How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed and Anxious

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You know that feeling when everything is technically fine, but your body doesn’t agree?

Your chest feels a little tight. Your thoughts won’t slow down. Small decisions suddenly feel huge. Your to-do list looks at you like it’s personally offended.

If you’re constantly wondering how to stop feeling overwhelmed and anxious, you’re not alone — and you’re not broken.

For a lot of us, anxiety doesn’t show up as full-blown panic. It looks more like being perpetually on edge, easily irritated, mentally exhausted, and one minor inconvenience away from losing it. You’re functioning, but it feels hard. All the time.

The frustrating part is that advice like “take a deep breath” or “just relax” rarely helps — especially when your nervous system is already running overtime.

The truth is, feeling overwhelmed and anxious usually has less to do with your mindset and more to do with the amount of mental and emotional load your body is carrying. Once you understand why your system feels so on edge — and what actually helps it calm down — things start to feel more manageable instead of overwhelming.

Let’s talk about what’s really going on, and how to stop feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

Why You Feel Overwhelmed and Anxious

Feeling overwhelmed and anxious doesn’t usually come from one big thing. It comes from too many small things stacking up without enough space to recover.

Your brain is constantly taking in information — emails, texts, deadlines, decisions, expectations, noise, notifications. Even when none of it feels dramatic, your nervous system still has to process it all. And when there’s no real pause, it stays in alert mode.

Over time, that constant “on” state starts to look like anxiety.

That’s when:

• Everything feels urgent, even when it’s not
• Small tasks feel weirdly heavy
• Your patience gets shorter
• Your body feels tense for no obvious reason

It’s not that you can’t handle life. It’s that your system hasn’t had enough chances to power down.

Modern life asks us to multitask, respond instantly, and hold a lot in our heads at once — and our nervous systems were not built for that pace. So when overwhelm hits, it’s not a personal failure. It’s a physiological response to too much input and not enough rest.

Once you see overwhelm and anxiety as a capacity issue instead of a character flaw, it gets a whole lot easier to work with — instead of fighting yourself all the time.

What Helps When You Feel Overwhelmed and Anxious

When everything feels like too much, the instinct is usually to fix it — organize better, think your way out, or push through until things calm down.

Unfortunately, that almost always makes overwhelm worse.

The key is to calm your nervous system first, then deal with the details. When your body feels even slightly safer, everything else becomes more manageable.

Slow the Nervous System Before Solving the Problem

When you’re overwhelmed and anxious, your brain is in protection mode — not problem-solving mode. That’s why everything feels harder and more emotional than it normally would.

Before tackling your to-do list or making decisions, give your system a chance to downshift:

• Slow your breathing
• Step away from screens for a few minutes
• Lower stimulation instead of adding structure

You don’t need to “fix” your life to feel calmer. You need your body to stop bracing.

Reduce Mental Load, Not Just Your Task List

Overwhelm isn’t just about how much you’re doing — it’s about how much you’re holding in your head.

Even when you’re not actively working, your brain may be tracking what still needs to happen next. Reducing mental load often brings more relief than crossing off another task.

This can look like:

• Writing things down instead of remembering them
• Postponing decisions instead of forcing them
• Letting one area of life be a little less perfect

Less mental juggling = less anxiety.

Create Predictable Pauses in Your Day

A nervous system that feels overwhelmed expects constant demand — so it stays on alert.

Predictable pauses help retrain your system to expect rest:

• Short breaks without your phone
• Stepping outside
• Doing one thing at a time

These don’t need to be long or dramatic. They just need to happen regularly so your body learns that it’s okay to power down.

Stop Treating Rest Like a Reward

If you only rest after you’ve finished everything, your nervous system never actually rests — because there’s always something else to do.

Rest works best before overwhelm peaks. Allowing yourself to pause while things are still unfinished helps prevent anxiety from escalating into constant background stress.

You don’t have to earn relief. Your system needs it to function well.

Best Supports for Feeling Overwhelmed and Anxious

Lifestyle shifts matter most — I’ll always say that first. But when overwhelm and anxiety feel like they’re baked into your body, the right support can make calming down feel possible while your nervous system relearns how to regulate.

These are the tools I come back to and recommend most often because they’ve been genuinely helpful for me and for others — not because they promise instant calm or quick fixes.

