Feeling overwhelmed is no longer a rare phenomenon these days. Truth be told, minutes before writing this post, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed myself. You see, I was taking a short break when I glanced at the news (a fool-hardy mistake, I know). A couple minutes of doom-scrolling ensued and bam, there I was, feeling overwhelmed. If nothing else, I suppose that's the right state of mind for writing this article 😅.

Of course, it's not just the news – it's the never-ending inbox, back-to-back meetings, and the looming deadlines. For knowledge workers, the demands of the job are relentless, and the struggle often goes unnoticed or misunderstood. There is of course the expectation to perform at a high level, juggle multiple tasks, and always improve. But there's also the weight of mental exhaustion, stress, and burnout.

Feeling overwhelmed isn't a personal failure, nor does it mean you're bad at your job. It’s a normal response to the modern work environment and everyday life, where the lines between work and personal life are blurrier than ever.

In this article, we’ll explore what overwhelm really means, the signs to look out for, its causes, and – most importantly – how to stop feeling overwhelmed when you're swamped by your stress levels.

What does feeling overwhelmed mean?

Feeling overwhelmed is one of those emotions that's hard to describe yet impossible to ignore. But what does it really mean?

Overwhelm is an emotional and physical state where you feel unable to manage the demands placed on you by your work, personal life, or both. In professional terms, it often shows up when the workload becomes too heavy, the expectations too high, or the deadlines too close. Overwhelm is the feeling of too-muchness, that there’s too much to do – that everything feels equally urgent, equally pressing, and yet somehow insurmountable.

And the kicker is, it’s not just external. Sure, there are things like urgent deadlines and high expectations, but the real cruelty is internal – this self-perpetuating loop where you start to feel bad about feeling bad, where the frustration feeds on itself.

In professional life, you may feel overwhelmed by the endless ping of notifications, the dread of unanswered emails, and the gnawing suspicion that no matter how many hours you put in, it will never be enough. In your personal life, overwhelm can be just as intense. It might come from trying to balance relationships, family, and personal goals, all while feeling like you’re never giving enough to any of them.

Ultimately, no matter where it stems from, constantly feeling overwhelmed is a signal that your current load – mental, emotional, or physical – is simply too much. And when you’re constantly living in this state of "too much," it’s hard to stay productive, let alone content.

What are the signs you are feeling overwhelmed?

Recognizing when you’re overwhelmed isn’t always easy – it can creep up on you slowly or hit you all at once. The signs might not always be obvious, but they’re there if you know where to look. The tricky part is that overwhelm can manifest differently for everyone, depending on your mental and physical health, personality, coping strategies, and work environment.

Here are a few common signs to watch out for:

Physical symptoms

Your body often sends signals before your mind catches on. Physical symptoms of overwhelm might include:

• Persistent tension headaches or neck pain from clenching your jaw or shoulders.
• Exhaustion that lingers no matter how much rest you get.
• A racing heart or feeling jittery when you think about your responsibilities.
• Digestive issues, such as stomach pain, nausea, or changes in appetite, as your body reacts to stress.
• Trouble sleeping, whether lying awake unable to shut off your thoughts or waking up still feeling drained.

Emotional symptoms

The emotional impact of overwhelm can be just as revealing, though it’s sometimes harder to identify:

• Irritability: Little things start to feel disproportionately annoying, like a colleague’s offhand comment or a minor inconvenience.
• Anxiety: Everything feels urgent and impossible to manage, creating a constant undercurrent of unease.
• Frustration or helplessness: The overwhelming sense of “too much” can make it feel like you’re stuck in an endless loop of stress and cognitive fatigue.
• Guilt: You might beat yourself up for falling behind, even though external pressures are to blame, making it harder to ask for help or take a break.

Behavioral changes

Your actions – or inactions – can also hint that you’re overwhelmed:

• Avoidance: Procrastinating, difficulty concentrating, or sidestepping tasks that seem too daunting to start.
• Over-multitasking: Attempting to do everything at once, which can lead to mistakes and reduced productivity.
• Perfectionism: Obsessing over details unnecessarily, driven by the pressure to get everything exactly right.
• Withdrawal: Pulling away from social or professional interactions – ignoring messages, skipping meetings, or isolating yourself to avoid adding more to your plate.

