Help in overcoming overwhelm

I feel chronically overwhelmed. Even something as simple as making a plan for the weekend makes me uneasy. Since I have trouble saying no, I usually end up agreeing to the plan and going. However, I am inadvertently anxious about all of the deadlines and other tasks that I should be doing while I am at the planned outing. In the rare event that I do decline an invitation, I feel overwhelmed, so no work actually gets done in the time I thought I had "bought" myself.

I have read similar posts or literature where the overwhelmed are encouraged to take time for themselves, but doing this just seems to add to my overwhelm. Because I am depressed, a lot of advice also involves getting regular exercise. Even though I do exercise, I still feel overwhelmed: I feel internal pressure to exercise and feel overwhelmed and horrible about myself if I don't (so usually I exercise to avoid this). However, I feel external pressure to spend time with others and feel overwhelmed to leave them to exercise.

I am trying to understand myself better to lead a more fulfilling and efficient life. I believe one of the major hurdles for me is this feeling of overwhelm. Are there any suggestions for steps to getting past this? Decision making and understanding my feelings and emotions are probably key, but this is all foreign to me and I have no idea where to start. Thank you for reading and for any feedback you may have.

Hello tinyvessels: The Skeezyks doesn't have a lot to suggest here. I would imagine this would be the kind of thing a person might seek individual therapy for... or possibly something like CBT or DBT. Perhaps other members will have better suggestions. I do celebrate your desire to lead a more fulfilling & efficient life though!

I would also like to find a solution for this! What you describe sounds very, very familiar. For me, I feel so overwhelmed that I am not sure where to start, and don't get as much done as I would like.

Have you read 'when I say no, I feel guilty'? I found that helpful, even if some of the scenarios in the book are a bit dated. I'm not sure that it helps with the overwhelm part, but it helped me learn how to say no a little more often.

Google "Mindfulness" - it is about staying in the moment. It takes practice but it's straightforward and helps.

Thank you for your response, hvert! I will definitely check out that book-- I have not yet read it but I do frequent this type of literature.