“It’s not one big thing… It’s everything.”

In this episode of The Thoughtful Doctor, we explore overwhelm — the quieter kind that builds up over time, where small, everyday demands start to feel like too much.

In the clinic, people don’t usually say “I’m overwhelmed.”
They say, “There’s just a lot on my plate.”

As a GP, ADHD clinician and mum, I see how often this shows up, not as one big problem, but as a build-up of responsibilities, thoughts, and pressures that our mind hasn’t had space to process.

In this episode, we think about:
• why overwhelm builds up gradually
• what’s happening in the brain (including the amygdala, our internal alarm system)
• why our reactions feel different when our capacity is low
• and simple, practical ways to create a bit of space

This isn’t about fixing everything.

It’s about understanding what’s happening… so we can respond with a bit more clarity and a bit less pressure.