It can look different for everyone

Overwhelming feelings aren’t always dramatic. Some people experience it more subtly, while others might visibly shut down. For some, it's all about internalized stress – feeling mentally worn out but pushing through it silently. For others, it might spill over into their interactions or how they perform their work.

It’s okay for mental overwhelm to look different from person to person. You don’t have to hit a breaking point for it to be real. But, spotting the early signs gives you the power to tackle it before it grows.

What are the causes of overwhelm?

Overwhelm doesn’t just happen out of nowhere and often, it’s not just one thing – it’s the way everything seems to layer on top of everything else. The causes are varied, tangled, and uniquely personal, but certain patterns tend to stand out.

Here are a few of the usual suspects:

1. Work-related causes of overwhelm

Work is often where overwhelm begins, as job demands can quickly outpace your capacity. It might feel like there’s no end in sight, with one task leading straight into the next. Common work-related causes of overwhelm include:

• Heavy workload: This is the big one. If you have too many responsibilities, it can feel impossible to manage, especially when tight deadlines and constant demands leave little room to catch up, leaving even the most organized worker overwhelmed.
• Too many meetings: A packed calendar filled with unproductive or poorly planned meetings can eat away at your time and energy, leaving you busy but unaccomplished.
• Lack of control: Constantly reacting to others’ priorities instead of managing your own can make you feel powerless. When decisions are constantly made for you, or you're expected to react to others' needs instead of focusing on your own, it can feel like you’re at the mercy of external forces.

2. Personal causes of overwhelm

Overwhelm isn’t just a work-related issue; personal life can be just as demanding, if not more so. Here are some common personal causes:

• Family obligations: Managing responsibilities like caring for children, supporting elderly parents, or keeping up with household demands can feel overwhelming, especially when combined with a busy work schedule. The pressure to be fully present in both areas can leave you feeling stretched too thin.
• Self-expectations: Many of us put a lot of pressure on ourselves to succeed in every aspect of life. This desire for perfection can easily turn into overwhelm, especially when you feel like you’re not doing enough. The pressure to live up to self-imposed standards can easily become exhausting.

3. Digital causes of overwhelm

Digital overwhelm has become a major contributor to stress, especially for knowledge workers. While remote work brings valuable flexibility, it also introduces a unique set of challenges that can amplify feelings of overwhelm:

• Constant notifications: Between Slack messages, emails, texts, and social media updates, it’s hard to get a moment of quiet. Never-ending digital distractions can make it difficult to focus, and the constant need to stay on top of communications can leave you feeling drained by the end of the day.
• Blurring work-life boundaries: With remote work, it’s tempting (or even expected) to always be "on." The boundary between work time and personal time becomes messy and without the physical separation of office space, it’s hard to turn off. This digital overload often means your mind is constantly processing work-related thoughts, even when you're "off the clock."
• Zoom fatigue: Video conferencing has become the norm, and while it’s a necessary tool, the endless hours of back-to-back virtual meetings can take a toll. The mental energy required to stay engaged, look presentable, and handle the constant screen time is exhausting.

What to do when you are feeling overwhelmed?

When overwhelm hits, it can feel like you're drowning. But you don’t have to wait for it to take over. Rather than simply reacting to the pressure, you can take steps to prevent it. It’s okay if things aren’t perfectly planned – sometimes, the best first step is simply taking a moment to breathe and reset.

1. Take a deep breath

It might sound basic, but deep breathing exercises are surprisingly powerful. By slowing your breath, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the fight-or-flight stress response. Grounding techniques or deep breathing exercises like the 478 method can be very helpful here: inhale for four seconds, hold for seven, and exhale for eight. This simple practice helps ground you in the present moment, calming both your mind and body.

2. Pause & step away

When you're feeling overwhelmed, sometimes the best thing you can do is walk away from your workspace for a few minutes. A brief walk outside or a few quiet moments away from your screen can help clear your mind and alleviate stress. Taking that time helps you reset and come back with a fresh perspective, ready to tackle whatever’s next.

3. Tackle small wins

It might feel impossible to handle your entire to-do list in one go, and that’s okay. Focus on small, manageable tasks first. Knock them out one by one, and celebrate each completed task, no matter how small. Each win helps build momentum and reminds you that you are making progress, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

4. Take control of your time

If you frequently feel overwhelmed by work or life, chances are, you need to take a hard look at your time management skills. Without a clear plan, it’s easy to feel like you’re constantly putting out fires instead of making meaningful progress.

