When Anxiety Turns into Overload · Foundations of Ascension

Mercedes Aspland

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Aug 27 • General discussion

When Anxiety Turns into Overload

This morning I woke up and it felt like everything hit at once.

The anxiety wasn’t just “in my head”, it was in my whole body.

My son is away with his dad for the week (and I hate the distance).

Money worries are circling (I don’t know how the bills will get paid).

Old emotions resurfaced.And suddenly I was in that place of, “I can’t cope.”

For years I thought moments like this meant I was broken.

But the truth is, it’s not brokenness. It’s overcapacity.

When your nervous system is carrying grief, stress, fear, and doubt all at once, your brain literally can’t “just think positive” or gratitude-journal your way out. It isn’t weakness, it’s biology.

What I’ve learned is: the first step isn’t to fix your life. It’s to regulate your body.

Because from fight-or-flight, you can’t access rational solutions.

Here’s what I did this morning to come back to myself, maybe it can help you too:

✨ 1. Stabilize the body first.

I picked up a cushion and hugged it, letting the weight calm me.

Feet flat on the floor.Saying out loud: “I’m here. I have a floor. I have breath.”

✨ 2. Breathe into presence.

I practiced box breathing: inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4.

Just a few rounds was enough to take the edge off.

✨ 3. Reorient.

Named 3 things I could see, 2 I could hear, 1 I could feel.

That pulled me out of racing thoughts and into the room around me.

✨ 4. Anchor with touch.

Gently tapping on my collarbone with my fingers, repeating:

“Even in this moment, I am allowed to find calm.”

✨ 5. Remind myself of safety.

Yes, there are problems. But in this moment, I still have food, a roof, skills, and community. That reminder shifts me from panic into resourcefulness.

From there, I can ask:

➡️ What’s one helpful thing I can do today?

Not solving everything. Just one step.

💛 And that’s the key:

Presence over performance.

Regulation before resolution.

Because when you calm your body, the next right step reveals itself.

👉 When overwhelm hits, what helps you come back to presence first?

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