Coping When Life Feels to Full
Affirmations, Journaling Prompts, and Other Coping Strategies to Help You Deal with Daily Demands
“That’s because my days are full. I am full. My head is full of to-dos. My mind is full of ideas. My heart is full of love and desire to pour my best into the people, the projects — the work the Lord has set before me.
Yet, the days leave me empty, draining, and daring me to keep up with the daily demands. And I question if I still want to.”
How do you deal with daily demands and pressures? This is a question I posed this month in our community discussion board.
As I shared in our community discussion, with so many things to do and roles to fill, it can be easy to become overwhelmed or succumb to daily demands, pressures, and challenges. And it’s not always due to negativity or negligence in balancing your life, responsibilities, work, or schedule. You can wisely plan and prepare, say no, and set boundaries that preserve your mental health and well-being and still experience the weight of carrying, balancing, and fulfilling multiple roles and callings. This doesn’t necessarily have to be bad stress. This can actually be good stress.
Stress often carries a negative connotation, and rightfully so. Stress that stems from being negatively overwhelmed by demands, losses, or perceived threats can have a detrimental effect on your overall physical, mental, and spiritual health. This is known as distress.1 But did you know that there is also a positive form of stress called eustress?
Eustress is a positive stress response that stems from engaging in challenging yet enjoyable and worthwhile activities (i.e. starting a new job, moving into a new home, giving a speech, raising children, etc.) that spark growth, fulfillment, performance, happiness, and achievement,2 meaning you can still experience stress even when doing something you love or are called to do. This is a positive stress that can be motivating, inspiring, and encourage resilience. However, it’s still stress, and too much of it can turn into distress or even chronic stress if you’re not mindful of how you’re managing it.
The truth is that some seasons will lend themselves to more stress than others. Going through change and transition, managing multiple roles and callings, pursuing your passions and purpose, stepping out of your comfort zone, tending to your mental health and emotions, experiencing life in every sense — it’s a blessing, but sometimes it can be all-encompassing. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by the bad or the good, here are some coping statements or affirmations to ground you.
“Even when I feel incapable, God is more than able.”
“I am grateful for the blessings that come with the busyness of this season.”
“I can experience joy and peace in this season, even if I feel overwhelmed and anxious.”
“Hard doesn’t equal bad.”
“I am praying through this and prioritizing effectively, taking things one step at a time.”
“I will focus on doing my best and let God do the rest.”
“For everything, there is a season. With God’s help, I will get through this.”
Another thing I’ve found helpful when I’m feeling overwhelmed with all that’s on my plate is to do a simple brain dump, where I identify the source of my overwhelm and practical steps to take or tasks to do to mitigate the feeling.
If you find yourself specifically having difficulty coping with work demands, I shared some coping strategies for managing work and life demands in an article I wrote on my company’s website, The Purpose & Work Institute. Click the button to read the full article.
While some seasons may be busier or more overwhelming than others, we will always experience some stress or tension when juggling multiple tasks, callings, and roles. While eustress can have positive effects, we must learn how to identify and cope with it effectively so it doesn’t turn into stress. Journaling can be a helpful tool for exploring and processing these overwhelming feelings and hectic seasons. That’s why I created seven journaling prompts, based on positive psychology, to help you identify and cope with eustress.
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