5 Steps Out of Overwhelm

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed, you feel like you can’t breathe? That was me in 2009 - pre-Shahada -  buckling under the pressure of having taken on too much, a persistent recurring theme in my life. 

I was working 16-hour days, no weekends, fueling myself on coffee and chocolate, and had a deadline hurtling towards me like a freight train,

I kept telling myself, “I can do this!”

I kept pushing harder, working faster. 

My stress levels were rising and my tolerance levels were dropping. 

Even small things would set me off.

I was stretched and snapping.

I was neglecting friends and family because I didn’t have the capacity for anything or anyone else.

Even working at my frenetic pace, I had no idea how I was going to get everything done.

One evening, it got too much and that night, I had what was the first and only panic attack of my life. 

I found myself in an 'Eat, Pray, Love' moment, in a heap on the floor of my bathroom  – except I didn’t have any epiphanies or insights to head to Italy, India, and Indonesia for a year and write a best-selling book.

I just realized I couldn't stay there forever, so eventually picked myself up and decided to call a friend.

She listened and then she asked me a life-changing question.

“Kate, how do you eat an elephant?”

What?

“How do you eat an elephant? - Piece by piece.”

 She continued, “Break things down into their smallest components and take everything one step at a time.

Focus on the next hour, or the next 10 minutes or even just the next 5 minutes if you need to.

Complete those 5 minutes and then focus on the next 5 and keep going like that.”

I will forever be grateful for her words and they have become an integral part of my life, and my simplification toolkit, now viewed through the lens of our beautiful deen. 

Ideally, the best scenario is to NOT get into a situation where you are faced with elephants in the first place but if you're already there, here's a way out - step by step.  

5 Steps Out of Overwhelm

Step One: Stop

Stop and step back for a moment. The world will not stop turning if you stop for a moment and to gather your thoughts and centre yourself.

Take a deep breath.

Step Two: Reflect 

Take a moment to remember your ultimate purpose, and WHO is in control. 

Step 3: Make Du'a 

Make du’a and ask Allah for help.

Step 4: Ask yourself: “How do I eat this elephant?”

Recognize that the whole (whatever it is) is too big to manage. You need to break it down to avoid complete overwhelm and paralysis so break things down into bite-sized manageable chunks.  

Step 5: Focus ONLY on the first bite and get started.

Forget about the whole and focus only on the first bite. Take action, complete it, take a moment to celebrate the progress, no matter how small, thanking Allah. 

REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT

 DISCLAIMER 

If you are experiencing overwhelm due to grief, trauma or mental health challenges, I encourage you to seek professional help. Seeking help is seeking Allah’s mercy and while this technique may be beneficial to you, it is not designed as a treatment for emotional or mental health conditions but rather focuses on overwhelm due to mental, physical, and electronic clutter as a result of everyday lifestyle choices, mindset, behaviour and environmental influences.

Let me know if you give this a try or if you have a technique that helps you in overwhelming situations.