription&utm_source=YouTube Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/bes... Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/c... If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0	Understanding mental health struggles can be tough. That's why I created therapy in a nutshell to
0:05.0	help make complicated therapeutic topics easy to understand and learn. I'm Emma McAdam, a licensed
0:11.1	marriage and family therapist, and this is the Therapy in a nutshell podcast. These episodes don't
0:16.4	replace the need for mental health professionals or the advice given by doctors, but they provide options,
0:22.2	resources, and skills that can help you in your journey to better your own mental health or help
0:28.5	those around you who may be struggling. If you want to find more resources or if you want to learn
0:33.5	about courses I offer on specific mental health topics, please stop by my website
0:37.8	at TherapyInanen-a-N-HEL.com. Now, let's jump in to this week's skill. Okay, everyone,
0:43.1	here's a 30-second technique for when you're feeling overwhelmed. Feeling overwhelmed
0:48.2	literally makes parts of your brain shut down. You might feel cognitive fatigue or sensory
0:53.6	overload. You might feel burned out or exhausted. You might feel cognitive fatigue or sensory overload. You might feel burned out or exhausted.
0:57.0	You might feel a flood of thoughts or confusion. Or the stress response might make you feel anxious or
1:04.1	sweaty or teary or panicky or these all might just alternate in quick succession. Maybe you just
1:10.4	feel like you want to give up, shut down,
1:12.6	curl into a ball, or procrastinate, and avoid everything. Here's one thing you could do instead.
1:20.6	Slow it down. Start by taking a deep breath and then grab a large piece of paper and a pen. Okay, so now do a brain
1:30.4	dump. Take everything in your head and write it down on paper. It doesn't need to make sense.
1:34.9	It doesn't need good handwriting or grammar. Just put it on paper. Make a list or a diagram if you
1:40.7	want. Just take all the things in your head and put them onto the paper.
1:45.0	Usually people feel better after that, but now we're going to do one better.
1:50.0	I want you to look at the things you've written down and cross off everything that's not in your control.
1:57.0	News stories, your boss's attitude, the weather, your mother-in-law's opinions, your child's attitude,
	...

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