Have you ever felt so overwhelmed to the point you could hardly breathe? Where the space around you felt like it was closing in, your thoughts running amok, your head and stomach started spinning, your emotions all over the place; and even though you tried to consciously search your mind to find that distressful thought, nothing seemed to make sense; nothing adds up and all that is left, is your whole body feeling like its going to fall apart, and mind bursting with thoughts that doesn't serve you. If you've ever felt such a feeling, chances are you are experiencing an emotional overwhelm...

As optimistic as you may be, the feeling of being overwhelmed emotionally can sometimes creep up on you unconsciously; like a little bug running up your jeans without you feeling it, and before you know it, you find yourself smacking the back of your neck. There is a ton of things that can causes one to be emotionally overwhelmed such as a combination of work, life and relationship complications, to losing someone important in the household with a bunch of responsibilities on your plate which wasn't there before...

Whichever it may be for you, the effect is the same. Over the past 20 years, i've felt the feeling of being emotionally overwhelmed quite a number of times. I'd lose control of my thoughts and myself and start to look for things to drown out the feeling. I used to resort to drinking, watching blockbuster movies, sleeping, gaming, listening to extremely loud music, going clubbing or driving recklessly fast on the streets in the middle of the night just to rid myself off this uneasy feeling that is taking over my system. Even though i didn't know better then, the only thing that really worked was letting time go by till i got my self back together again. This could sometimes take anything between a day or two, to a few months; or in some unfortunate cases, years...

Being through a roller coaster life, i've thought myself to handle crisis and critical moments really well. I would often strive on failure or after being knocked down. A fire would burn inside me each time i face an obstacle; exciting the living heaven out of me to find out what's waiting on the other side. Usually i would find the stressful thought in my head as soon as it appears and observe what it's trying to show me. After learning the lesson, i would move on.  However yesterday was different. I found myself losing control of my mind and body. Normally i would be able to reset myself within 90seconds. However this time, it didn't seem like it was fading...

As i was about to drive home from the studio yesterday (45 minute journey), i found myself trying to organize all the work that i had by categorizing them in my mind. On a normal day, this usually works for me until i have access to my notebook. However, i guess over the months, the pressures of the economic and financial struggle that we were facing, coupled with the crazy amount of work, tasks, overly judging of myself for not doing enough, for not working with more speed and the giant dreams that are waiting to come true finally crept up on me crippling my mind and my system...

As i was driving back, my stomach started to churn, giving me a nauseous feeling; my mind started spinning and my body started getting fidgety to the extend that i started responding to the traffic slower than usual. I tried taking deep breaths during the traffic light intervals to find the stressful thought that was disturbing my system but to no avail. As it got worst, i decided to find a quiet spot from the bustling traffic in town to recenter and refocus myself...

I decided that today would be the day that i will learn to handle an overwhelming situation of this magnitude and with God's grace, i found a way around it. A strategy that we can use over and over again; and i just couldn't wait to share it with all of you today! Below are a few simple steps you can take the next time you find yourself in a similar position...

The first and most important thing to remember when something like this happens is to have the awareness that it is a combination of physical, mental and emotional health that must be addressed in order to completely change the state that you are in. It is all about the 'STATE' of our being. Our mental state, physical state and emotional state. By being able to consciously align them every time something knocks us off balance, we begin to take full control of our lives, and live each day with unshakable confidence...

Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, roll your tongue up till it touches the ceiling of your inner mouth, take a deep breath and focus at the spot in between your brows. As you draw each breath, focus on it and feel it going through your nose; filling up your body, waking up the sleeping cells and resetting all of them as you breathe.

Don't attempt to control your thoughts. Let them flow and be grateful that they are there to teach you something. In this case, i spoke to my thoughts as said thank you for teaching me what i needed to know. Now you are free.

Focus on your crystal / bracelet / stone that you have with you. If you have set an intention or know the meaning of your stones by hard, it makes this process a lot more powerful. In this case, i spoke to my crystals telepathically and prayed for cleansing the negativity that surrounded me and for giving me clarity back in my mind again. At this point, i started feeling the disruption in the energy around my body slowly returning back to balance and harmony again. 

The very moment i reached home, i sat in my car for a few minutes and said a prayer of thanks for getting me back safely and for teaching me the crucial lessons that i needed to learn in order to share this wonderful strategy with those that I love. After exiting the car, i connected myself to the elements instantly by washing my feet with water and walking barefooted in the garden for a few minutes.

The last step to resetting and refocusing your mind is to send your body into a reset mode by shocking it with something unexpected. The key here is to create movement for your cells and let everything else fall away. The best method for me is to always take a cold shower and to feel my troubles flowing down from my mind and body into the drain hole at my feet. This resets my system immediately. 

So there you have it, my latest strategy on shifting my state from a disruptive and confused position to a beautiful state filled with certainty, power and dreams...

Though this method works wonders for me, however it may not work in the same way for you. But just remember, if this doesn't work for you, find a strategy that does by 'Changing the way you use your body', calming your overactive mind and using gratitude & tools such as crystals to realign your emotions and energy to one that is in-line with creation...

Share with us your thoughts or better yet, your method of how you overcome overwhelming situations in the comments below; and maybe, it might even be the difference between life and death for someone who is struggling out there...