What to do if I feel overwhelmed with everything?

If you are feeling overwhelmed by everything, it can interfere with your life. Here are ways to help manage this difficult feeling.

Feeling overwhelmed with everything can be debilitating to an individual, making it difficult to function in everyday life. People who feel overwhelmed with everything may be suffering from generalized anxiety disorder. People who have generalized anxiety often develop an intense and persistent fear, or worry excessively about performing daily living activities.

The individual often feels powerless and that something bad is about to happen. Associated with these sensations are physical symptoms of palpitations, sweating, intense fear, tremor, nausea and rapid breathing.

The feeling of being overwhelmed with everything is way out of proportion to the actual danger. These symptoms usually occur in a matter of minutes and may last anywhere from five to 90 minutes. When these symptoms of anxiety recur frequently, they can severely affect the quality of life.

Mild symptoms of anxiety usually start in childhood or the teenage years and then progress into adulthood. Common anxiety disorders include social phobia, panic disorders, separation anxiety or fear of closed spaces. In some rare cases, an individual may have more than one anxiety disorder.

When the symptoms affect the quality of life, it is important to see a health care provider. Anxiety disorders rarely spontaneously resolve and may in fact get worse with time.

Like most mental health disorders, the exact cause for anxiety disorders remains unknown. Experts believe that certain life experiences, like a traumatic event, may trigger anxiety later on in life.

Once the diagnosis of anxiety has been made, the two general treatments available include medications and some type of behaviour therapy. Most people see benefit from a combination of two. With behaviour therapy, the patient works closely with the therapist, learns ways to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and become less fearful. The therapy also teaches one to regain self-esteem and confidence.

For short-term relief of anxiety such as social phobia, one may even be prescribed small doses of medications for short-term use, as they are addictive and can cause physical dependence. In addition, people who are addicted to alcohol or illicit drugs should not take certain medications.

A complete cure from anxiety or the feeling of being overwhelmed with everything is not possible, but one can significantly reduce their anxiety by making lifestyle changes. This means keeping physically active. Exercise is one of the most powerful reducers of stress. It helps improve mood and builds self-esteem and confidence. It is also important to stop using alcohol and other sedatives. Cutting back on coffee and quitting smoking also helps decrease anxiety levels.

When feeling overwhelmed with everything, try using relaxation techniques like yoga and meditation. These practices can be combined with medications to achieve additional benefit. Finally, get adequate sleep, and eat healthy. For more information regarding anxiety, be sure to talk to your doctor.