Feeling Overwhelmed? This May Be The Surprising Culprit

I've been feeling really overwhelmed the past few weeks. I thought it was because I was trying to get a bunch of things done before vacation so that I could truly take a few days off, but as soon as I returned from my vacation in Utah, that same overwhelmed feeling came roaring right back.

I'll admit - I was a little puzzled about it.

Work had been busy and I'd had about a week and a half where I'd overcommitted myself, but nothing too extreme.

I kept pondering. Puzzling.

And then I realized the exact cause:

I HAVE A LIFE AGAIN.

Yep. That's it.

For over a year, the majority of my social life has been sporadic and almost entirely over zoom or hiking outside.

On top of that, I moved to Colorado in October and the pandemic didn't exactly make it easy to meet new people. I've basically been seeing the same 3-4 friends since I moved and that's it.

In the last few months that has entirely changed.

It started out slowly in late February with taking guitar lessons every other week.

I began getting more involved in a spiritual community.

Then I joined a weekly discussion group on the book Caste (still on Zoom, but a new commitment to both read and participate in the discussion).

Then, just in the last few weeks, my social life has EXPLODED.

The weather warmed up and I got vaccinated at the same time.

I'm meeting new people. We're going hiking. I'm seeing them for happy hour. At actual restaurants! (Although still almost entirely on rooftops and patios)

It is amazing and wonderful and fun.

AND COMPLETELY EXHAUSTING.

Especially when coupled with the general burnout we're all feeling from the last year.

I realized that I got used to having A LOT of alone time.

I'm an extrovert that's been absolutely craving human contact and in person connection during the entire pandemic. And now that it's here, I'm both grateful and overwhelmed.

This is truly a whole new normal to get used to. And we're not even in fully released non-pandemic mode yet!

What am I doing about it?

I'm giving myself a little more space. I'm looking at what's really important and how I truly want to spend my free time and focusing there. I'm not going to sign up for any more activities after the Caste book group is finished, at least for now.

I think I'll get used to being around people more again. I anticipate the overwhelmed feeling will go away.

But for now I need to ease in a little more slowly. I need to take a breath and remind myself there's no need to rush.

If you're in that same boat, you too can slow down. There's no need to throttle yourself back into the normal you thought you wanted. See what feels good and where you need space. Start with what you are REALLY looking forward to. Prioritize what's most important and gives you the most joy. Take it one step at a time.