Super helpful. Putting in the practical tips of what to do... I don't know how to put it, but that's the genuine stuff we need for grounded resistance and creativity. Good on you.
The propaganda aspect of this article is very interesting and you clearly lay out ways to defeat its impact. I do, however, take issue with your use of the word overwhelm. It is not a noun, it is a verb. The reason I bring up your misuse of it, is that I believe a great many folks are also misusing the word, in the same way that they use "literally," when in fact they mean virtually or potentially.
To be sure, overwhelm and overwhelming are very nice, juicy sounding words (as is underwhelm), so it is easy for our brains to default to their warmth, rather than dig for more precise descriptors. A quick search of news headlines that include the word "overwhelming" reveals that many journalists are using it in the wrong context, further skewing its vernacular usage. There are also dozens of web pages and blogs demanding to know if we are feeling overwhelmed, which I am sure make some of us feel deficient that we are not, and others able to grasp at a word, and the concept it engenders, which possibly does not clearly represent what actually ails them. (There, I think, is your propaganda).
Please do not misunderstand, there are folks who are genuinely overwhelmed and there are situations that are obviously overwhelming. Overusing the word, when we instead mean stunned or gratified or outraged or depressed or any number of better and more accurate descriptors, not only depletes the word's original meaning and impact, it eventually does damage to those using the word correctly.
As an example of what I mean, here in the UK, getting a squeaky supermarket trolley, accidentally spilling paint on the dog, missing the bus or any number of trivial inconveniences are most usually referred to as "an absolute nightmare." I catch folks doing it all the time, but I also know other folks who have and are living through real absolute nightmares and, I promise you, none of them think they're trivial.
I am stunned, outraged, depressed, exhausted, burnt out, anxious, traatised, fearful. While each is a descriptor, the combination, If we focus on each, isissed. This those who attack with a thousand stealthy cuts (each with an appropriate desciptor) get away with the win of accumulated micro-oppression. But when someone, like Rebecca and this article, point out I may be overwhelmed, I want to reach out, with tears, saying yes. Yes, this is how I'm feeling, and it's incapacitating. Maybe we could create the word Omniwhelm, but for now Overwhelm reaches out and makes essential connection in a war that's all about disconnection and control.
Peter - I would suggest that you are, indeed, overwhelmed. Being able to isolate all the specific causes of what is overwhelming you is a good start to overcoming that feeling. Focusing on eradicating one or two of those causes may not only help relieve some of your sense of being overwhelmed, but also lessen the impact of the other causes. For instance, working to assuage your exhaustion and burn-out may help alleviate some of your depression and anxiety.
Please understand, I am not saying that this will be at all easy. Being able to step away from from all that is overwhelming you to focus on relieving the specific causes will take great effort and the benefits of doing so may not immediately present themselves, but it will - in the long term - be worth the effort.
BTW, I very much like the term Omniwhelm. Not only can be a solid noun, it gives a much clearer representation that what is being suffered is not inflicted by a single wave or event, but many different and diverse elements.
Awesome article. I love the advice to lean into the wisdom of our bodies
Super helpful. Putting in the practical tips of what to do... I don't know how to put it, but that's the genuine stuff we need for grounded resistance and creativity. Good on you.
The propaganda aspect of this article is very interesting and you clearly lay out ways to defeat its impact. I do, however, take issue with your use of the word overwhelm. It is not a noun, it is a verb. The reason I bring up your misuse of it, is that I believe a great many folks are also misusing the word, in the same way that they use "literally," when in fact they mean virtually or potentially.
To be sure, overwhelm and overwhelming are very nice, juicy sounding words (as is underwhelm), so it is easy for our brains to default to their warmth, rather than dig for more precise descriptors. A quick search of news headlines that include the word "overwhelming" reveals that many journalists are using it in the wrong context, further skewing its vernacular usage. There are also dozens of web pages and blogs demanding to know if we are feeling overwhelmed, which I am sure make some of us feel deficient that we are not, and others able to grasp at a word, and the concept it engenders, which possibly does not clearly represent what actually ails them. (There, I think, is your propaganda).
Please do not misunderstand, there are folks who are genuinely overwhelmed and there are situations that are obviously overwhelming. Overusing the word, when we instead mean stunned or gratified or outraged or depressed or any number of better and more accurate descriptors, not only depletes the word's original meaning and impact, it eventually does damage to those using the word correctly.
As an example of what I mean, here in the UK, getting a squeaky supermarket trolley, accidentally spilling paint on the dog, missing the bus or any number of trivial inconveniences are most usually referred to as "an absolute nightmare." I catch folks doing it all the time, but I also know other folks who have and are living through real absolute nightmares and, I promise you, none of them think they're trivial.
I am stunned, outraged, depressed, exhausted, burnt out, anxious, traatised, fearful. While each is a descriptor, the combination, If we focus on each, isissed. This those who attack with a thousand stealthy cuts (each with an appropriate desciptor) get away with the win of accumulated micro-oppression. But when someone, like Rebecca and this article, point out I may be overwhelmed, I want to reach out, with tears, saying yes. Yes, this is how I'm feeling, and it's incapacitating. Maybe we could create the word Omniwhelm, but for now Overwhelm reaches out and makes essential connection in a war that's all about disconnection and control.
Peter - I would suggest that you are, indeed, overwhelmed. Being able to isolate all the specific causes of what is overwhelming you is a good start to overcoming that feeling. Focusing on eradicating one or two of those causes may not only help relieve some of your sense of being overwhelmed, but also lessen the impact of the other causes. For instance, working to assuage your exhaustion and burn-out may help alleviate some of your depression and anxiety.
Please understand, I am not saying that this will be at all easy. Being able to step away from from all that is overwhelming you to focus on relieving the specific causes will take great effort and the benefits of doing so may not immediately present themselves, but it will - in the long term - be worth the effort.
BTW, I very much like the term Omniwhelm. Not only can be a solid noun, it gives a much clearer representation that what is being suffered is not inflicted by a single wave or event, but many different and diverse elements.
Amazingwork Rebecca!