{"id":6527,"date":"2017-04-06T17:26:49","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T00:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/?p=6527"},"modified":"2017-04-08T09:53:33","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T16:53:33","slug":"too-stressed-to-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/too-stressed-to-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Too stressed to write?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Are you too stressed to write? You want to, but you just can’t clear your mind. Maybe you’re drifting in The Fog of Overwhelm.<\/p>\n

The following is paraphrased from Ted A. Moreno\u2019s Blog Post, Avoiding the Fog of Overwhelm Part I<\/a> and Part II<\/a><\/span>, where Ted discusses \u201cthe state of overwhelm, what it is, how it happens and how it affects us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

State of Overwhelm<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/h3>\n

Overwhelm happens when there is too much information coming into our conscious awareness. Our minds only have a certain capacity, like a cup that can hold a limited amount of liquid. When our minds are filled to capacity, and stuff keeps pouring in, we lose the ability to cope.<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point, our ancient survival mechanism, that good old fight or flight, gets triggered. When that happens we become\u00a0what is known as \u201chypersuggestible\u201d which means that we are susceptible to whatever is coming into our minds. We are actually in a state of hypnosis, but the suggestions we are giving ourselves are not positive, unlike the\u00a0positive suggestions you get\u00a0in a hypnotherapy session.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unintentional programming<\/h3>\n

Often, when we are overwhelmed, there is an accompanying state of stress; the conversations we are having in our heads are\u00a0usually negative monologues. When we are overwhelmed, we sometimes program ourselves for negativity and fear. We end up (unintentionally) with a reinforcing\u00a0cycle of overwhelm.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fog of Overwhelm
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n

Responses to the state of overwhelm vary from a complete shutdown, to irritability or anxiety, or to a feeling of being disoriented or \u201cspaced out,\u201d which Ted calls \u201cThe Fog of Overwhelm.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The end result is the same: We become ineffective in dealing with the challenges of life. We may lose the ability to focus and stay on task. We may turn\u00a0to avoidance or procrastination. We will probably\u00a0feel anxious or depressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to manage The Fog of Overwhelm<\/h3>\n

Get adequate sleep and take naps when needed.\u00a0<\/strong>Remember how your mind is like a cup? Every day it gets filled with tension, pressure and the stress of living. Sleep is the time for your mind to empty the cup. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t skip meals.<\/strong>\u00a0Some people are prone to anxiety and overwhelm due to low blood sugar. Blood sugar, or blood glucose, is the main fuel for your body. Your brain uses more glucose than any other organ in your body. Do you ever get that feeling of lethargy or lack of focus in the late afternoon? Take a break and eat something with protein.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take breaks.<\/strong>\u00a0Taking regular breaks throughout the day allows your mind to process incoming information more effectively.\u00a0Breaks are scientifically proven to boost productivity and focus. Consider working in one-hour or 90 minute spurts, then take a five or ten minute break. Be sure to take regular vacations and days off.<\/span><\/p>\n

Exercise<\/strong> allows our bodies and minds to release tension and stress. At a minimum, get up and walk around.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meditation, yoga, and other\u00a0mindful\u00a0practices<\/strong> are powerful tools to achieve a state of calm and the ability to focus. <\/span><\/p>\n

Focus on one thing at a time.<\/strong>\u00a0Multitasking can create overwhelm. Focus is sharpest when it\u2019s narrow and concentrated. <\/span><\/p>\n

Please click on The Fog of Overwhelm<\/a> to read Ted’s blog posts on how to have\u00a0a calm and productive writing life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ted A. Moreno<\/a> is a hypnotherapist, who helps clients become free from fear and anxiety, procrastination and bad habits. He is excellent with phone consultations and phone hypnotherapy sessions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you too stressed to write? You want to, but you just can’t clear your mind. Maybe you’re drifting in The Fog of Overwhelm. The following is paraphrased from Ted A. Moreno\u2019s Blog Post, Avoiding the Fog of Overwhelm Part I and Part II, where Ted discusses \u201cthe state of overwhelm, what it is, how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[104],"tags":[522],"class_list":["post-6527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-bloggers","tag-ted-a-moreno"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43Dj8-1Hh","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6527"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6562,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6527\/revisions\/6562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}