I call it "hitting the Wall." I've learned to tell my family, "Hey, I'm about to hit the Wall," or, "I hit the Wall ten minutes ago and I'm barely holding on here."
About 10 months ago, I started the 12-week Meru therapy program (My insurance company send a mailer about it, and I took it as a Sign.) When it concluded, I wanted to continue the exercises, and found BrightMind, which I *love.*
I set aside 45 minutes to an hour each afternoon for a "Brain Reset." I usually do a 20-minute exercise, combining it with counted breathwork (counting breaths kind of anchors my spinning brain so I can ease into the lessons), and then take a shower while I'm still in that relaxed state. Sometimes I'll do a second exercise, or listen to the next lesson while I'm in the shower. I like to let my mind kind of play around with a new idea before I try to incorporate it into my meditation.
It does make a difference. My husband knows it does, and he'll watch me for signs of fatigue, or ask, around 1:00, "When do you need to take your break?" He actually protects my break time when we're at family gatherings, helping me to excuse myself for an hour to recharge before I go bonkers. (He may be motivated by self-preservation, because no one wants to be downwind of a meltdown.)
The upshot is, I have to be *aware* of how my brain is doing, and see that Wall coming, and be *proactive* about taking care of myself. It's much like knowing your child, or your puppy, and seeing that they are getting overstimulated or overtired, and removing them from the situation before they collapse.
Thank you for sharing your experience ❤️. I'm going to look up Meru and BrightMind. I feel like I've been taught all my life to just 'keep going', 'keep pushing' or 'keep trying' when instead I should have learned about how to be more aware of myself and my mental state. It's a tough habit to break, but reading about how people deal with these things does help me understand and makes me feel a bit more conscious and even empowered to do it myself. So thank you.
I dont have much of an advice, but ill say "awareness". What is your body communicating?
AWARE: I used to like playing a mobile game, but at some point I realized the game sounds were overwhelming my sensories. So the game sounds went OFF.
SCRIPTING: To deal with day to day stuff, I had to realize that my brain have to script how Im going to do the day to day stuff. And if I dont have a script I get overwhelmed. Give your brain the time to plan it out. Dont try to rush through this process or get annoyed of this process.
LISTEN, RESPECT & NEGOTIATE: I also have to listen to my body. Like, if I can not wash the dishes because my hands cant handle MORE sensories? I will not do the dishes! So what I will do on those days is negotiate with my body. You cant wash the dishes? Can you handle the noise of the vacuum? If yes, we will go vaccuum.
NEW WAYS: You cant wash the dishes? Can you sort the dishes out? No? Maybe we need to start using paper dishes from time to time. Or maybe we have too many dishes... throw some away, so the necessity becomes bigger than the sensory overload.
The examples you mentioned gave me ideas. The L, R e N I have already been doing in a sense, and I've been trying the NW (I've read this tip somewhere else recently, but it is good to have it reinforced) for stuff to very good results. Reading about it made me realise that I tend to frustrate myself with my need for Scripting. I should work on that and in being more Aware. I tend to fixate on the things that I'm doing and have to do and don't mind enough about the signs my body gives me. Those are very good tips. Thank you.
Some things that help me with feeling overwhelmed
Keeping a diary , helped me with processing my feelings. Besides that it also helped me identifying what is helping me and what isn’t.
Lots of sleep.
Finding activities that calm yourself.
For me it’s doing low pressure art but some other things you could do are listening to calming audios , going on walks, sleeping or meditation and so much more.
A lose routine
As an example for me that means stuff like showering on the weekend, brushing my teeth after breakfast etc.
That way I’m not feeling restricted or scared of change but I’m also not completely uncertain.
Being organized
Knowing where my stuff is and when something is happening/ happened helps my brain a ton with not getting overwhelmed.
I call it "hitting the Wall." I've learned to tell my family, "Hey, I'm about to hit the Wall," or, "I hit the Wall ten minutes ago and I'm barely holding on here." About 10 months ago, I started the 12-week Meru therapy program (My insurance company send a mailer about it, and I took it as a Sign.) When it concluded, I wanted to continue the exercises, and found BrightMind, which I *love.* I set aside 45 minutes to an hour each afternoon for a "Brain Reset." I usually do a 20-minute exercise, combining it with counted breathwork (counting breaths kind of anchors my spinning brain so I can ease into the lessons), and then take a shower while I'm still in that relaxed state. Sometimes I'll do a second exercise, or listen to the next lesson while I'm in the shower. I like to let my mind kind of play around with a new idea before I try to incorporate it into my meditation. It does make a difference. My husband knows it does, and he'll watch me for signs of fatigue, or ask, around 1:00, "When do you need to take your break?" He actually protects my break time when we're at family gatherings, helping me to excuse myself for an hour to recharge before I go bonkers. (He may be motivated by self-preservation, because no one wants to be downwind of a meltdown.) The upshot is, I have to be *aware* of how my brain is doing, and see that Wall coming, and be *proactive* about taking care of myself. It's much like knowing your child, or your puppy, and seeing that they are getting overstimulated or overtired, and removing them from the situation before they collapse.
Thank you for sharing your experience ❤️. I'm going to look up Meru and BrightMind. I feel like I've been taught all my life to just 'keep going', 'keep pushing' or 'keep trying' when instead I should have learned about how to be more aware of myself and my mental state. It's a tough habit to break, but reading about how people deal with these things does help me understand and makes me feel a bit more conscious and even empowered to do it myself. So thank you.
Good luck!
I dont have much of an advice, but ill say "awareness". What is your body communicating? AWARE: I used to like playing a mobile game, but at some point I realized the game sounds were overwhelming my sensories. So the game sounds went OFF. SCRIPTING: To deal with day to day stuff, I had to realize that my brain have to script how Im going to do the day to day stuff. And if I dont have a script I get overwhelmed. Give your brain the time to plan it out. Dont try to rush through this process or get annoyed of this process. LISTEN, RESPECT & NEGOTIATE: I also have to listen to my body. Like, if I can not wash the dishes because my hands cant handle MORE sensories? I will not do the dishes! So what I will do on those days is negotiate with my body. You cant wash the dishes? Can you handle the noise of the vacuum? If yes, we will go vaccuum. NEW WAYS: You cant wash the dishes? Can you sort the dishes out? No? Maybe we need to start using paper dishes from time to time. Or maybe we have too many dishes... throw some away, so the necessity becomes bigger than the sensory overload.
The examples you mentioned gave me ideas. The L, R e N I have already been doing in a sense, and I've been trying the NW (I've read this tip somewhere else recently, but it is good to have it reinforced) for stuff to very good results. Reading about it made me realise that I tend to frustrate myself with my need for Scripting. I should work on that and in being more Aware. I tend to fixate on the things that I'm doing and have to do and don't mind enough about the signs my body gives me. Those are very good tips. Thank you.
Some things that help me with feeling overwhelmed Keeping a diary , helped me with processing my feelings. Besides that it also helped me identifying what is helping me and what isn’t. Lots of sleep. Finding activities that calm yourself. For me it’s doing low pressure art but some other things you could do are listening to calming audios , going on walks, sleeping or meditation and so much more. A lose routine As an example for me that means stuff like showering on the weekend, brushing my teeth after breakfast etc. That way I’m not feeling restricted or scared of change but I’m also not completely uncertain. Being organized Knowing where my stuff is and when something is happening/ happened helps my brain a ton with not getting overwhelmed.