Articles - Page 72 of 72 - The Overwhelmed Brain

We Are Taught To Be Grateful But…

It’s truly challenging to be grateful for something until you’ve experienced inner appreciation first. After that, appreciation for everything else comes easier. When you’re in stress and overwhelm mode, however, it’s almost impossible to stop and appreciate anything. After all, once turmoil takes the stage, it steals the show!

We tend to focus only on what isn’t working in our lives instead of channeling our energy toward what is. One of the reasons we do that is because of our survival mechanism. We are conditioned to continuously monitor for danger. So our awareness focuses more on what could harm us, and less on what is harmless. [Read more…]

Do You Converse With Flow Or Resistance?

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Flow leads to well-being, resistance leads to stress. Image source: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/integrativemed/clinical-services/qigong/ — Flow leads to well-being, resistance leads to stress.
Image source: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/integrativemed/clinical-services/qigong/

In Tai Chi, there’s a movement exercise called Pushing Hands. The lesson to learn when doing this exercise is that force can be redirected. If you redirect a strike, it will never make contact. The strike won’t meet resistance; therefore, the flow of the motion is never interrupted.

Pushing Hands teaches the Tai Chi student about flow and resistance. The less resistance there is during the exercise, the more it flows. Another way to look at flow versus resistance is by comparing a dam to a boulder. Water will flow its way around a boulder, but cannot penetrate the resistance of a dam.

In conversation, flow and resistance work very similarly. Do you find that you can easily speak your mind, allowing your conversations to flow along, while feeling a general sense of well-being? Or, are you more defensive when you talk to people, feeling vulnerable, and on-edge? [Read more…]

What Is The Meaning Of Life? Oh, THAT Question Again…

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When using Google to search for the term: “the meaning of life”, there are roughly 4.7 billion results. When you exclude the term “monty” from the search, you see a significant drop to just over 7.8 million.

The meaning of life is... — The meaning of life is…

Aside from the obvious implication that the Monty Python movie is more popular than the actual philosophical question that has been tossed around for centuries, and that many books, articles, and TV shows have some version of that phrase in their titles, it is still one of the most sought after, but hardly ever attained answers to the question:

What is the meaning of life?

At The Overwhelmed Brain, I look at how everything relates to becoming overwhelmed and stressed. And, how to transform those things into clarity and peace. And I truly believe that when you are able to find your purpose, and the meaning of your own existence, you will not experience overwhelm or stress anymore – at least in the same way.

Acting from a place of purpose gives what you are experiencing an entirely different meaning. For example, if you had unwavering faith that something you were doing was not only the right thing to do, but also made you feel passionate and alive doing it, would you be as easily stressed? [Read more…]

Wherever You Go, There You Are – And Why You’re Really Not.

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I won’t argue that we bring ourselves with us no matter where we go, but doesn’t our environment shape our decisions, behavior, and judgments? Even our perception of reality is skewed depending on the environment we are in.

If you were at a rock concert, and you saw a guy get on stage, face the crowd, then dive in, you’d probably guess with certain conviction that he’s stage diving. However, if you saw a guy get on stage at a Toastmasters convention, face the crowd, then dive in, you’d probably perceive him to be psychologically impaired somehow.

Well, I guess you might think that the people in both examples could be psychologically impaired, but you get the point. We judge one situation differently than we judge another. We are, in a sense, different people depending on our environment. Our perceptions are different, our reactions are different, and the way we respond will be unique to what’s happening around us.

Sure, it could be argued that who we are at our core doesn’t change, regardless of the environment (which is what the original saying has us believe), but I’d disagree with that. Our values, our beliefs, and behavior does change depending on our environment. [Read more…]

The Overwhelmed Brain – Let’s Get Things Rolling!

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This is the very first post for The Overwhelmed Brain. This blog, the podcast, and my books and deeper learning products are meant to engage your mind and empower you so that you can make decisions that are right for you.

I am here to help you increase your emotional intelligence and strengthen your self-worth and self-esteem. Enjoy the site!

Other resources I’ve created:

The Love and Abuse podcast to help you navigate the difficult relationship. All about control, manipulation, and emotional abuse.

The M.E.A.N. Workbook An assessment and healing guide for dealing with the difficult relationship.

Healed Being the most effective step-by-step program to help you stop emotionally abusive behavior and give you the best chance at healing a damaged relationship.

The S.A.F.E. Empowerment System to help you through and out of anxiety.

TOB Insights