When Everything Feels Like Too Much: Finding What You Need
- Rachel Amies
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
In This Article
Why feeling overwhelmed can make it difficult to recognise what you really need
How understanding your needs can help you choose the right kind of exercise
How food can support you without becoming something you rely on
Why different needs call for different responses
What do you actually need right now?
Thought For The Week
There are times in life when it can feel like you're holding it all together, but only just.
I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.
Something needs to change, but what?
We all have a limited amount of physical, mental and emotional capacity. Every demand life places on us draws from that same finite resource.
Work draws from it. Caring responsibilities draw from it. Grief draws from it. Uncertainty draws from it. Big decisions, conflict, poor health, and disrupted routines all take their share.
The more life asks of us, the less capacity remains for anything else.
Yet we often expect ourselves to carry on as though nothing has changed.
To exercise as normal.
Eat as normal.
Keep the house running.
Look after everyone else.
At some point, something has to give.
But when we're trying to hold everything together, what we actually need isn't always obvious.
Is it sleep?
Time?
Space?
Support?
Certainty?
Permission to let go?
We tend to bundle all of those experiences under one broad feeling: I'm struggling.
The feeling is real. But it isn't specific.
Perhaps that's why it can feel so difficult to know what to do next.
The more clearly we understand what we need, the easier it becomes to decide what might actually help.
Exercise Focus
When life feels overwhelming, it's easy to see exercise as just another thing on the to-do list.
But movement can meet lots of different needs. The key is recognising what you need in the first place.
Sometimes we need to feel strong again.
Sometimes we need space to think.
Sometimes we need fresh air and a change of scenery.
Sometimes we simply need company.
Recognising that might mean letting go of what you originally had planned.
Instead of an hour in the gym, perhaps it's a single, slow, deliberate set of heavy deadlifts.
Instead of forcing yourself through a workout indoors, perhaps it's a gentle jog or a walk outside.
Instead of training alone, perhaps it's joining a class or meeting a friend.
The movement might look completely different from what you had intended, but it's no less valuable if it's meeting the need that's actually present.
And so, when life feels overwhelming, instead of asking, Should I exercise today?
Try asking, What do I need from movement today?
Because once we understand what we need, it's often much easier to choose the kind of movement that's actually going to support us.
Nutrition Focus
When life feels overwhelming, it's easy to reach for food expecting it to solve problems it simply can't solve.
To take away grief.
To remove uncertainty.
To make everything okay again.
That's a lot to ask of a meal.
But perhaps the answer isn't to expect less from food.
It's to expect something different.
Food can't remove grief.
It can't fix uncertainty.
It can't make difficult decisions for us.
But it can remove one decision.
It can provide comfort.
It can give us enough energy to get through the afternoon.
It can be one less thing to think about.
During difficult periods, that might mean relying on simple, familiar, repeatable meals. Having the same breakfast every morning. Buying prepared vegetables. Stocking up on pre-made salads and soups. Keeping a few easy freezer meals on hand.
Not because you've stopped caring about your health, but because you're allowing food to solve the problems it can solve.
Sometimes, the most supportive meal isn't the most balanced or impressive one. It's the one that makes looking after yourself feel a little bit easier.
Explore More
From the archive: When Life Gets Hard: Finding a Way to Look After Yourself offers a gentle reminder that looking after ourselves doesn't always mean doing more. Sometimes it means adjusting our expectations and responding to the season of life we're in.
Book: Burnout by Dr Claire Plumbly offers a compassionate exploration of burnout through the lens of the nervous system, helping to explain why chronic stress can leave us with less capacity to think clearly, make decisions, and care for ourselves.
Recipe: This Chilli, Garlic & Courgette Linguine is one of my favourite midweek meals. Simple ingredients, minimal effort, comforting carbs, and a reminder that sometimes the most supportive meal is the one that's easiest to make.
Takeaway
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