Overwhelmed by Life? Here’s How to Regain Control and Find Peace
Table of Contents
1. Pause. Seriously, stop everything.
2. Name what’s weighing on you.
3. Shrink your world for a minute.
4. Let go of perfection (it’s a lie anyway).
5. Talk to someone who gets it.
6. Get out of your head and into your body.
7. Remind yourself: this won’t last forever.
8. Conclusion
Let’s be honest here, life has a way of knocking the wind out of us sometimes. One day you're cruising, windows down, music up, sun shining... and the next? Bam. You’re knee-deep in stress, self-doubt, a to-do list that’s mutating by the hour, and wondering if you accidentally signed up for a reality show called “How Much Can One Person Take?” I’ve felt that same feeling many times throughout my adult life. Wondering if it’s me who is the problem.
If you’re feeling that weight right now, first of all, you’re not alone. We all get bogged down. Even the ones who seem to have it all figured out (spoiler: they don’t, they just hide it better). But the good news is, there are ways to navigate through the muck. Not perfectly, maybe not gracefully, but definitely.
Here’s what I’ve learned—sometimes the hard way—about digging out of life’s potholes:
1. Pause. Seriously, stop everything.
When you’re overwhelmed, your first instinct might be to push harder, do more, "just get through it." But often, what you really need is the opposite. Pause. This was my mindset a few years ago when I was trying to figure everything out. And that is my problem too. I will try to figure out every little detail of something to the point of stressing myself out. And the reason for that is I did not like making mistakes. It was a self-inflicted pressure that caused me to be stressed. When in reality, I did not need to be.
Take a breath. (I know, it sounds ridiculously simple. Do it anyway.) I mean it, take one right now. Actually, take two of them.
Even five minutes of stepping back—away from your desk, your phone, the chaos—can give you just enough space to realize you’re not drowning. You’re just standing in deep water and forgot you know how to swim.
2. Name what’s weighing on you.
Sometimes we feel stressed without knowing exactly why. Is it the pressure at work? Relationship friction? The creeping feeling that you’re falling behind in life?
Write it out. Say it out loud. Call a friend and vent. Give the feeling a name. Or if you’re religious, pray about it. I find myself praying when I don’t have anybody to talk to. It helps. There’s power in putting words to the heavy fog in your head. It gives you something to work with instead of just drowning in.
3. Shrink your world for a minute.
When everything feels big and out of control, go small. Think about it, the whole galaxy out there. And here we are, a speck of dust that is the Earth. Our problems are way smaller than the grand schemes of things. But with that being said, I am not saying your problems aren’t important. Yours is as important as mine. What I am trying to convey is that you shouldn’t inflate the problems to the point where you can’t see the surface anymore.
Make your bed. Drink a glass of water. Reply to that one email you’ve been avoiding. Fold your laundry while listening to a podcast. These tiny acts of order create momentum. And momentum, even the smallest kind, has a magical way of pulling you forward.
4. Let go of perfection (it’s a lie anyway).
Spoiler alert: no one has it all together. That person on Instagram? Probably cried into their smoothie bowl this morning. The coworker who always looks on top of it? Fighting battles you don’t see.
Give yourself permission to be a work in progress. Done is better than perfect. Trying is better than pretending.
5. Talk to someone who gets it.
Humans weren’t made to shoulder everything alone. Text your best friend. Call your mom. Send that “Hey, you free to talk?” message. Sometimes, just knowing someone hears you and says, “Yeah, me too,” is enough to feel lighter.
And if what you’re carrying feels too heavy—don’t hesitate to talk to a therapist. Mental health is health, period.
6. Get out of your head and into your body.
When my brain is swirling, I go for a walk. Nothing fancy. Just being one with nature and hearing the sounds of the wind crashing onto the leaves of the trees is relaxing to me. You should try it sometimes when you are able. Sometimes I don’t even change out of my bed clothes. Just straight boxer briefs. Just kidding, I at least put pants on. Moving your body helps shift mental static. Even if you just stretch for five minutes, you’re reminding yourself: “I’m still here. I’m still capable.”
7. Remind yourself: this won’t last forever.
It’s easy to feel like the low moments will never end. But they always do. Every time. The tide always turns, and you’ve survived 100% of your worst days so far. So what’s a few more?
You will look back at this time and see how strong you were, even if you felt anything but strong.
Final thoughts?
Life is a weird, messy, beautiful rollercoaster. When you’re bogged down, the goal isn’t to pretend everything’s fine. The goal is to keep showing up, even if all you can do today is breathe, drink some water, and cry a little.
You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re just human taking a break—and that’s more than enough.
So go gentle on yourself, okay? One step, one breath, one kind thought at a time.
From one person to another, you’ve got this. Truly.