1. Magnesium for Nervous System Overload

My favorite: Pure Encapsulations Magnesium Glycinate

Why this one: it helps take the edge off physical anxiety and nervous system tension without making me feel foggy or sedated.

When overwhelm shows up as restlessness, tight muscles, irritability, or that constant wired-but-tired feeling, magnesium is usually the first thing I reach for. It supports nervous system regulation in a quiet, behind-the-scenes way — not dramatic, just steady.

Magnesium glycinate is especially helpful because it’s calming without acting like a sleep aid, which makes it easy to take consistently without worrying about next-day grogginess.

Shop Pure Encapsulations Magnesium Glycinate here

2. Stress Support for That “Always On” Feeling

My favorite: Integrative Therapeutics Cortisol Manager

Why this one: it helps quiet the constant alertness that makes everything feel urgent and overwhelming.

If you feel like your mind never fully shuts off — always scanning, planning, anticipating — this kind of support can help your body ease out of that high-alert mode. I find it especially helpful during seasons where anxiety feels more physical than emotional.

This isn’t about numbing feelings. It’s about giving your nervous system a little extra support so calm feels more accessible.

Shop Integrative Therapeutics Cortisol Manager here

3. Deep Pressure Support for Immediate Grounding

My favorite: Bearaby Weighted Blanket

Why this one: deep pressure sends a strong physical safety signal to the nervous system, which can calm overwhelm quickly without any mental effort.

When anxiety feels like it’s living in my body — tight chest, racing energy, trouble settling — deep pressure helps me feel grounded almost immediately. The weight creates that held, supported feeling that many nervous systems respond to without needing to “think” their way to calm.

This is especially helpful if:

• Overwhelm feels physical
• Stillness makes anxiety worse
• You need something soothing that works without effort

Shop Bearaby Weighted Blanket here

FAQs About How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed and Anxious

Why do I feel overwhelmed and anxious all the time?

Feeling overwhelmed and anxious all the time is often a sign that your nervous system is overloaded. Constant mental input, multitasking, stress, and lack of rest can keep your body in a prolonged state of alertness, making even small things feel hard or urgent.

What’s the difference between feeling overwhelmed and anxious?

Overwhelm usually comes from mental overload — too many tasks, decisions, or responsibilities at once — while anxiety comes from nervous system activation. In real life, they often overlap, with overwhelm triggering anxiety and anxiety making everything feel more overwhelming.

How can I calm anxiety when I feel overwhelmed?

To calm anxiety when you feel overwhelmed, it helps to calm your nervous system first before trying to solve problems. Reducing stimulation, slowing your breathing, lowering mental load, and taking short breaks can help your body settle so your mind can follow.

Can overwhelm cause physical symptoms?

Yes, overwhelm can cause physical symptoms like muscle tension, fatigue, tight chest, headaches, upset stomach, or restlessness. These symptoms happen because prolonged stress keeps the nervous system in fight-or-flight mode.

Why do small tasks feel so hard when I’m overwhelmed?

When you’re overwhelmed, your nervous system treats everything as a potential demand. This makes small tasks feel heavier than they actually are, because your brain is already stretched and doesn’t have extra capacity to process more.

How do you stop feeling overwhelmed fast?

Stopping overwhelm quickly usually means reducing input rather than adding structure. Stepping away from screens, postponing decisions, writing things down, and giving your body a few minutes of calm can help bring anxiety down faster than pushing through.

How long does it take to stop feeling overwhelmed and anxious?

Some people notice relief within days of supporting their nervous system consistently, while deeper regulation often takes a few weeks. Progress is usually gradual and depends on reducing stress and increasing recovery, not forcing calm.

Do supplements help with overwhelm and anxiety?

Supplements can help support nervous system regulation and reduce physical anxiety symptoms, but they work best alongside lifestyle changes like reducing mental load, improving rest, and creating predictable pauses throughout the day.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa, Slow Living Enthusiast

Hi, I’m Lisa. I write about slow living, nervous system care, and creating calm, intentional routines for everyday life. After spending 10 years living in Europe, I learned firsthand the art of savoring moments, embracing simplicity, and letting life unfold at a more human pace. My mission is to help you soften the edges of modern life and create space for a more intentional way of living.