Overwhelmed AND Capable

Overwhelmed AND Capable

Earlier this week, I found a post by MyWellbeing that caught my eye as it highlighted things that co-exist. The post included the co-existence of the following:

  • Holding grief & Feeling Joy

  • Changing your mind & respecting your past self

  • Caring deeply & letting go

  • Saying no & being a good friend

  • Being strong & asking for help

  • Feeling overwhelmed & being capable

Co-existing emotions frequently come up in therapy sessions, and I always appreciate seeing these little reminders sprinkled into my media feed. While reading this post, I scrolled through each bullet point, nodding in agreement. I paused on the last bullet point, 'feeling overwhelmed and being capable.' Whew, I love it when I stumble upon a reminder I didn't realize I needed. From this last bullet point, my new mantra for the week unfolded: I am overwhelmed and capable. This mantra also came at a helpful time for my clients, as many of my clients were navigating the intensity of finals week!

We can feel overwhelmed and still be capable. This is a quiet yet powerful truth. These two emotions don't cancel each other out—they coexist, often in the same breath, the same hour, and the same conversation. Yet, this emotional duality can be complex in a world that favors either-or thinking. We're taught to label feelings as good or bad, productive or paralyzing, strong or weak. But life rarely shows up in such clean lines.

Feeling overwhelmed doesn't mean you're failing. It means you're human. It means you care, are trying, and are navigating something that stretches your capacity. At the same time, being capable doesn't require feeling calm, composed, or confident. Capability can look like showing up messy, asking for help, or setting a needed boundary. When we allow both truths to exist, we make room for grace, not perfection, to lead the way.

When overwhelm takes the driver's seat, it can quietly lead us into patterns that feel like relief but come at a cost. Being overwhelmed may cause us to experience increased irritability, emotional withdrawal, and lashing out toward others around us, even when they are not the cause of the stress. Being overwhelmed can also lead to emerging patterns of procrastination, freezing, and shutting down (which contribute to an increasing cycle of overwhelm).

Instead of trying to push past overwhelm or pretend it doesn't belong, let's invite it to sit beside our competence. Incorporating the mantra of "I am overwhelmed and capable," I gently challenged my internal narrative to shift. This shift occurred from thinking "I'm too overwhelmed to do this" to "This is hard, and I can still take the next step". Embracing the tension between emotions helps us build trust in ourselves, not just when things are easy, but especially when they're not. You may be overwhelmed, AND you are capable.

Meet the Author

Lauren Horlick

Licensed Professional Counselor

Wellness & Courage Public Relations Manager

 
Jamy Hunter