Episode 56
Overwhelm is Sneaky — How to Break Free
Even this successful marriage and family therapist woke up one day and found herself in total overwhelm. She loved her work and the difference she was making, but she forgot about boundaries and self care until she was "toast."
My guest is Phyllis Ginsberg. "I had high stress. I was starting to feel the effects in my body, was disconnecting from friends, not exercising. And boy, did it take a toll on me."
She was lucky enough to step back and take a sabbatical. During that time she discovered delved into positive psychology, brain science, and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). Using herself as a test case she what she now calls her “Survival to Thrival” methods and got her life back.
Some of what she discovered may seem obvious but it's easy to lose track when we emmerse ourselves in work we love and are good at. Things like feeling the sun on her face, gardening,
" and doing things that I put off because I was doing important work, but all that important work doesn't mean a thing if you can't function."
We talked about patterns of behavior that keep giving us the same results we don't want or like. They become ingrained unless we see that there is something we can change to get a different result.
How labels can lead to feeling like a victim and the distinction between a label--cancer patient, widow, out of work--and an identity. Those labels are not who we are. We still have the power of choice regardless of what category we find ourselves in.
I asked Phyllis if she thinks people can change their personality.
"Definitely. Yeah, it takes awareness. You have to catch yourself when you're back in old programming."
I hope no one reading this lives in the space of "I want to live before I die. I haven't really lived the life I want to." That's a common complaint among her clients. If you have even a hint of that feeling, reach out, let's talk about what that ideal life could look like. Life's too short to spend it any way but your way.
We've all heard about the stress hormone, cortisol, but in case you didn't get the memo, this isn’t just for fight-or-flight. It helps control blood sugar levels, regulate metabolism, reduce inflammation, and assist with memory formulation. It has a controlling effect on salt and water balance and helps control blood pressure. (Read more about the effects of hormones post-menopause)
Overwhelm is like an invitation for cortisol to come play.
How to get out of overwhelm, maybe even prevent it when you feel it coming on? Phyllis is and EFT practitioner. She taps. If you're not sure what this is, head over here where she has a video that explains it.
About tapping Phyllis says,
"In the realm of energy healing, once you free stored, energy is gone forever."
That's what tapping does.
Her books, Tired and Hungry No More and The Brain Makeover make getting out of and preventing overwhelm easy.
You can get her free guide "Deal with Stress and Overwhelm in 5 Minutes or Less" by clicking this link.