Start by identifying your key tasks and breaking them down into smaller, manageable steps to stay focused. Be honest about what you can take on, and prioritize the things that truly move the needle. Tools like AI calendars, to-do apps, and/or time-tracking apps (like Reclaim.ai) can help you structure your day and stay on top of your responsibilities.

5. Set boundaries

This one can be tough, especially in work environments where saying "no" can feel daunting. But it's necessary for protecting your time and energy. Setting boundaries with colleagues, clients, and even family members will help you avoid biting off more than you can chew. That, and it will guarantee that you're giving your best to those things that you do take on. As Ron Swanson once said, "Never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing.”

Recognize your limits. Boundaries help prevent your to-do list from growing out of control and create the mental space you need to stay focused and productive.

6. Invest in self-care

You can't perform at your peak when you're running on fumes and this is why self-care is non-negotiable. It's the foundation of a healthy, productive life. So, make time for activities that replenish you: get enough sleep, move your body, practice mindfulness, or indulge in some enjoyable downtime.

Prioritizing regular downtime is an investment in your well-being and your ability to thrive. Don't feel guilty about prioritizing yourself; it's the smartest thing you can do.

7. Use task management tools

Feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list? Task management tools like ClickUp, Asana, and Todoist can help. They're great for breaking down big projects into smaller, more manageable steps, tracking your progress, and keeping everything organized, which, of course, makes it easier to prioritize, hit deadlines, and stay on top of things.

8. Talk to a therapist or coach

If you're finding overwhelm is taking a toll on your mental health, it might be time to talk to a licensed therapist or mental health professional, especially if you're having other health concerns. Getting the right professional support can help you develop ways to cope, better regulate emotions, and see things more clearly. Don't wait until you're completely stressed out – getting help sooner rather than later can make all the difference.

9. Take a digital detox

In our always-on, digitally connected world, it’s easy for screen time to contribute to feeling overwhelmed. A break from constant notifications, emails, and social media can do wonders for your mental clarity. Try setting aside specific hours or even entire weekends to disconnect and recharge. You might be amazed at how much more refreshed and focused you feel afterward.

How overwhelm undermines productivity & mental health

Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t just leave you feeling stressed for a moment – no, it can be much more insidious than that. It creeps in slowly, a thousand little tasks, emails, and deadlines piling up until your mind is a junkyard of half-thoughts and unfinished to-do lists.

On the mental health front, overwhelm is the equivalent of a 24/7 weight on your chest. The constant pressure of juggling too many demands can leave you anxious, irritable, or emotionally exhausted. Left unchecked, it can progress into burnout, chronic stress, depression, and maybe even a form of mental paralysis where you find it impossible to focus or think clearly.

And then, of course, there’s the impact on your productivity. Overwhelm makes prioritizing tasks nearly impossible, often leading to mistakes, inefficiencies, and missed deadlines. The more you struggle to stay on top of your workload, the more your performance suffers. So, instead of getting things done, you get caught in the web of busy work – tasks that have nothing to do with your goals but still manage to consume hours of your day.

This creates a vicious cycle. The more overwhelmed you feel, the less you get done. And the less you get done, the more stressed you get, and the more stressed you get, the more overwhelmed you feel. But with tools like Reclaim.ai (which proactively manages your schedule to prevent overwhelm before it happens), you can anticipate and break this cycle before it takes root. Reclaim is an AI-powered calendar assistant that integrates with your existing calendar, analyzes your schedule, and finds the optimal time for tasks, meetings, habits, and breaks. It also automatically reschedules events when plans change, so you can stay on top of your day.

It’s okay to not have it all together ✨

One of the hardest parts of being overwhelmed is the pressure to appear like everything is fine. But it’s okay not to have it all together all the time. Acknowledging that you’re feeling overwhelmed is not a sign of weakness – it’s the first step toward healing. No one can function at their best 100% of the time. So, give yourself permission to pause, step back, and ask for help when you need it.

At the end of the day, it’s okay to not have it all figured out. Manage what you can, be kind to yourself, and know that, with time and patience, you’ll find your way through it.