Emotional overload: symptoms and coping

Emotional overload is a psychological reality that begins to be experienced frequently in recent months. We understand this dimension as a saturation of feelings, thoughts and sensations that lead to mental and physical exhaustion. It is an overwhelming experience that can intensify over the days if proper coping measures are not taken.

Carl Jung said that the human mind does not oscillate between right and wrong, but between meaning and meaninglessness. That’s right, and even more so in times of difficulty, crisis and uncertainty like the ones we are experiencing.

In these moments it is completely normal for us to fall into thoughts filtered by fear.an understandable fear but that, at times, covers our reality and raises walls without leaving room for hope.

If we add to this the constant flow of information, the news that reaches us about possible crises in the near future, we therefore have that breeding ground in which to oscillate from a relaxed approach to one where the needle of anxiety is already there. thread everything.

Feeling that chaotic haze of emotions collapsing our days is almost expected, but we must maintain control as far as possible.

Emotional overload in times of crisis, what are the symptoms?

Emotional overload in times of crisis can have two origins. The first and most severe may arise as a result of complicated experiences, such as losing a job. The combination of emotions and worry increases this psychological reality.

On the other handthere is undoubtedly the obvious uncertainty and not knowing what will happen tomorrow and if we will be able to face what may come.

Likewise, the emotional overload of this time It can also arise from a constant accumulation of small situations. That daily stress or seeing close people having a hard time increases helplessness even more. Let’s see what the symptoms are.

How do I know if I suffer from emotional overload?

A common occurrence is to react disproportionately to common situations. For example, there are those who returning home after going shopping and not finding the keys in your bag experiences a feeling of panic.

Difficulties concentrating and performing simple tasks are also common.We find it difficult to have a normal conversation with family or friends. It’s as if others were on another frequency, one where you feel misunderstood and even angry.Emotions are always on the surface. You feel like crying for anything, you get angry for nothing and apathy is that constant that does not allow you to be distracted by anything. On the other hand, There is an obvious effect of emotional overload: physical fatigue. The exhaustion is so intense that sometimes you even wonder if you have caught an infection.

How can I handle the effects of emotional overload?

Emotional overload in times of crisis warns us of something obvious: our emotions are talking and they need our attention. The objective, therefore, is not to extinguish this emotional fog through denial or through a logical approach where we tell ourselves that “I have to focus and control myself or my head will go away.”
This is not the time to be hard on us.. Emotions give meaning to experience, they are the heritage of human biology and must be integrated through acceptance. Only in this way will we navigate better during these complicated days.

Acceptance and space for every emotion felt

Don’t displace, don’t leave, don’t punish yourself or turn your face towards that emotional haze. Visualize it as a ball in which several colored threads are tangled. You must separate them one by one and identify them, give them names.. What is what i fell? Sadness, anguish, fear, frustration, nostalgia…
Break down, give space and place to each feeling and accept yourself without criticizing yourself for how you feel. These emotions want you to allow yourself time to talk to them, with compassion.

Become aware of your emotional reasoning

One of the reasons why this emotional overload arises during difficult moments is because of the emotional reasoning we do for everything we hear, think or see.

We can give several examples. If with every news story you see on TV or social media you tell yourself that this is getting worse, that there is no way out and that it is more distressing every day, you are processing reality through the most adverse emotions. And it is something you must control.If you repeat things to yourself like “I just can’t handle my anxiety anymore,” you give excessive power to the emotional brain. and that amygdala that only anticipates risks and fatalities. You must subtract power from that emotional filter, reduce it, make it smaller. Stand before the door of your thoughts and act as a guardian: Do not allow the entry of ideas and verbalizations that worsen the vision you have about things and about yourself.

Moments of disconnection, spaces of calm

We know that emotional overload during difficult days is something that many of us can experience. Thus, It never hurts to take into account some simple everyday survival tips.

Regulates exposure to information.Keep a diary of emotions and thoughts. A logbook where you can make contact with your internal universe. Give yourself moments of calm in which to immerse yourself in pleasant activities, those in which your thoughts rest and positive emotions flow. Talk to people who know how to listen to you. People who add and not subtract.Think of your mind as a room. It must be orderly, light must enter every corner, leaving nothing dark and where no emotion is locked away or ignored.

To conclude, in complicated situations we should never anticipate the worst to try to be prepared. This formula does not work and only serves to increase anxiety and increase emotional overload.

Under these circumstances, There is an ingredient that should always fuel our days, and it is none other than hope. Let’s work on these ideas.

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