Anyone else feel like they're on an emotional rollercoaster every day? It's exhausting. Emotional overload is when you're overwhelmed by how many feelings you're having or even how big your feelings can be. With the state of the world right now, going through a pandemic on top of the normal chaos that life brings, it's understandable that we'd be feeling a whole mess of emotions. But when all these emotions, big and small, impact our ability to live our best lives, that's when we need to learn how to handle emotional overload. Today I'll share the 5 steps I'm taking to handle my emotional overload and what you can do too.

I've also found these resources that I've loved! Sesame Street has this great resource hub about big feelings which many adults can also benefit from. And Mental Health America also has some great tips about navigating big and heavy feelings. Check them out!

https://sesameworkshop.org/resources/big-feelings-in-my-body/

https://mhanational.org/im-feeling-too-much-once-dealing-emotional-overload

Oh the weather outside is frightful and my mood is not delightful, I wonder what it could be, is it possible that it's S-A-D? Yep. With the shorter daylight during fall and winter months, many of us can struggle with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of depression that can be triggered by less daylight, leading to changes in the chemicals in our brains. But how do you know if you have SAD or what do you do about it? Well, that's exactly what we're talking about today!

For more info on SAD, check out bit.ly/SADresource. If you need someone to talk or help, you can always reach out to the crisis line by calling or texting 9-8-8. You're not alone.

What does it mean to be healthy? Well it means different things for different people. For me, it means still living with a chronic illness. Even on my best days where I eat balanced nutritious meals, drink all my water and even get 8 hours of sleep, I still live with diabetes. It can be frustrating to know that my "healthy" is still a chronic illness. Let's talk about it!

Where my trauma survivors at?! This one is for you. After learning that my husband was diagnosed with melanoma, my brain kind of lost it inside. I had lost my grandmother and mother to melanoma so of course my brain said this was going to have the same outcome. But when this story had a happy ending and he's cancer-free, the first thing I did was shame myself for feeling all the fear, worry, and sadness because this "wasn't that bad after all". I had been through worst therefore this was "nothing". But it was something. When we've been through worst situations in our lives, it's easy to compare whatever hardships we go through now to them to make them feel smaller, but we also end up making ourselves feel smaller. So today we're talking about what we can try doing instead!

Getting a diagnosis, especially for diabetes, can turn your whole world upside down. All you can think about is how much your life is going to change and all the scary stories about complications. But you can either live in fear, or be like today's guest Devon Garrett and be brave! Devon has been breaking stereotypes of what it means and looks like to live with type 2 diabetes. This November, she's even running out of her comfort zone and will be running the NYC Marathon. This is a story that everyone can be inspired by.

You can follow and support Devon's marathon journey: https://beyondtyperun.funraise.org/fundraiser/devon-garrett

Anyone else feeling really f*cking overwhelmed lately? Yeah, me too. Sometimes life puts a lot on our plates, and then sets the world on fire, and then makes it winter, and then and then and then! Life can be a lot sometimes and with each situation or obstacle comes the feelings and emotions they invoke. So what happens when you have a lot of different shit going on in your life? You feel a BUNCH of different emotions. Simultaneously. Back to back. It's overwhelming! And this is what broke me down in therapy today. I'm overwhelmed by life right now, more specifically, all the feelings it's making me feel. I'm also an empath so I'm feeling everyone else's feelings too. Here's what my therapist told me to do: set emotional and physical boundaries. How do you do that? Let's talk about it.

Get your priorities straight. It's something our parents have all told us at some point. But what does that mean? What does that look like? Having priorities is a good thing. It can help you figure out where to spend your time and energy. It can also help make sure you're living the life that aligns with your morals and values. But having too many priorities is a one-way ticket on the hot mess express. Ya can't do it. The key is to change and adjust your priorities as needed—daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly. And it's okay if your priorities change. It might not be easy, but it's definitely worth it. Let's talk about it.