Precarious Pumpkins and managing our overwhelm.

I drove behind a pick-up truck on the freeway today that had its bed CHOCK FULL of pumpkins.  Like really, really full.  

Those pumpkins were not tied down or secured and I found myself wanting to pass quickly by.  One bump would have sent one – or many – of those pumpkins flying.   

Why did the guy load his truck up so SO full?  Why didn’t he just leave some of those pumpkins behind?  

I won’t ever know.  And thankfully, on the news this evening, there was no freeway-related pumpkin fatality. 

Tonight, as I’m wondering what I should or could have done to prevent any imminent danger, I am thinking a lot about those precarious pumpkins.  

Dr. Christopher Shimming says, “The brain is the most complex organ in the body. It controls the function of vital organs like the heart to beat and lungs to move oxygen. The brain coordinates movement of your arms and legs to walk, dance or hug someone. And the brain creates memories and feelings that enable you to interact with family and friends.

The brain can process a certain amount of information presented in different methods. The brain processes the information you gather each day.  [But] when there is too much information to process, you may feel cognitive overload. This happens when you reach a point of paralysis of information — not being able to process and then act on what is heard.”

In other words, the truck bed of our mind only has room for so many pumpkins before we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of overwhelm.

Dr. Scott Bea calls it “critical mass.”  “You start missing things, avoiding things, getting angry, and struggling at work, home, or in your relationships.”  

So, how do we make our brains less overloaded?  How do we avoid the paralysis and manage the overwhelm?  

In an article by the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Bea offers 5 ideas: 

Just do the thing.

• “When we have a lot on our minds, our must-do items tend to circle around and around in our brains like the ticker at the bottom of a cable news show. Sometimes the best way to get it out of your head is to just get it done. …When we move toward tasks instead of away from them, our tension goes down, and our confidence goes up.” 

Schedule it.

• “Schedule both the fun (booking a hotel for summer vacation, having dinner with a friend) and the not-so-fun (touring assisted living homes with your mom, rewriting your resume).Scheduling tasks commits you to doing them. It’s a great way to reduce mental overload.” 

Or, skip it.

• “If you keep avoiding something for weeks (or months), ask yourself: Does it really need to get done? If not, cross it off your list for good….People exhaust themselves thinking they have to get to some finish line. It’s OK to let some tasks remain undone.”

Ask for help.

• “You can’t expect other people to rescue you from your obligations, but you can ask for assistance. It can be hard to ask for help, but it gets easier with practice.” 

Stop overthinking it.

• “Feeling overwhelmed isn’t just having too much to do — it’s often having too much to think about. When you start getting ahead of yourself, observe your thoughts and then let them go. Get past all the thinking about it — and just do it.”  

Do the thing.

Schedule all of it.

Skip some of it.

Ask for help.

Stop overthinking it.

I can’t wait to hear about how you’re managing your overwhelm.  If you need help with any of it, I’d love to give you some assistance.  And, if you happen to need help with a load of pumpkins, a tarp and tie-downs are your best friend. 

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