When Life Feels Overwhelming: A Personal Moment of Finding My Footing Again

Even the strongest among us lose our footing sometimes. What matters is how gently we find it again.

Last week, I found myself sitting at my desk at work, staring at my laptop, completely unable to focus. Nothing dramatic had happened. No crisis. No big event. But something in me felt… off.

My chest felt heavy, like I couldn’t quite get a full breath in. My head felt full but unfocused, I had so many competing priorities in front of me that I didn’t know where to start. Every task felt urgent, yet none of them felt possible. I was drowning in a million small jobs that needed doing but that did not move anything forward. The important work — the meaningful work — felt completely out of reach.

I was stuck.

And in that moment, I didn’t even realise it was overwhelm, I just knew I didn’t feel right.

For a few minutes, I sat completely still. Not thinking. Not planning. Just… pausing. It was the first moment of quiet I’d given myself all day. When I finally took a slow breath in, I realised I needed support. I couldn’t push through this one.

And then, almost instantly, the thoughts started spiralling.

“Why can’t I cope with this?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Maybe I’m not good enough at my job.”
“What’s the point?”

It’s incredible how quickly overwhelm can escalate into self‑doubt. Only days earlier, I’d been loving my work — feeling purposeful, energised, connected. And yet here I was, questioning everything.

This is what overwhelm does.
It disconnects us from ourselves.
It narrows our perspective.
It makes everything feel bigger, heavier, and more impossible than it really is.

And it happens to all of us — even those of us who support others through their overwhelm.

Overwhelm isn’t a failure — it’s a signal

What I’ve learned, both personally and through my coaching work, is that overwhelm isn’t a sign that we’re failing. It’s a sign that our system has reached capacity. It’s a message, not a judgement.

Sometimes it’s triggered by:

  too many competing priorities

  workplace pressure or conflict

  a difficult situation

  emotional load from caring for others

  a long period of “pushing through”

  a lack of space to breathe or think

And sometimes it’s triggered by nothing obvious at all — just the slow accumulation of being human in a demanding world.

What helped me in that moment

When I finally recognised what was happening, I did three simple things:

I paused

Not a dramatic pause. Just a few breaths. Enough to interrupt the spiral.

I named it

“This is overwhelm”
Not weakness. Not failure. Just overwhelm.

Naming it softened something inside me.

I reached for support

Not because I couldn’t cope — but because I didn’t need to cope alone.

And slowly, the fog began to lift. My breath returned. My perspective widened. I could see myself again.

If you’ve felt this too, you’re not alone

Overwhelm can make us feel isolated, but it’s one of the most human experiences there is. It doesn’t mean you’re not capable. It doesn’t mean you’re not good at your job. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost your motivation or your purpose.

It simply means you’ve been carrying a lot — often quietly, often for longer than you realised.

And you deserve support too.

If you’ve felt something similar recently, know that you’re not alone. Overwhelm doesn’t mean you’re failing — it means you’ve been carrying a lot. Be gentle with yourself.