The Downward Spiral of Overwhelm

It usually starts out okay. You’re prepared for the day, juggling a few tasks, when a few unexpected new emails pop up, and someone needs to discuss issues on a project. Then more emails pile up. Deadlines loom. Emotions tighten.

 

You’re telling yourself you’ve got this, and then it feels like a tornado touches down, the whirlwind of it all feels like too much.

You forget what you were doing. You stare at your screen. And suddenly, you’re not managing anymore. You’re frozen.

That’s the spiral of overwhelm.

And it doesn’t just live in your head. It’s a full-body experience driven by your nervous system, not just your schedule and to-do list.

Here’s how it tends to go:

Pressure → Panic → Paralysis.

It starts with pressure. A full calendar. A surprise ask. The usual demands, but turned up a notch. Your nervous system shifts into a subtle stress response—maybe you get irritable and frustrated, or hyper-focused, or try to work faster.

As the pressure builds, that feeling of panic on the horizon builds too. It’s not always a big, dramatic shift, but more a slow tide rolling in. It just feels like you can’t think straight, like you’ve lost your edge. You start making small mistakes. You start avoiding things.

Then comes paralysis. Your brain is overloaded, your body starts to feel the tension,  and even simple decisions are hard to make. You’re stuck. You’re exhausted, emotionally and physically, from trying to hold it all together.

So, how to navigate through?

It doesn’t work to wait until the tornado touches down and the spiral is in full swing. It's about learning to recognize the early signs and respond from the body up.

Because here’s the science of what’s happening. When you’re overwhelmed, the thinking part of your brain (the prefrontal cortex) is offline. You can’t “logic” your way out. But you do have a tool that you can work with, your breath.

Using your breath is a simple, research-backed way to shift your nervous system out of fight, flight, or freeze and into a calmer, clearer state. It gives your body the message: “I’m safe. I can respond, not react.”

You don’t need an hour. You don’t need silence or solitude. You just need a few intentional breaths.

Science also shows that when you inhale, your heart rate increases, and when you exhale, it slows. 

When you are stressed, your heart rate increases, so the breath can serve as an immediate emergency brake for overwhelm.

This is the kind of simple math I like. Inhale and count to 4, exhale and count to 6. Longer exhales slow the heart rate and help the body return to homeostasis. Repeat this for 1-2 minutes.

It’s a reset you can do between meetings, in your car, or even while staring at your inbox.

Overwhelm isn’t weakness. It’s a signal.

And with the right tools, you can stop the spiral before it takes over your day.


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