I’m Feeling So Overwhelmed, I Can’t Do Anything. Is This Anxiety?

Have you ever experienced such intense feelings that it seems you’re prevented from moving forward? In some cases, stress, anxiety, and certain emotions can be so intense that it seems they’re taking over your life. In these situations, it may be beneficial to recognize whether the overwhelm is stemming from an acute life change that could resolve quickly or whether it may be a symptom of ongoing mental health issues. 

I’m feeling so overwhelmed, I can’t do anything: Causes of feeling overwhelmed 

However, if you are overwhelmed all of the time or if your overwhelm has progressed to the point that it is consistently impacting your well-being, your feelings may be an indication of a mental health condition. Common conditions and states that can result in overwhelming emotions include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and disordered attachment. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can lead to consistent emotional overwhelm that may seem paralyzing. To receive a diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have undergone a traumatic event, which the American Journal of Psychiatry defines as a “situation in which the individual felt intense fear, horror, or powerlessness.” Examples of traumatic events can include surviving a natural disaster, experiencing an accident, being a survivor of a crime, living in a war zone (either as a civilian or as a soldier), surviving an act of violence like physical or sexual assault, or long-term traumas like childhood abuse or domestic violence.  

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms

PTSD symptoms can be intensely overwhelming, and a hallmark of the disorder is experiencing intense emotions that impair one’s ability to function. Symptoms may include the following: 

• Recurring and intrusive memories of the traumatic event
• Extreme distress that is difficult to alleviate 
• Self-harm, such as cutting or burning one’s skin, or self-destructive behavior, such as taking dangerous risks or engaging in problematic substance use
• Flashbacks of the event (these differ from memories in that the person experiencing the flashback believes or acts like they are physically back in the space where the event happened)
• Consistently feeling shame, horror, fear, or anger
• Nightmares
• Avoiding thoughts, memories, feelings, and reminders associated with the event
• Cognitive impairments, such as difficulty with concentrating or memory (particular memories surrounding the event)
• Believing in negative concepts about oneself or the world, such as “I am weak” or “People will always betray each other, so no one should be trusted”
• An exaggerated startle response
• Believing one is constantly in danger and practicing hypervigilance as a form of self-protection
• Sleep issues
• Guiltiness, primarily related to surviving the event if others did not, or associated with blaming oneself for causing the event or not being able to stop the event from happening

Anxiety

Another mental illness associated with feeling overwhelmed is anxiety. Anxiety can refer to several mental health conditions classified as anxiety disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, separation anxiety disorder, selective mutism, and agoraphobia. 

However, in many cases, the word “anxiety” is used as shorthand for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). All anxiety disorders can cause overwhelm, but GAD is not associated with any one particular inciting event. If a person has GAD, they may feel overwhelming anxiety consistently for months or years at a time.

Mental health symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

The following symptoms of GAD may result in becoming easily overwhelmed in the course of everyday life:

• A persistent and obsessive sense of worry
• Trembling and shivering
• Fatigue
• Difficulty making decisions
• Feeling “twitchy”
• Catastrophizing, or coming up with every single possible negative outcome of a situation and believing those outcomes are more likely than positive ones
• Nervous movements like hand-wringing or pacing
• Sense of constantly being on edge and ready for disaster
• Sweating
• Restlessness
• Shaky hands
• Headaches
• Tense muscles
• Nausea and other digestive issues
• Difficulties with sleep
• Suicidal thoughts

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or urges, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or text 988 to talk to a crisis provider over SMS. They are available 24/7 to offer support. 988 also offers an online chat for those with an internet connection.

Anxious attachment

If you do not experience a strong sense of overwhelm in all areas of your life but only specifically in the regions related to relationships (romantic or otherwise), it could be a sign that you have an anxious attachment style. Anxious attachment is not a mental health disorder but one of four attachment styles psychologists have determined to explain the ways a person connects with and relates to others. A person’s attachment style is often heavily influenced by how their primary caregivers interacted with them when they were young and whether their needs were met. In addition to anxious attachment, the three other attachment styles include secure attachment, avoidant attachment, and anxious-avoidant attachment (disorganized attachment). 

A person might develop an anxious attachment if their primary caregivers or core family members were inconsistent with them as children. If a family member sometimes responds to a child’s needs and provides adequate nurturing but at other times does not respond, acts insensitive or intrusive, or only provides what the child needs if the child appeases them, the child may develop a sense of anxiety around their relationship with their caregiver. 

As the child matures into an adult, they may continue to associate feelings of love with feelings of anxiety subconsciously, and this association can show up in damaging ways in their close relationships, including intimate ones.

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms of overwhelm in situations involving relationships, you may have an anxious attachment style that is impacting how you relate to others:

• The belief that no matter what you do, you will never be “good enough”
• Fear of rejection and abandonment
• A tendency to be your own worst critic, including blaming yourself for situations that are out of your control
• High levels of insecurity
• Having a difficult time trusting other people
• Emotional instability
• Neediness, clinginess, and dependency on people close to you to the point where it disrupts your relationship with them 

Having an anxious attachment style is not a diagnosable mental health condition, though it may predispose one to anxiety disorders. Even though it is not listed in the DSM-5, if your anxious attachment style is overwhelming your ability to build strong relationships with other people, it may be beneficial to speak to a professional.  

Mental health support for feeling overwhelmed

Whether your overwhelm stems from past traumas, a predisposition to anxiety, or a dysfunctional attachment style, if being overwhelmed is preventing you from navigating your life, it may be beneficial to seek professional guidance. Speaking to a licensed and accredited therapist can help you process whatever is driving your emotional paralysis and enable you to move beyond your overwhelmed state, as well as provide additional resources for stress relief.

If you believe the world is crashing down around you, it might be overwhelming to seek out traditional in-person therapy. In these cases, online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp could be a helpful alternative. With online therapy, you do not need to leave your house or bed to chat with your therapist. In addition, you can choose between phone, video, or live chat sessions, giving you control over how you receive support. 

Scientific research indicates that attending therapy online may be as impactful as attending traditional in-person therapy sessions, including in situations where the client would benefit from assistance working through overwhelming feelings. One study found that online cognitive-behavioral therapy was able to significantly reduce the symptoms of several conditions related to being overwhelmed, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attachment concerns.