We live in a society were we are faced with mass overwhelm everyday - the news, work expectations, the need to be productive, family pressures - back to the news. It cycles around and around at a ferocious pace. We are not created for this level of mental stimulation -especially when most of it is negative or anxiety provoking. We can feel powerless in the face of things we cannot control. Even meeting the pressure of what constitutes a "good life" and the feeling that we are not living up to it just adds to that feeling we are never doing enough or not quite what we hoped we'd be.
So much is expected of us and we expect so much of ourselves every day. Even writing this I can feel a sense of frustration that the back space key is not deleting the poor sentence I wrote a minute ago quickly enough - the speed of the delete button is getting in the way of all the things I feel the need to do! So much unnecessary pressure.
Basically it is all just too much and yet we try to live at that speed with those expectations day after day.
Unfortunately when we feel this failure to meet this ridiculous expectations, our instinct is to feel we are to blame. This is not true - society and the culture is to blame. Sure, we can take the foot off the gas - we have the ability and power to do that but it is not made easy for us. A pause is made to feel like a step backwards. We are under immense pressure and the understandable inability to keep up is not a failing - it's an escape.
So when you feel overwhelmed and its all simply too much remember...you are not your fault...you are the culmination of all these expectations and pressures: the feeling of overwhelm is not a failing but a great insight from your mind telling you that its ok to slow down and do less.
If you wish to talk about this or anything else feel free to get in touch
Ian
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