St. James' Episcopal Church - Potomac 301-762-8040 office@stjamespotomac.org

Hello friends,

Whether you call it “overwhelmed” or “anxious,” we all know what it feels like: your mind becomes preoccupied with worrying thoughts, you probably tense up a bit, minutes begin to feel like hours, and so on. It’s not a pleasant state, but it’s also a normal part of the human experience. Of course there’s also a point at which these feelings become so persistent and intense that we classify it as a form of mental illness.

So how can we respond in healthy, effective ways when we feel overwhelmed? And what should we not do? In our conversation this week we’ll go through “5 Mistakes We Make When We’re Overwhelmed,” which also gives us insight into what we can do instead to prevent overwhelming feelings from not becoming so…overwhelming.

We’ll also watch a brief personal testimony from Florence Mukangenzi, a medical student who describes in wonderful clarity how she has developed strategies and tactics to manage her chronic anxiety.

Our warm-up question for this week:

What activities allow your mind to wander in healthy ways?

See you soon,

Alex