{"id":850,"date":"2015-02-22T15:41:13","date_gmt":"2015-02-22T14:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joannearchibald.com\/?p=850"},"modified":"2020-10-12T16:27:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T14:27:15","slug":"gagging-the-voice-of-overwhelm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joannearchibald.com\/fr\/blog\/gagging-the-voice-of-overwhelm\/","title":{"rendered":"GAGging the voice of overwhelm"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have of late\u2014but wherefore I know not\u2014lost all my mirth. Well, not quite; I\u2019m certainly nowhere near Hamlet\u2019s level of sadness and introspection, but I have found myself somewhat on the grumpy side recently. You know, that state where everything seems like a big deal, nothing strikes you as terribly funny, and life just feels like hard work<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The makings of such a mood can come from any quarter \u2013 professional setbacks, disappointments in friendships, money problems. For me, it\u2019s been due to feelings of bog-standard overwhelm. I am coming up to the sixth month of my first pregnancy, and my husband and I are currently looking to buy a house and move just outside of Paris. Not bad when it comes to life-changing decisions, huh? Add to that our full-time jobs, families, friends, my writing and coaching, and it all seems like a mountain from which even the fearless Bear Grylls would run screaming.<\/p>\n

The inconvenient truth<\/strong><\/p>\n

And the thing is, there\u2019s not really much to be done about overwhelm. You can roll your sleeves up, make a plan, start a list, make a plan B, and discuss options with your partner ad nauseam, and those actions are practical and wise. But they\u2019re not always enough to quiet the nagging little voice that pipes up at 2am and whispers some variant on, \u201cIt won\u2019t all be ok; you shan\u2019t get through this; you cannot manage<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

GAG thyself<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is my firm belief that the only thing to do in those situations is to GAG oneself. No, we\u2019re not getting into 50 Shades territory here; GAG stands for \u201cGet A Grip\u201d. It\u2019s an old expression that sounds rather shocking nowadays, doesn\u2019t it? In an age that favours self-examination even to the point of self-torture over the old \u201cbuck up\u201d attitude, exhorting someone to simply get a grip seems callous. But I maintain that sometimes it\u2019s the only way.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like a mental self-slap. A reminder that we really are dealing with first-world issues, here. My husband is fond of asking me to imagine how I would feel if the things overwhelming me weren\u2019t happening \u2013 if I weren\u2019t able to have children, if we couldn\u2019t envisage getting a bigger home, if I didn\u2019t have employment, friends that want my time, family who need me\u2026 The simple answer is: I\u2019d feel pretty rubbish (he can be infuriatingly right at times)!<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t always work. Sometimes a problem really is a problem and needs talking through and solving, but it\u2019s often just a proliferation of activity, obligations and, well, life that puts us in a tail spin. That\u2019s when a self-shake and a firm \u201cFor God\u2019s sake, Jo, Get. A. Grip.\u201d works wonders for me.<\/p>\n

Do try this at home<\/strong><\/p>\n

GAGging works best when performed using a specific accent. I occasionally hear a plummy-voiced Malory Towers- type Sports Mistress barking at me. You may prefer an American drill sergeant or even an exasperated version of yourself. Sometimes I like to hear my Scottish grandmother\u2019s voice softly burring, \u201cNow, now, dear, you know I love you, but do try to get a grip for goodness sake\u201d. She never said anything of the kind to me, but somehow the vision of this strong, no-nonsense yet kind and loving woman works every time.<\/p>\n

GAGging is also best achieved when used entirely on its own. No extra pep talk, no list of \u201cexamples of times when it has all been ok in the past as so will be this time too\u201d, no reasoning or cajoling. Just a mental \u201cNo Entry\u201d sign that brooks no argument.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy at first, but if you GAG each time you head back down the road of ovewhelm, it eventually comes more quickly and more naturally. Give it a try. I\u2019m interested to know how it works for you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have of late\u2014but wherefore I know not\u2014lost all my mirth. Well, not quite; I\u2019m certainly nowhere near Hamlet\u2019s level of sadness and introspection, but I have found myself somewhat on the grumpy side recently. You know, that state where everything seems like a big deal, nothing strikes you as terribly funny, and life just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[168],"tags":[178,179,180,172,181],"class_list":["post-850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coaching","tag-mental-health-2","tag-overwhelm-2","tag-positive-thought-2","tag-stress-2","tag-worry-2"],"yoast_head":"\nGAGging the voice of overwhelm - Joanne Archibald | Coaching<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/joannearchibald.com\/blog\/gagging-the-voice-of-overwhelm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GAGging the voice of overwhelm - Joanne Archibald | Coaching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have of late\u2014but wherefore I know not\u2014lost all my mirth. 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