Feeling Overwhelmed? Here’s How a Portland Therapist Can Help
How a Portland Therapist can help with overwhelm
Have you ever felt like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders - juggling work, relationships, and personal goals - all while trying to stay afloat in an unpredictable world? The emotional weight of it all can leave anyone feeling stuck, anxious, or even hopeless. Or you may have been dealing with anxiety or self-doubt for so long that it feels like there’s no way out – ever said something like “that’s just me” or “I’m an anxious person?” If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to navigate it all by yourself.
As a Portland therapist specializing in mindfulness, self-compassion, and LGBTQ+-affirming counseling, I provide an understanding space to help you address those overwhelming feelings, feel supported, and get some clarity for the next steps you want to take. Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on and how therapy can help you reclaim some much-needed balance.
Recognizing the Signs of Overwhelm
One reason the feeling of overwhelm can sneak up on us is that it can show up differently for everyone. We all have our own factors and life conditions that can contribute to feeling overloaded and depleted. You may find your mind racing and imagining the worst-case scenarios, or you feel physically tense and exhausted all the time – like you’re white knuckling your way through everyday interactions and tasks. Here is a brief list of common experiences of overwhelm:
Difficulty concentrating (often accompanied with a “why can’t I just…” type of reaction)
Feeling irritable or on edge (this can be surprising, often leading to those “why did I react like that?” thoughts)
A sense of dread or hopelessness
Avoiding responsibilities or people (like everything has become that hot stove that you pull back from)
Do any of these sound familiar? Overwhelm can be linked to anxiety, life transitions, or simply carrying too much for too long. If any of these resonate, it may be time to reach out to a Portland therapist who understands what you’re going through and can provide counseling to help manage stress and anxiety.
Why Therapy Works: A Compassionate Space for Healing
Therapy offers much more than just a space to vent – actually, venting may feel good but add more to overwhelm if given free reign - it’s a place where you can make sense of your feelings in an environment that feels supportive and stable. My approach is rooted in mindfulness and self-compassion, which means I help you build tools to face challenges with clarity and kindness.
For many clients, feeling understood and valued as they are in therapy is more helpful than just viewing challenges as problems to solve. Whether you’re navigating anxiety, self-criticism, or issues unique to the LGBTQ+ community, therapy can be a transformative experience.
The Role of Self-Compassion in Overcoming Overwhelm
One of the most powerful, and often overlooked, tools in navigating overwhelm is self-compassion. When we’re overwhelmed it’s easy to become one of our harshest critics. In the US, we are inundated with messages that we’re supposed to just power through hardship or that we won’t achieve success if we’re “too soft” on ourselves. But imagine what might change if you could replace self-criticism with self-kindness.
Self-compassion encourages you to treat yourself the way you’d treat a close friend: with understanding, patience, and care. In our work together, I’ll help you develop this skill, empowering you to meet life’s challenges with resilience instead of self-judgment. This doesn’t minimize the importance of reaching your goals – it offers an encouraging path to get there.
Mindfulness Techniques You Can Start Using Today
If you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, here are two simple mindfulness exercises to try:
Soothing Rhythm Breathing: Sit with your feet on the floor and in a comfortable and upright posture. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Observe your breath as it is – where it is in the body, what the feeling of the air entering and leaving is like (often cooler on the inhale and warmer on the exhale), the pacing. Now bring in the intention to breathe in a rhythm that slows and soothes the body and slows and soothes the mind. Adjust the rhythm with this intention in mind and notice how you feel after practicing for a few minutes. Breathing with a soothing rhythm can help to calm your nervous system enough to get those parts that shut-down when overwhelmed back online. You can practice this as often is helpful – 3 times a day is typically a helpful way to begin feeling a benefit.
Body Scan: Lie down or sit in a quiet space. Slowly bring your attention to each part of your body, starting at your toes and working your way up. Notice any areas of tension without judgment—just observe. To get started you can set a timer for 5-10 minutes as you get used to trying this exercise. If you feel overwhelmed at bedtime this practice can be useful. You can even go through the different muscle groups as you scan from the toes up, tensing and relaxing them, to help calm the body before falling asleep.
These techniques can help ground you in the moment, giving you a sense of calm amidst the chaos. Portland therapists specializing in mindfulness often use exercises like these to help clients manage stress and build resilience. These exercises are just a starting point. In therapy, we can explore a wide range of mindfulness tools that fit your personal needs and experiences.
How a Portland Therapist Supports Long-Term Change
Feeling better doesn’t happen overnight, but therapy provides the tools and support to create meaningful, lasting change. Often, we have much more practice with patterns that lead to overwhelm than engaging helpful means to manage it. Together, we’ll work on building awareness of what’s contributing to your feeling of overwhelming, uncovering patterns that no longer serve you, and practicing strategies to help you feel more grounded and in control.
By working with a Portland therapist to incorporate mindfulness counseling and self-compassion into your daily life, you can find greater clarity, balance, and relief.
Why LGBTQ+-Affirming Counseling Matters in Therapy
For clients from the LGBTQ+ community, therapy can be a space to navigate unique challenges like discrimination, coming out, or building self-acceptance. It’s vital to feel seen, heard, and affirmed in your identity—and that’s a cornerstone of my work as a Portland therapist. It is important that you don’t have to spend your time in therapy teaching your therapist about the queer experience. You deserve a space where your identity is respected, understood, and honored without explanation.
Whether you’re facing external pressures or internal pain, I’m here to help you move from a place of shame or isolation toward self-compassion and empowerment.
Ready to Feel More Grounded? Let’s Talk
Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t have to remain your “normal.” Therapy offers a path to relating to yourself with clarity and kindness, and I’m here to walk that path with you.
Eric Goodwin, Portland therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor
As a Portland therapist, I specialize in mindfulness and self-compassion, helping clients manage anxiety, develop self-acceptance, and navigate life’s challenges. Whether you’re seeking LGBTQ+-affirming counseling, mindfulness counseling for anxiety, or self-compassion to address your experiences with shame and self-criticism, we’ll work together to support your goals.
If you have connected anything you’ve read, reach out to schedule your free 15-minute phone consultation. Call 971-533-5590 or click here to take your first step toward healing and support.