Today, these three short practices can help you come out of overwhelm.
Hi, this is Shelley Treacher from the Stress and Anxiety Recovery Podcast.
Today’s short episode provides gentle practices for when everything feels too much. If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or your nervous system is working very hard to keep you going, this one’s for you. Let’s slow down together.
I’ll give you a bit of an introduction about overwhelm, and then we’ll move through three very simple exercises.
You can, of course, follow along in your own way. You may not want to follow all three exercises today. And you can pause whenever you need to.
Why Overwhelm Happens in the Body
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, your body needs to know that it’s safe. These somatic exercises help you move into that state. All you need to bring is an attitude of listening to your body for a few seconds.
Exercise One: Grounding Through Your Feet
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start by grounding through your feet.
Stand with your feet about hip-width apart.
Feeling the Floor Beneath You
Notice the floor beneath you,
the weight of your body,
the contact of your heels and toes.
Pressing Down into Support
Gently press down through your feet as if sending your weight into the ground.
Three Slow Breaths
Now take three slow breaths.
Letting Tension Melt Downward
Imagine the tension melting down into the earth.
Noticing Subtle Shifts
Notice any shift, even if it’s subtle.
Feeling Supported and Safe to Pause
You’re here, supported by the ground, and safe to pause.
Noticing Warmth and Sensation
Exercise Two: Soothing Sway or Rocking
This is exercise number two: soothing, swaying, or rocking.
Introduce a gentle sway to your body.
Allow your body to find the rhythm of the music or your own rhythm.
Your body understands rhythm.
You are allowing your natural movement to come out here.
Just enough to remind your nervous system that you can receive kindness.
If it feels right for you, allow gentle, caring smooths or strokes.
This is how we can soothe ourselves without needing someone else.
Although you can imagine someone who you trust holding and stroking you.
It is okay if you want to cry.
Stay alongside yourself here as if you are comforting a child.
Exercise Three: Patting Percussion
Our third exercise is patting percussion.
We are shifting gear here slightly.
Here, you are patting yourself all over to release tension and to literally pat your boundaries in.
Let your hands find their own rhythm.
There’s no right way to do this.
Sometimes I start at the top of my head, sometimes I start on my arms, sometimes I start on my legs.
But make sure that you go all the way into your back and down to the soles of your feet, even if you have to sit down for this.
This helps you to come out of overwhelm and gain more of a sense of yourself.
At the end, you might feel refreshed or more relaxed.
Allow a pause to notice how you feel.
Notice whether your state has shifted.
Closing
Overwhelm is a sign of effort, not failure.
Your body has been protecting you, which takes a lot of energy.
These small moments of reconnection help you to come back to yourself.
Thank you so much for listening.
If this helped you, there are more somatic and self-soothing practices on my website https://www.bristolcounselling.co.uk/stress-anxiety-podcasts/ and on my YouTube channel.
This has been the Stress and Anxiety Recovery Podcast with Shelley Treacher.
Take good care, and I’ll see you again soon.
Your next episode: Coping with Anxiety: 10 Somatic Ways to Calm Overthinking
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