Overwhelm & Grief

It’s the middle of April and we all should be gripping about our taxes that are due but we’re not.

How I long to be stressing over the yearly mundane ritual of getting all my tax information together and holding my breath to see if I receive a tax refund. But instead of praying for a return I am praying for us to move through this pandemic. The holding the breath part is still here but my attention and unsettledness has dramatically changed to the pandemic.

I find myself feeling like Mary Poppins and digging through my huge carpet bag of coping strategies, pulling out each strategy one by one only to replace it back into the open carpet bag until I found my five favorite grounding go-to strategies.

I want to share with you the five favorite strategies I’ve been relying on in the past few weeks. So I have created Out of Overwhelm: Five Days of Tips & Strategies. I have provided 5 brief audio explanations and a downloadable companion printable worksheet for you to refer to during each day and beyond.

We are collectively experiencing this abrupt halt and change to our lives. For some of my clients and me personally, it has triggered the grief cycle stages and perhaps at times it might feel as though you are feeling all of the stages at once:

Seven Stages of Grief:

• Shock & Denial
• Pain & Guilt
• Anger & Bargaining
• Depression, Loneliness and Reflection
• The Spiraling Up
• Working Through
• Acceptance & Hope

I have been asking myself one of the questions I discuss within Out of Overwhelm numerous times daily as a pattern interrupt. “Is that so?” and holding myself in curiosity about my inner chatter and reactions, then listening with compassion to both my inner dialogue and my family’s shared dialogue.

• “I shouldn’t be here.” (Denial)
• “I can’t believe this is happening.” (Anger)
• “I want to accomplish all my to-do list.” (Acceptance)
• “I miss my life.” (Pain)

Try to listen with an open heart to your inner comments and your families’ statements and know that grief is being expressed and send loving acknowledgement to you and others. Showing up to be compassionate and loving is a powerful intention right now. And if by chance you experience a moment of being triggered, acknowledge that moment and uncover the feelings behind it, then forgive yourself in loving kindness.

How can we not be feeling overwhelmed right now? We have never experienced anything like this and hopefully never will again.