With the holiday season upon us and so many activities and festivities going on, I wanted to address overstimulation. Overstimulation is having more energy than we are able to manage. I’m not just talking about physical energy, I’m also talking about mental and environmental energy.

In the book, ‘Who you were meant to be’ by Lindsay C. Gibson, Psy.D., she describes the symptoms of overstimulation as:

• Exhiliration
• Giddy
• Scattered thinking
• Inflated feeling
• Overly emotional
• Feelings of disorganization
• Unsure of what to do first
• Impulsivity
• Running in circles
• Inefficient
• Starting things without finishing them
• The feeling after an initial ‘high’
• Discouragment
• Aimlessness

The way to regain control when you’re feeling overstimulated can be attained by following the steps below:

1. Stop! Stop what you’re doing.
2. Leave the room and go outside or to another room.
3. Distract yourself by doing something else until you feel grounded, such as reading, exercise, journaling, etc.
4. Rest to calm down by listening to music, meditating/praying, stretching, etc.
5. Recover by staying away from the activity/area that overstimulated you until you feel clam.
6. Reapproach the activity/environment that you left and try it again. If you’re still feeling overstimulated, practice the steps again until you feel calm.