Task Paralysis - The Overwhelm Beast

Hello, darklings!

I had another convention recently. It did not feature as many writers, but I still found a few authors’ booths and snapped up their books. Also found me two new ace rings, one with a Leaf village symbol on it. There was metal music and horror movies, costumes galore, games, booze, and sweet guests. I goblin-ed up and had a great time with it.

Now, let’s talk about Task Paralysis, also know as Overwhelm Freeze.

When I get stressed, I get depressed. Sometimes that makes it difficult to realize how much pressure I'm feeling. What I do know is that I look at what I want and need to do, and… can’t. I stare, attempt to will myself to choose a task, anything to chip away at so I can go to bed with a small sense of accomplishment. Instead, I remain frozen, staring at the To-Do Doom.

If you’ve experienced this, you’re not alone. It’s actually a fairly common stress reaction, especially long term stress. This stress and depression affects your attention, memory, and emotional regulation. Sometimes you get brain fog. Sometimes you sleep excessively. If you’re like me, you sleep less. It sucks.

There is a reason this happens. Task paralysis, or overwhelm freeze, is part of the flight or fight response, but a part that isn’t talked about often. There is flight, fight, or freeze. When you can’t act because there's too much, you’re in the freeze response. You are the deer in the road, staring at oncoming headlights, except it’s a list of tasks rather than 800 pounds of metal.

It gets stupid, too. Like, you can’t even start new leisurely things, say a book or movie. Even that is too overwhelming! The things you should do to unwind and relax your overtaxed brain are out of reach because they require a decision and a neural burden of something new.

That’s where I’ve been lately. There have been small breaks, but overall I feel depressed, and it’s a stress response. It’s not uncommon when in task paralysis to disassociate, feel helpless, ashamed, apathetic, and anti-social. There are a million things to do, and time slips away as you stare off, doom scroll, or flit about doing very little.

Thankfully, I have some good friends (Azura and J. Argo). They coaxed me into talking about it, which made me realize how daunted and stressed I was under the lackluster of sadness. They gave me some good reassurances, offers of assistance and encouragement.

Things don't feel like an unsolvable mess now.

So, if you get the overwhelming freeze, first thing: Breathe. Yep, those big, deep, methodical, slow breaths. These help interrupt the constant fight, flight, freeze mode.

Third, get your stuff together and make a list. Now break it down into small tasks. No, smaller. SMALLER. Make them tiny!

Then take the baby steps. You’re not going to edit a chapter. You’re going to read through part of a chapter and make some side notes. Or you’re going to do a search and destroy for one sticky word. Or maybe you’re going to tackle the last three paragraphs only. Whatever will make your brain accept that it can Do The Thing, because it only takes two minutes tops. You can do one to two minutes.

Forget about doing the thing perfectly. It’s a small fry. It doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect! Progress is progress, and sloppy progress still gets you closer to done.

Also experts on this subject agree that you can bribe yourself. Do the thing and treat yourself somehow. I had cheesecake earlier. I earned it.

Hope that helps. Keep creating, you anxious corvids. Even if it’s tiny bits.