When life feels like too much, too many tasks, too many emotions, not enough space, it's hard to know what to do. In this episode, we look at how overwhelm shows up and share some practical ways to respond so you can create more clarity, steadiness, and ease when everything feels piled on. Welcome to Roots of the Rise with me, Sarah Hope, where spiritual wisdom needs practical tools in short, bite-sized episodes. These are tasters, not deep dives, meant to spark curiosity, help you root deeply, rise freely, and remember who you truly are. I mentioned and I think the first episode of the year that my goal for 2026 is spaciousness, to call out what's unnecessary, to open to only the things that bring me the most joy, and to live from that place to set myself up so I'm not stressed by trying to do too much in too little time. But man has January not made this easy. We had two weeks of storms. That meant my kid was out of school for multiple days, which threw my private client's schedule into chaos, which of course ripple affected into all of my administrative work. My husband's new position is way more stressful than we imagined. And to top it off, by luck of timing, we're getting a surprise visit from my brother, which I am super excited about and have zero hesitation clearing the decks for. However, it also falls during a week my kid has yet another five-day weekend. I mean, seriously, talk about being set up for stress. It's just a lot of things happening and it feels like not nearly enough time. So while, you know, I set the intention to diminish my work commitments, you know, I still have some things I'm committed to that I just can't cancel. I am, well, that's not true. I suppose I could, but I am choosing to follow through with them. But I'm four days behind and I don't know how I'm gonna catch up. I am struggling to stay steady and grounded and to avoid perpetually saying to myself, God, I'm overwhelmed. I can't handle this, it's too much. What am I gonna do? You know, all of those disempowering, defeating, I am a failure statements that do absolutely nothing to help me. So what does? We'll get to that. But first, I just want you to pause and ask yourself, what are the thoughts that you repeat to yourself when life feels too full? How do you talk to yourself when you feel like you're getting buried alive? And just notice, notice them without judgment if you can. Because I know that I am not the only one who experiences this, nor am I the only one going through it right now. It has come up repeatedly with clients over the last couple of weeks. This sense that there is a lot happening in the world that feels very stressful and chaotic. And when you add to that normal life stuff, it just gets oppressive. So, how do we move through this? How do we reset so that we can move forward with clarity, ease, and steadiness? So the first step, as always, is to just acknowledge what you're feeling. Don't pretend to be okay if you're not. Don't squash fear, frustration, or sadness. Emotions are feedback. We're going to talk a lot about this next week. But for now, just recognize they are feedback. They tell you something is off course. You need to pay attention. Maybe you're overcommitted. Maybe someone is pushing your boundaries. Maybe you need to acknowledge a transition. You know, a side note on that, it's okay to grieve consequences of big changes, even when you know they're right. Like me letting go of some of the workshops and the off things I wanted to offer this winter. I was so excited about them. And also, thank God I didn't put them on the schedule because I'm underwater right now as it is. But I'm still allowed to be disappointed to not be offering them. So ask yourself, what is overwhelming you right now? Like name it, write it down. Are you feeling a little overwhelmed, or have you even allowed yourself to acknowledge it? And then notice does acknowledging it shift your energy even slightly, just naming it. So the second step is hitting the reset button. You know, sometimes we just need a reset. You know, sometimes it's a small one, a quick pause to get yourself back on track for the day. Other times it's a bigger one. You might need a full day to take care of business and restore your balance. What that looks like depends on the kind of stress you're experiencing, of course. So let's begin with the resets you might need if, like, you know, doing a five-minute guided contemplation or meditating or taking a nap isn't going to cut it. Maybe you need a big reset. If you are feeling totally chaotic, like you don't have a handle on anything, give yourself a get your shit together day. Clear clutter physically, mentally, digitally. Maybe it's paying bills, organizing emails, making your to-do lists, call lists, meal prep, laundry. Boring but grounding. And if even thinking about doing this makes you break out in a sweat, remember if something feels too hard or too big, it just means your first step isn't small enough. Chunk it down, begin anywhere. I don't do well when the house is messy. It infuriates, infuriorates, infuriates me. And it also makes me feel very ungrounded. And I know it's the same for my husband. So I intentionally, even though I'm drowning, took time this week in the afternoons, even though I was tired, even though I didn't particularly want to, to go through the house room by room and reset it, to get things back where they belong, to, you know, get the floors vacuumed and just get things kind of right-sized, because I knew that that was going to help me mentally tremendously. And it did. It did. It every time now that I walk in, I get the sense of like, okay, at least this is settled. So you can try that. Maybe though, maybe you need a productive reset. So if there's way too much on your to-do list, it's the to-do list itself that's stressing you out. Give yourself a get shit done day. That's me today, actually. It's Saturday. I have been at my office for wow. I just looked at the class clock and I have been at the office for nine hours. I will likely be here for another. Um, and while I would not say I'm having fun, I do feel the like the needle on my stress meter moving significantly. I mean, I'm still slightly overwhelmed. There is zero chance I'm going to finish everything that I wanted to accomplish today. But I keep reminding myself, overwhelmed does not mean unaccomplished. I have gotten a lot done. Another type of reset, maybe you need a recharge reset. If you're feeling exhausted, give yourself an unplugged day. You know, put the phone down, log out of everything, bonus points if you go outside. Maybe have a little mini adventure, try something new, go to a class, a random event, break routine. Another type of