If you're feeling overwhelmed and resonate with feeling like a fish out of water these tips might help.

Overwhelm can have you feeling like you're a fish out of water, and I got a shock when I explored the metaphor for insight for my book, Can't see the wood for the trees, because I wasn't expecting the insight I got about feeling overwhelmed.

The usual advice to anyone feeling like that overwhelmed fish is "don't worry you're just out of your comfort zone you'll feel better soon" or "just try this and you'll feel better" and yet that doesn't work for the fish.

The fish is out of water and feels like it's dying with every passing second and so any action to support staying where you are is too much - it just adds to the overwhelm and anxiety.

For the fish the first action has to be - get to safety - and then and only then can you plot a route from A to B out of the water or otherwise.

If you're feeling like that fish out of water the attached extract from my book, Can't see the wood for the trees - landscaping your life to get back on track, below may provide some suggestions about what you can do to reduce the overwhelm.

Do let me know how you get on.

And if your overwhelm doesn't have you feeling like an overwhelmed fish and since I have shared a number of posts and videos recently on the subject of overwhelm why not have a read of one of those.

Although, if a different idiom resonates such as can't see the wood for the trees, stuck between a rock and a hard place, backed into a corner etc have a look at this index of podcast episodes for more insight. With this post exploring being up a creek without a paddle providing a seven step process for getting back on track.

My name is Alison Smith and for 25 years I’ve used nature and metaphor to help you see the wood for the trees, get out of the rut, stop going round in circles, turn a corner and shift from not knowing to knowing what to do.

There’s posts, poems, blogs, Landscaping Your Life YouTube channel, Landscaping Your Life with Alison smith podcast episodes (my own and as a guest), a Landscaping Your Life newsletter, ezine, pdfs (there’s even one on helping you see the wood for the trees), two books (Can't see the wood for the trees - landscaping your life to get back on track and Your Prescription for Wellbeing Journal) all sharing insight to help you when you’re overwhelmed, stuck or lost.