Overwhelming feelinga

I am sensing a definite feeling of overwhelm amongst teens. I am not sure if it is post-pandemic related because so many children are behind in their school work, or whether they just got used to doing less for a couple of years and are now struggling to go back to ‘normal’. Their lives are back to how they were in 2019, i.e. they are much busier again! Some children are feeling like they just can’t fit in everything they want or need to do. It’s a big change going from being busy, then doing nothing again in lockdown, to then being busy again. Not everyone wants the busy lifestyle back and they are many children trying to cope with overwhelming feelings.

The signs of overwhelm in your child are;

  • restless
  • angry
  • short-fused
  • anxious
  • stressed, etc…

DEALING WITH OVERWHELMING FEELINGS MADE EASY 

In order to help them deal with these feelings we need to find out what they are finding overwhelming and what they thin they can do to change that feeling. How can they reduce the overwhelm – is there anything they can do within their control? You may be able to help them see that some of the overwhelm has been brought on by themselves and so they need to change it. Alternatively the overwhelm may be coming from school so they would need to seek help from their teachers. 

If they don’t know where the overwhelm is coming from they could jot down on paper what they have to do every day. This will allow them to see visually their workload/activities/other commitments and together you could work out a schedule for when they will study, when they can have time to relax and when they will do everything else they need to fit in.

There will be some days when they will be committed to rigid plans and other days when they will have more downtime. That’s how everyone’s day goes – ebb and flow. Having a schedule with timings of how long they will spend on certain things, and when they will do them, will help children to see that there are enough hours in the day.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed, but planning can really help to keep on top of things. Teach your child this valuable skill and help them to manage their time to beat overwhelm.

How is your child dealing with overwhelming feelings? If they need some help then why not give me a call.