Mini-training videos on how to stop overwhelm
I am creating free training this month on solutions for Overwhelm, the primary challenge for ADD / ADHD Adults in getting started.
I had always considered Overwhelm to be a feeling of “too much.” Either the overwhelmed person had too much to do, or the project to be addressed felt too big, too complicated.
But… as I set about to create new training, I realized that “too much” is too simple an explanation.
Overwhelm doesn't lend itself to one-size-fits-all techniques to break through it. If you tend to get overwhelmed easily, the solutions that will work for you must be based on the cause of your overwhelmed feeling, in that moment.
That means it's really important to be able to identify exactly what triggers your Overwhelm.>I'll be addressing this further in my free training series, “How to Stop ADHD Overwhelm.”
How to Stop Overwhelm with ADHD
Mini-Video #1: Chicken or the Egg?
The first mini-video addresses that age-old question: What comes first, the chicken or the egg?
In this case, the question is:
What comes first: Your feeling of Overwhelm, or another type of emotion, realization or challenge that instantly sets off the Overwhelm.
Don't miss this quick video, because it could be that your real solution doesn't lie so much in techniques for overcoming Overwhelm, as in learning how to break through the initial impasse.
There are so many challenges that are common for ADD / ADHD Adults, that tend to stop us. But the good news is — no matter if your Overwhelm is triggered by inability to plan, fear of deadlines, panic at not knowing where to find what you need, unclear direction or shame over not starting sooner — all of these involve skills or habits that can be learned.
And my in-depth live free webinar, “How to Stop ADHD Overwhelm at the Root,” is coming up September 14. You can register for it on the video page.
CLICK HERE to watch Mini-Video #1 and let me know what you think:
Bonnie Mincu
A lot of my coaching clients get overwhelmed with big projects when they realize they have to PLAN them… and don’t know where to start. The real problem is not knowing how to plan… the overwhelm is a symptom of that.
Rex
I’ve got to agree with that! Planning can be a big obstacle. But I don’t think it is necessarily an inability to plan that’s the problem – it’s the pressure of getting down to plan that cause’s the feeling of overwhelm and perhaps the feeling itself is the root cause. I can know what every single step is but can still ‘FEEL’ overwhelmed and the feeling causes delay/avoid/shut down – it can be often be something small that triggers the “feeling” of overwhelm.
So my question is, is it actually overwhelm or is it some sort of bizarre trick of the brain that makes us feel overwhelmed? Can we overcome this feeling by realising the illusion and understanding that we do know what to do and how to do it and plan and schedule and organise our lives one step at a time.
Perhaps that’s the key? – “ONE STEP AT A TIME”
Perhaps we think of too much at once?
Perhaps we think of too much at once because we believe we should?
Bonnie Mincu
Rex, you raise some brilliant questions, and ones that I want to encourage everyone to ask themselves. Is the overwhelm really the problem, or was it something else that triggered it. Of course, that will change with each situation (and individual).
I suspect our brains do lots of little tricks that are subtly different for different situations. But if we’re not accustomed to recognizing what’s setting it off, we interpret it all as “overwhelm.” (Sort of like when my cat tries to tell me lots of different things, but all I hear is “meow!”)
Cheryle
Regarding Rex’s questions, “Perhaps we think of too much at once?
Perhaps we think of too much at once because we believe we should?” This has been a challenge for me in different roles in the corporate world and questioned or commented on by coworkers and managers… Why do I do it? Just break it down into smaller pieces (resulting in instant freeze). OR I’m setting myself up for failure or getting too far ahead of myself.
Bonnie Mincu
Cheryl, good point. It sounds like you’re having trouble breaking things down into small pieces, since you said “instant freeze.” I suggest using mind-mapping to do that. I have a downloadable class on mind-mapping, and you can find other “how to” instruction onine. Mindmeister.com has free mind-mapping software, though I still think it’s faster to do by hand.