COACHING FOR OVERWHELM

Understanding Overwhelm

Overwhelm is a state where individuals feel they cannot manage the multitude of demands placed upon them, whether at work or at home. It can arise from having too many things happening at once, leading to the mind becoming overloaded. This can leave individuals feeling like they cannot cope with any more problems and that they are close to a tipping point. Chronic overwhelm is a significant contributor to anxiety and anxiety disorders. The experience of overwhelm can involve a sense that daily challenges have become insurmountable obstacles, and there may be feelings of failing to meet expectations. It’s a sneaky downward slide, often fuelled by the accumulation of micro-moments of stress and a lack of self-care.

The Brain and Mind in Overwhelm

When someone becomes overwhelmed, their mind can become overloaded with everything that is going on, leading to feelings that are jerky, reactive, and irritable. This can drain energy, resulting in fatigue. From a neurological perspective, when stress levels rise and anxious signals increase, the normally brilliant frontal lobe can become overwhelmed by negative emotion and function less effectively. The prefrontal cortex, usually responsible for clear, rational judgements, has its relative power temporarily diminished. Constant stimulation and information overload can force the brain to be on ‘alert’ too much, increasing the allostatic load, which is a reading of stress hormones and other factors related to a sense of threat. Over-arousal, with too much electrical activity in the prefrontal cortex, can also occur. The brain may struggle to process the volume and speed of information, making it difficult to think clearly. Furthermore, when the stress response is activated, the amygdala’s signals can influence and even dominate brain functioning, potentially disabling clearer thinking skills.

Psychologically, overwhelm can be linked to feeling a lack of control, understanding, or ability to manage situations. Individuals might experience a sense of being stuck, feeling unable to come up with solutions to problems and feeling confused by the many demands in their lives. There may also be an increase in negative self-talk and negative projections about the future. Habits of negativity and worry can contribute to a feeling of being constantly overloaded.

Coaching as an Effective Way Back

Coaching for overwhelm can be an effective approach to help individuals regain a sense of control and productivity. Unlike therapies that might delve deeply into past issues, coaching often adopts a solution-focused approach, concentrating on building solutions to current difficulties. This involves shifting the focus from why there is a problem to how to create a solution. Coaches can work with clients to identify what they would like things to be and help them take small, manageable steps towards those goals.

Coaching can empower individuals to recognise the patterns of behaviour and thought that contribute to their overwhelm and to develop strategies to change these patterns. Techniques can include exploring exceptions – times when the problem of overwhelm is less noticeable – and what the client did to bring that about. Clients can also learn practical tools to manage immediate feelings of overwhelm, such as breathing exercises and strategies to ‘take the significance out’ of situations. By breaking down overwhelming goals into smaller chunks, coaching can prevent clients from feeling overwhelmed by their recovery plan itself. The emphasis is often on taking conscious control and instructing the frontal lobe to focus on positive steps forward.

Advantages of Coaching Over Traditional Therapies for Overwhelm

Several potential advantages exist for using coaching rather than traditional therapies for addressing overwhelm:

• Focus on the Present and Future Solutions: Coaching tends to be more oriented towards the present and creating tangible solutions for moving forward. Traditional therapies may spend more time exploring the origins and underlying causes of emotional distress, which, while valuable, may not provide immediate strategies for managing current overwhelm.
• Empowerment and Self-Efficacy: Coaching aims to empower clients to take an active role in managing their challenges by developing their own resources and skills. By teaching practical techniques and encouraging self-reliance, coaching can build confidence that more control is possible.
• Action-Oriented Approach: The focus in coaching is often on taking action and implementing specific strategies. This can be particularly beneficial for individuals feeling stuck in overwhelm, as it provides a clear pathway towards change through concrete steps.
• Potentially Briefer Intervention: Solution-focused brief therapy, a common framework in coaching, recognises that much of ongoing anxiety and stress is created daily and can be addressed in a comparatively shorter timeframe than some traditional therapies. While acknowledging that deeper issues might exist, the initial focus is on alleviating the immediate sense of being overwhelmed.
• Normalising the Experience: Coaching can normalise the experience of overwhelm as a response to modern life demands rather than framing it solely as a psychological disorder. This can reduce any stigma associated with seeking help and encourage a proactive approach to managing stress.

Summary

Overwhelm is a state of feeling unable to manage excessive demands, significantly impacting an individual’s mental and emotional well-being. Neurologically, it involves overactivity and potential impairment of the prefrontal cortex due to stress and information overload. Coaching offers a powerful pathway back from overwhelm by adopting a solution-focused approach that emphasises present action, skill-building, and personal empowerment. By concentrating on creating solutions and implementing practical strategies, coaching can provide tangible relief and a renewed sense of control, potentially offering a more direct and action-oriented route compared to traditional therapies that may focus more on historical context and in-depth emotional processing.