Do you ever feel overwhelmed?

Does it ever feel like you are running as fast as you can and you are still going backwards?  Overwhelm, leading to stress, triggering anxiety.  Sounds familiar?  Then read on or watch the video here

The proverbial hamster wheel is something I can certainly relate to – and have managed to get off of it by learning something from good old Mother Nature!

And it is all about the seasons.  Each of the 4 seasons has its particular role.

Let’s start with Spring.  Spring is a time of high growth, but it starts slowly – those first crocuses and daffs breaking through the soil.  And then as it ramps up, the trees blossom and plants, having broken the soil quickly start flourishing.

Then into Summer which is all about productivity and abundance

Autumn is a period of harvesting that productivity.

And winter brings stillness and restoration

What we try and do in our lives however, is to live a perpetual Summer, always seeking to be highly productive.  But it’s just not feasible!  If Mother Nature did this, giving us 12 months of summer, it would just not work; there would be burn out.  Even 9 months of Summer and 3 of Winter would create imbalance.

And we can take this down to a daytime level too.  The First period of the morning is like Spring – gently getting started and getting going.  From 11-4 is Summer – the time of highest productivity.

The early evening is Autumn time – a time to gather in the productivity from the day and finally night time is Winter – the time to rest and recuperate.

So relating this to overwhelm is looking to see if your ‘seasons’ are imbalanced.  Do you miss Spring time and launch straight into Summer, immediately reaching for your phone and becoming productive (and if you can relate to your phone being the first point of interest when you wake, here is another video that I recommend watching.)

And perhaps Summer goes on for 10 hours of the day?  Perhaps there is not enough Winter time to restore yourself?

So think about how you structure your day.  Seek to balance the elements, getting them into congruency in a way that works for you.  And I trust that you will notice that your stress and overwhelm will reduce as well.

Caroline Cavanagh is an anxiety specialist  and hypnotherapist in Salisbury, Wiltshire.  She is an author and public speaker and would love to talk to you if you would like to know more about her work