Stylist: How to deal with being overwhelmed all the time: “why do I keep breaking down over the little things?”

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"If even everyday life is starting to feel a “bit much” at the moment, you’re not alone. At the beginning of the month, the World Health Organisation reported that the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide, with young people and women the worst hit.

In an informative and comforting Instagram post, therapist and mental health content creator Amber Elizabeth Smith identified six possible reasons why things could be feeling a “bit much” right now – and they’re all extremely relatable.

You are experiencing burnout

Burnout leaves you with less capacity to cope with things that would normally not be an issue. So if not having enough milk or leaving your charger at home is bringing you to the brink of breakdown, it may be worth reducing what’s on your plate and prioritizing rest and recuperation for a while.

You bottle up and restrict your emotions

When so much is going on in the world, it’s perfectly understandable that many of us feel like the minutiae of our daily lives are hardly something to be complaining about, even if they are causing us anxiety or stress. But restricting your emotions comes with its own drawbacks, too. If you only allow yourself to feel ‘happy and OK’ all of the time, you may be ignoring your true feelings. However, your brain and body both subconsciously know that’s not the case, so continuing on autopilot instead of truly checking in with yourself is likely causing more harm than good.

You are harboring resentment towards someone or something

Rumination is a completely common human experience, but we still need to watch out for the signs and take action when we feel ourselves slipping into the mindset.

Your lifestyle and nutrition are imbalanced

Self-care isn’t just about nature walks, hot showers, and a soothing cup of herbal tea, as lovely as those things are. The core components of our physical and mental wellbeing – sleep, water, nutrients and exercise–need to be accounted for, too. Sleep deprivation can worsen anxiety and skipping meals causes a drop in the body’s blood sugar levels, increasing irritability.

Hormones

An imbalance in hormones or their natural fluctuation may produce symptoms of being “on edge”. Hormones have a powerful effect on women’s brain chemistry, mental health and mood, leading to brain fog, difficulty concentrating and anxiety as well.

You have trauma from a past experience that is being activated

It is true that the past stays with us, and difficult global events can very easily lead us to relive other times in our lives that we felt under threat or in danger without us even realizing that our brains and bodies are re-experiencing the trauma. This is typically tricky as you may not realize that certain sounds, words, smells, people and places have an effect on you. However, only a mental health professional can give a formal diagnosis of any underlying disorder, such as PTSD, that could be impacted by trauma. "

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