Strength in Nature

Overwhelm is...well, overwhelming. I have been chatting with many of you offline regarding overwhelm. You have described it to me in a variety of ways. I have tried to summarize your input in the following list. Let's take a moment to look at what overwhelm looks like in our everyday lives.

Overwhelm is...

• Too tired to feel emotion
• Soreness in our "bones"
• No longer having energy to take action
• Working in a bubble
• Saying "whatever" in the face of conflict
• Too tired to "care"
• Unable to take an action, even when you know what to do
• Unable to answer a question, even when you know the answer
• General feeling of malaise

It is important that many of these descriptions are similar to depression, but perhaps at a milder level. If you struggle with depression, I ask you to get help. If you have historically had stable mental health, but do not take action dealing with your overwhelm, you can slip into depression.

Disclaimer:

This blog series is a coaching series focusing on moving from the...

Happy Sunday! Thanks for joining me again. Today, I'd like build upon three recent blog posts: A Time for Self-Care, Joy in Gifting, and Finding Peace in Goal Setting. We are here to celebrate.

Let's start with a story:

I used to have a pup named Sequoia. She was my heart and soul and best companion. To know her was to love her. The neighborhood saw us regularly walking, roaming, exploring. Through our roamings, we became a neighborhood identity. Somehow in my memory, these walks were just like a 1950s sitcom: perfect weather, perfect people, smaller homes, and happy smiling children.

Sequoia was my introduction to a type of peace I had never known. She greeted our neighbors with joy. Children would come to her house to play with her. She was gentle and patient. Through her, I made many friendships I would not have otherwise been able to make. One such lady was named Susie (name changed).

Chapter 1: Susie

Susie was fiercely independent. She also loved dogs and nature. She read the...

Hello Succulent Sunday Readers. Happy Valentine's Day. As I write this post, I am waiting for my family to drive home through a snowstorm. It has been long week with some exciting developments and a bike crash, so today has called for a bit of self-care. Honestly, I recognize my next statement is generally impossible for most moms: I slept all day. For my self-care this week, I went to bed on a Friday night at 5:30 pm and slept nearly 24 hours.

It is a testament to my personal journey that I have been able to do this today without feeling guilty. I am not sick, although I am recovering from the soreness of an unexpected bike crash. I have many things that I wished to accomplish today (including publishing this post earlier than usual.) I am not even feeling guilty that I haven't cleaned the house to my personal satisfaction. It is Galentine's day, my body clearly needed rest. I chose to rest without guilt.

Self-Care without Guilt

As we talk about Overcoming the Overwhelm, we must...

Hey Succulent Sunday readers! Thanks for joining me again. I love sharing this blog with you each Sunday. Your questions help me through targeted, quiet reflection on these topics.

Today, let's chat about finding joy and regaining some power and control through joy. Today's blog post will turn from our focus on the physical elements of overwhelm to the spiritual and mindset elements.

Powerless in the Face of Overwhelm? No.

Overwhelm by definition indicates that we are not in control of the emotions and activities throughout our day. However, we are in control our our actions. We may not be in control of the day to day events that we face. A few weeks ago, we talked about setting inch-by-inch goals to help us find and achieve peace. Setting these small, achievable (sometimes even laughably small) goals helps us regain some power in our day.

Joy helps us face the overwhelm head-on.

You (we) are not powerless in the face of overwhelm. You can regain your power by asking for help,...

Hello Sunday Succulent readers! Thank you so much for returning to this series. Each week, I bring you relevant topics that focus on the emotional, physical, and spiritual elements of the overwhelm. This week, we continue the focus on the slight adjustments we can make in our lives to address the physical elements of overwhelm.

Meal Planning

Meal Planning. Yes. Meal planning. It is not glorious or sexy, but a little bit of control in our healthy habits pays dividends for our mental, physical, and spiritual health. Additionally, since much of the world is still battling Covid-19 spread and surge, meal planning not only helps get our week planned, but it helps us reduce unnecessary trips to the grocery store.

Let's talk about the 5 benefits of meal planning:

1. Saving Time
2. Saving Money
3. Increased likelihood of eating greens
4. Reduced likelihood of inappropriate snacking
5. Peace of mind

Saving Time

As a mother, side-hustle entrepreneur, amatuer musician, and full-time grad student, my time...

Goal setting is an activity that takes place at the beginning of each new project. During the month of January, we take stock of where we were in the previous year and where we want to go in the current year. There is a natural tension between setting these large goals and the day to day of setting setting the small, achievable goals. Let's examine this natural tension today.

Goals v. Resolutions

Most resolutions set in January have an element of dream associated with them and 82% of them are forgotten by the end of the month. By the end of the year, 98% of the resolutions have been forgotten. So, what is the difference between resolutions and goals?

Goals represent milestones along the path to achieving dreams. They are strategically placed within the journey. Achievable, actionable items are associated with goals. Certainly, the benefits of SMART goals are well documented. If you are not familiar with SMART goals, here is a quick rundown. SMART goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• ...

H! Angela here again. As we collectively try to overcome the overwhelm we see in the world, let us focus on one little habit that we can control and work into our daily lives: take a walk. Followers of my Instagram will regularly see posts reminding you to get outside 20 minutes a day. Personal friends will attest to my personal application of this habit. Let's take a few minutes to look at the science of how walking outdoors positively impacts our mental health and ability to perform.

Physical Manifestations of Overwhelm

Overwhelm physically mimics the process of grief in our body. The hormones in your body align to begin to protect you from the stress and stress-related hormones that activate when we are under stress. Your body's initial response is a sense of fatigue.

Fatigue

Your body seeks to protect you from stress by sending signals to you that are tired or need sleep. During sleep, your body is rebuilding its hormone profile. Stress on the body requires high levels of...

Hi! Angela here. Welcome to Succulent Sunday.

I have chosen succulents for my Overcome the Overwhelm series for 2021. We'll talk about overwhelm in a second, but first, let's talk about cacti and succulents. No, this is not a lesson in herbology or flora. I love nature, but I'm not herbalist or botanist.

Why are succulents are the theme?

These hardy guys and gals just keep on keeping on. They are hardy, continue living when forgotten, and bloom unexpectedly when tended properly. They accept poor soil conditions yet bring beauty and joy into the world. These plants offer us a lesson in resilience that we will do well to remember and honor.

Three Tenants of Overcoming the Overwhelm

During our Overcome the Overwhelm series, we will examine the three pillars of overcoming: Emotional, Physical, and Spiritual. We will look to experts who have studied these three tenants individually and collectively. I do not research these topics as an academic, but I am a lifelong learner, and I look...