reset, reconnection. If you are feeling lonely, disconnected, like you haven't taken time or seen anybody that matters to you in a while, well, give yourself a reconnection day. Or actively plan out reconnection times in the next couple of weeks. You know, set aside time to call, text, or visit friends, maybe go somewhere new with them, or like just stay at home and watch movies and, you know, unplug from the world, replug into your relationship day. As you listen to those, did any pop out at you as like a, oh, that would be so nice? Which of these kinds of reset days could you realistically do in the next two weeks? Plan it. So that takes care of the big, you're gonna have to like set aside some time, some major time to do it. But what about those moments when it's just in the moment? You know, you have to keep going with the rest of your day, but it sure would feel nice to feel a little better as you do. Well, here are some small, quick, easy things that you can easily do. I have to say meditate because it is my personal way of resetting all the time. Uh, but I have some others if you don't have a meditation practice. If your heart feels weary, or if you're feeling a little kind of dull and dead and numb inside, go outside for five minutes. Ground yourself, breathe in fresh air, surround yourself with nature. Moving physically helps too, more than you might think. So, like a quick five-minute walk around the parking lot in the middle of a work day can do wonders for clearing your head. What if you are like feeling angry? Check your hunger. Probably the best advice someone ever gave my husband before we got married was keep her fed. Uh, hunger creates irritability. So just double check. What about feeling anxious? That's a normal one. Uh, try the physiological psi, which is science-backed and effective for reducing stress quickly. Mel Robbins has her catchy little phrase you can use to remember it. When life gets too much, two sniffs in, then flush. So it's two sniffs in through the nose, then one long exhale through the mouth. Just five minutes a day has been shown to be even more effective than mindfulness meditation, according at least to Dr. Andrew Huberman. Uh, another one, if you're feeling that time scarcity thing, too much to do, too little time, this one is huge for me, and I always approach it the same way. Instead of stressing over lost time, I tell myself, time arrives. I mark the hour as done, and then I focus on whatever I can realistically accomplish in the time I have. Something about the idea of time coming to me rather than focusing on all the hours already gone, it really helps. I don't know why it works, but it does. And after I've done that, after I've acknowledged time arrives, well, then I look at my to-do lists, which really should be called wish lists, and I check how much time I actually have so that I can realistically decide what's a priority and what I can like get done in the time I have. I write that down on a brand new sheet of paper. I put the rest of the lists away and focus on just those prioritized tasks. I don't even let myself look at the things I know I'm not going to be able to accomplish. So, with all that said, which of these piqued your interest? Which one do you want to remember? They're all written down for members in the app. So you can always reference that later if you're a member. Okay, the last thing I want to leave you with is this. Whenever we feel like we've hit our limit or even gone past it, we want to focus on what we're moving toward, not what we're moving away from. What I mean is focusing in on all the things we haven't done, that we didn't get to, on the stress, the insanity surrounding us, the chaos in our personal world or in the bigger universe, all of the focusing on the negative, all of that energy, well, it just fuels more of that negative, chaotic, stressed-out energy. What we want to do instead is focus on what we want. We want to set an intention about how we want to continue on with our day, week, month. You know, now setting an intention, this can take anywhere from a minute to an hour, depending on how deep you want to go. But regardless of time, it helps to find a quiet, undisturbed space. You can do something to mark that you are setting a new intention for how you want to move forward. Uh, that could be lighting a candle, burning some incense, sounding a gong, just intentionally taking a deep breath, heart centering if you're familiar with that practice. If you meditate and have the time to do that, do that first. Members, I have a guided grounding five-minute meditation in the app waiting for you. That would be great to do either as a standalone when you're feeling unsettled, or as a setup to do this next intention setting process. I mean, really, you just want to do whatever signals to your mind that you are here for a shift. Once you've done that, you want to focus on one area. What is most stressing you out? What are you feeling? And what do you need? I'm borrowing from Dr. Marshall Rosenberg's nonviolent communication approach here because it's so relevant. Often it's our own self-talk that creates a really harsh internal environment, which makes it hard to reset, grow, or move forward. So notice this is what triggered me. This is how I'm feeling, this is what I'm needing. And then ask yourself, what can I do to meet that need? It might be taking a specific action, shifting your schedule, creating a better system. Thank you, James Clear. You know, if you're even figuring out just one next step is calming in and of itself. Like when I get overwhelmed this week, I did this practice and I realized I need a day. I need a big get shit done day. And so I went home and I said to my husband, I need Saturday. Can you give it to me? He said, You bet, and here I am. So here's your invitation. What is one intention you can set for yourself this week that aligns with what you're moving toward? Remember, life will always throw more at us than we expect. But acknowledging, resetting, and creating spaciousness isn't about doing more. It's about moving intentionally. Thank you so much for being here with me today. I hope this episode gave you some ideas about what to do if you feel overwhelmed. In this episode, I mentioned materials for members. If you're curious about what that means, I offer a membership that includes show notes, reflective prompts, guided meditations, and other resources to help you integrate the episode on a deeper, more embodied level. You can learn more at risingwithsarah.com or through the link in the show notes. I hope you have a wonderful week. And remember, know who you are, love who you've been, and be willing to do the work to become who you are meant to be.