"It becomes almost impossible to examine our thinking and to calm the reactions intended to keep us safe. This reactive state can affect our ability to think clearly and work through the problem, Altman notes. For example, your heart beats faster, your breath quickens to get more oxygen into your blood, and your blood pressure rises to push that blood to your brain and muscles. The body releases a flood of stress hormones, causing a cascade of physiological changes to prepare you to jump out of the way of danger. Instead of engaging in less helpful behaviors because of this feeling, what else can you do? Shift your physical responseįeeling overwhelmed often triggers the fight-or-flight response - the body's reaction to perceived threats. Let the unhelpful thoughts go.Į: Explore the options. Acknowledge that your emotions have been dominating your thinking and that those emotions and associated sensations will eventually end. Are they facts or opinion? What is the bigger picture? What might you think if you were feeling calmer?ĭ: Discount. Broaden your focus by challenging your thoughts. Automatically believing your thoughts may not give you an accurate picture of the situation at hand.Ĭ: Challenge. Think about what you believe has happened. When you feel distressed, stop what you're doing and pay attention to your inner dialogue. "By identifying the thoughts, we can identify patterns in our thinking and shift them."Ī: Attention. "Although we are saying 'I feel,' these statements are actually thoughts and not feelings," Altman points out. You might hear someone say "I feel like there's no hope" or "I feel like no one cares about me." Shift your thinkingĪltman says before and during intense reactive moments, we tend to use a lot of "I feel" language. Take note of the following tips so you can put them to work if a meltdown strikes. Additionally, negative memories may come to mind more readily, and we may filter out useful ways of viewing the situation at hand," says Abby Altman, an associate psychologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.īut there are ways to shift your focus and break out of extremely emotional moments. "Feeling overwhelmed makes it harder to identify ways to get unstuck the options seem limited, which can create a sense of hopelessness or despair. Shifting your thinking and practicing deep breathing can help when you're stuck in an intense emotional moment.Īt some point, we've all gotten stuck in a "meltdown" moment - an overwhelming feeling of anger or stress that was difficult to shake off.
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