Overwhelm is something that plagues many of us at different stages in our lives. For some, it has become a part of our day to day lives, a foe that stays with us. For others, there’s moments that just seem so overwhelming that you just don’t even know where to begin.
Regardless of your experiences with overwhelm, one thing is the same, it is hard to deal with.
It makes you feel like you don’t know what step to take next, like there’s too much pressure and too many expectations, and it makes you feel like you are failing.
You are not alone and you most certainly are not failing.
As someone who is a regular in the ‘feeling overwhelmed’ category, I knew I could turn to TED Talks to help me find new insight into this horrible feeling, and that’s exactly what I did.
This is a collection of some of the best and most reassuring TED Talks about overwhelm that you can save and refer back to whenever you need.
You can also join our TED Talks Playlist email series where we send you a new TED Talks Playlist each week to help you enjoy more amazing TED Talks that we have personally curated and love!
1 – An ER Doctor On Triaging Your ‘Crazy Busy’ Life by Darria Long
The words we use matter and ‘crazy busy’ is a phrase we have all used at some point. But did you know that by simply saying ‘crazy busy’ you’re preparing yourself to not actually be able to handle what is coming your way?
You can be busy, without being crazy, and be in ready mode instead.
As someone who works in the Emergency Medical field, I can relate to the triaging system in your life and it’s easy for you to implement too. Simply triaging different areas of your life can make a world of difference to that feeling of overwhelm, especially when you start moving more tasks to the ‘Green’ category.
2 – Be The Warrior Not The Worrier – Fighting Anxiety & Fear by Angela Ceberano
Is it possible to view your fears, your anxiety, and your worry as a good thing?
Rather than staying paralysed by your anxiety and fear, Angela talks about fighting fear head on like a warrior – embracing your fears and using them to better yourself in life and pushing yourself forward.
What opportunities could come your way when you start to tackle your fears and reduce your anxiety and become a ‘fear fighter’?
3 – How To Overcome Overwhelmed – Terry Brock
The first step to tackling overwhelm is actually understanding that you are in control. You are in control of your life, what you allow in, what you say no to, and the filters you place in your daily life.
I seriously love his approach to ‘I don’t know how to do that’ and reprogramming our thought process to say ‘not yet’ instead.
Rather than hiding away from the world and removing yourself from technology in order to reduce overwhelm, learn how you can use the tools available to you in order to overcome overwhelm.
4 – How To Turn Busy Into Balance by Sara Cameron
Up until a few years ago I used the term ‘busy’ to describe my life. Literally every single time someone asked me how I was, how my day was, or how I have been lately, I would always answer with ‘busy, good… but busy’.
Do you do that too?
It was almost like a badge of honour… like in order to be ‘worthy’ I had to be busy and productive (not that busy = productive).
Are you turning to busy in order to avoid confronting difficult areas in you life?
Identifying why we feel like we need to be busy is the first step in moving from busy to balance.
5 – It’s OK To Feel Overwhelmed. Here’s What To Do Next by Elizabeth Gilbert
Be warned, this is a long talk, pop it on and have a listen because I promise it is worth it (the talk takes a few minutes to start so maybe just scroll ahead).
One of the most popular and admired TED Speakers by far would have to be Elizabeth Gilbert – author of Eat, Pray, Love.
In this talk she addresses the rapidly changing face of our world through the pandemic, how it is okay to feel overwhelmed, and what we can do to cope with this feeling over overwhelm in order to find a more sustainable way to approach this situation.
6 – Overcoming Overwhelm by Luke Reinhard
While this TED Talk may not have had millions of views like many others, it is still an incredibly interesting talk on how you can understand your body and how it handles stress.
We have a capacity for stress, and it changes for each person, but at some point we will max out the stress we can take on physically within our bodies and we need to know how we can return ourselves to a more neutral state.
7 – Dear Overwhelmed Moms, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish by Liz Carlile
‘Mothers not only could, but should be more selfish.’ Yes, yes, yes!!! Seriously, this is something I advocate for so darn much!
What can you do to feel whole and ready for your days? Have you ever actually thought about what it is that fills your cup and brings you joy?
It might take a few trials for figure out what it is that you need. Self care isn’t selfish, it’s essential.
What you do for you each and every day changes everything and actively taking care of yourself can help you cope with overwhelm.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed in your life, you’re not alone. But that doesn’t mean you need to keep ‘dealing with it’ and expect overhwelm to just be part of your life.
Use the lessons learned in these TED Talks, take control, triage your life, say no to others, and practice self care to help you eliminate overwhelm and be less stressed in your life.
