The Stress Tipping Point

Aug 3

Stress crying - where you are so frustrated and overwhelmed that all you can do is release it by letting it leak down your face, usually accompanied by gasping breaths and racing thoughts.

That was me a couple of times last week. I wasn’t sleeping well, I was overwhelmed at my corporate job, and struggling to grasp the concepts in a marketing workshop I was attending. I felt like my goals were slipping further and further away as I was drowning in too many high priority tasks.

It was a small thing that sent me over the edge (I don’t actually remember the exact thing) but all the sudden I lost it. Ugly crying on camera, thinking I should just give up on all my goals and dreams. I told myself earlier that day to be patient with myself and keep an eye on my emotions because I hadn’t slept well and still - bam! - I’m in tears and ready to quit on myself.

Community and connection helped me reset. The team in my workshop reached out in DMs with support, a co-worker connected with me in empathy, and my coaching community provided inspiration.

With some perspective back, I started to ponder: could that meltdown have been avoided? I asked this not to chastise myself for reaching the breaking point (and that is huge growth for me in just that perspective!), but to learn from it - because let’s face it, meltdowns aren't a fun or productive use of energy and rarely lead to good decisions.

I realized (again, lol) that I needed to release being able to do everything and do it perfectly. I needed to be kind to myself. Learning to set aside time for quiet, to say “no” to things that don’t directly support my goals right now, are all lessons that are a work in progress for me. Striving for goals and dreams, re-learning how to live in joy, is not all sunshine and rainbows. Rather, it’s a process. It’s painful growth spurts with ugly crying, moments of connection and hope, and continual resilience - often in the space of 60 minutes.

I’m not sure I could have avoided these particular meltdowns due to the combinations of factors that pushed me to the stress tipping point. But I can learn to be more patient with myself. And that is growth worth more than tears - it’s worth a celebration.

Have you had a stress tipping point recently? If so, what have you learned about yourself?