Photo: tenioman

This time of year we start to get overloaded with thoughts of Christmas and all the things we have to organise and do. Pressure starts to mount as we try to cope with our already overly busy lives as we take on more and more. There are presents to get and wrap and decisions to make, such as which relative to spend Christmas with this year (one of the biggest stress givers), the worry of where the money’s going to come from to buy all the gifts and the guilty feelings when you can’t afford to buy the gifts you really want to give. All this is made worse by the constantbombardment of the retail industry (the Christmas music playing in stores and malls and all day Christmas music on some radio stations), which seems to get earlier and earlier every year. Put all this together with the regular pressures of work and daily life such as children, caregiving, illness, household chores, household bills, projects due, job prospects, life changing decisions, etc, etc, etc and life can become a living hell.

A number of you have told me how you’re now feeling like you’re on a treadmill that keeps getting faster and there’s no way off, emotions are running high and that’s not a feeling that anyone likes, but we’ve all experienced.  The first thing that helps is the knowledge that you’re not alone in this feeling, many people feel this way as life pressures and responsibilities can sometimes overwhelm us. The second thing that helps is to take a deep breath all the way down into your stomach, hold it there for a count of 4 and slowly breathe out, do this several times, drop your shoulders while you breathe and the tension will start todrain. When we panic our breathing becomes shallower and our system gets flooded with CO2(carbon dioxide) causing panic attacks, sleep problems and muscle cramps among other symptoms. Remember for your brain and body to function well it needs oxygen not excessive amounts of carbon dioxide.

If we look at life as a roller coaster with ups and down, highs and lows, fast points and slow points, we begin to see the need to take control before we go off the rails.I think it also helps us to see that the lows don’t last forever, our lives are constantly going through changes and we have to learn to cope with everything that gets thrown at us.  This is something we cannot do alone, it’s too much. There’s that lovely phrase that “2 heads are better than one”, by talking our problems over with a trusted friend or coach the things that make us panic and bring us to our knees seem less dramatic and less of a hurdle for us to climb over. Going back to the roller coaster, it gives us control of the ride. When you’re in control of your ride (your life), doesn’t that feel so much better and easier? Nobody’s life is perfect, no matter how much money or power a person has, life can still be overwhelming every now and again, the trick is to know what tools work for YOU to fix it. Remember it is your life and the tools that work for one person may not work for another, it’s not your fault you’re just different and the world would be a dull place without differences.

Try the breathing technique each time you begin to feel overwhelmed, the more you practice it the easier it will be to take control of your feelings. And don’t be afraid to reach out to someone for help, afterall what are we all here for if not to help each other. Whatever you choose to help you cope with life I wish you all the best of luck. And remember that love is a gift too.