Food for thought to reduce overwhelm
Feeling regularly overwhelmed is becoming the norm for many in today’s world. Particularly for women who are managing careers and at the same time, still taking on the bulk of the household/children duties.
Part of feeling overwhelmed comes from your current situation.
Another part of the problem is this “more is better” attitude that exists in today’s world, which only adds to the pressure to be superwoman.
And then part of the overwhelm comes from your own personal coping style.
Our coping style is not just about how we handle situations. It also includes how we communicate, how we perceive our own value in a situation, and what we believe we should be doing.
We develop our coping styles in childhood, based on what we saw, what we were taught, and through our experiences. And we keep these coping styles, often for life.
But the question is, is this way of managing still helping you? Or hurting you? Is it time for a new way?
Here’s an exercise to help you understand your coping style so you can answer those questions.
Understanding your coping strategy
Answer these questions based on your earliest childhood memories/feelings that led to how you learned to cope/define yourself in the world.
- What parts of your experiences were beyond your control? (People, their choices, life circumstances, illness, culture, your age, etc.)
- What did you do to manage those situations? (This is often subconscious so you may need to think about this for awhile.)
- How does that old coping style show up in your life today?
- Is that old coping style helping, or hurting you today?
If your answer is that it’s time to find a new way and reduce your overwhelm, contact me to chat on how to let go of the old coping style and put a new plan in place. https://patricialifecoach.com/book-consult/