Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Overwhelm!

 Unknown Artist

The word from my heart pocket is Overwhelm.

Today I went to get a rental car to drive while mine is in the shop. Gosh-a-mighty. It was as if the rental car folks were in a vortex of overwhelm.

The phone rang non-stop. There were 4 people on duty and 12 people in the waiting area. All people were promised cars and there were none on the lot. People had been waiting for hours. Some of them had dogs. One car came in and before it could be distributed, the person who dropped it off left with the keys for parts unknown. The manager was answering phones and acting as ambassador while checking people in. If the customers weren't shouting at the ambassador, they were grumbling loudly to each other or into their cell phones. The chaos was overwhelming to everyone.

What was fascinating was how everyone reacted to the situation. Only one woman (and her equally tranquil sheepdog) was calm. Everyone else found a way to express their frustration loudly. Blame was rampant and contagious. The Ambassador remained pretty calm but the stress was creeping into his telephone voice. He spoke in a controlled manner. He multi-tasked but also paid attention to the order in which people arrived, servicing first-come-first-served. Those with reservations were put in line with the others. Preferences flew out the window as people just wanted anything to drive. Some people were missing work. A couple had missed airplane reservations. Each person had a story to tell. Each was completely thrown off base and everyone except the woman with the sheepdog (named Talulah) was completely overwhelmed. The more they focused on the negative effect of having to wait, the more complicated their individual situations grew. More phone calls made. Rearranging and telling the story over and over to each new listener. Even with the manager working as hard and calmly as he could, the vortex grew. So did the noise. 

Overwhelm  happens. If a person is addicted to drama, it is a constant state and extremely taxing on the mind and body. For most of us, overwhelm feels as though "when it rains, it pours", (exactly what the manager muttered through his harried grin). When overwhelm is mixed with vulnerable emotional states like helplessness and fear, it's hard to think clearly. Thinking clearly is the antidote to overwhelm and the first step toward overcoming it. There are ways to make that happen. 

A few deep breaths can clear the mind. Putting oneself in a neutral environment. Sharing with someone who is sympathetic but who won't fuel the fire. Meditation and prayer. Sleep. Making a list can help the mind to visualize and see a pattern or doable path. Exercise or brisk walking. Listening to calming music or sounds of nature calms a tense body and releases tension. Massage and taking a hot or cool bath/shower. Delegating and prioritizing one's tasks is a wonderful way to relieve overwhelm. And my favorite, in almost every case, be proactive. DO SOMETHING. Any choice that relieves tension and soothes the nervous system works.

When we feel overwhelmed, we might feel like crying. Go ahead and do it. Sometimes the answer to a problem will pop into the mind immediately when you're finished. This is also true if we choose vigorous exercise or sleep as an antidote. It is never true when we choose some sort of addictive behavior like drinking or shopping. This choice adds to the overwhelm because we have added one more variable to the mix, not the least of which is avoidance.

Overwhelm is a clue to slow down, simplify, prioritize or to simply stop what we're doing. There is no one answer and there is always, ALWAYS, a way out. 

The solution to overwhelm is to stop, look and listen. Those 3 activities will lead you to a feeling of peace and of being in control.

I left the rental car space to find a coffee shop where I could write and wait for my turn. On my way, I passed a different car leasing company. I walked in, was greeted with smiles and plenty of cars. They had the car of my choice and it was $12 less, well under the amount allotted by my insurance company. I was on the road within 15 minutes. Felt good to be out of the vortex. It feels even better to be on the road ...