Is stress, anxiety or overwhelm stopping you from enjoying life?
Stress, anxiety and overwhelm are similar, but they're not the same. Can you recognise yourself in the descriptions below?
Stress
Stress is often a response to external pressures, demands or challenging situations. But it can also be influenced by your thoughts, beliefs and expectations, shaping how you perceive and respond to what's happening around you.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a feeling of worry, fear or unease about what might happen. While it's a natural response to uncertainty, it can become exhausting when your mind struggles to switch off and you find yourself constantly anticipating problems or imagining the worst.
Overwhelm
Overwhelm happens when everything feels like too much. You might struggle to think clearly, prioritise what needs doing or know where to start. Even everyday tasks can feel exhausting when you're already carrying so much.
Although they can feel different, stress, anxiety and overwhelm often overlap, leaving you feeling exhausted, stuck or unlike yourself.
But you don't have to stay stuck with uncomfortable feelings. With the right support, you can begin to find a greater sense of calm and rediscover the joy in life.
Using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), also known as tapping, I can help you explore the thoughts, emotions and patterns that may be contributing to how you feel. By gently working through these feelings, EFT can help you feel calmer, more grounded and better equipped to manage stress, anxiety and overwhelm, so you can respond to life's challenges with greater clarity and confidence.
How is stress showing up for you?
Stress can build gradually until you feel like you're constantly running on empty. You might be juggling too many responsibilities, putting pressure on yourself to keep everything together or finding it difficult to switch off, even when you have time to rest.
You might recognise yourself in one or more of these:
Work & Everyday Pressures
You feel under constant pressure to get things done, meet expectations or keep up with the demands of everyday life. Even when you finish one task, there's always something else to think about and it feels never ending.
Stress Behaviours
You might find yourself struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep, turning to food for comfort, procrastinating or relying on other habits to help you unwind or cope with difficult emotions.
Difficulty Switching Off
Even when you're not working or dealing with responsibilities, your mind keeps going. You replay the day, think about what needs doing tomorrow or feel guilty when you take time for yourself.
Stress in Your Body
You notice tension, tightness, restlessness or other physical sensations when life feels demanding. You may find it difficult to settle, even when you know you need a break.
Feeling Drained & Exhausted
You feel mentally or emotionally tired, have less patience than usual or find that even small things take more energy than they used to.
Emotional Residue from the Past
You know rationally that things are okay, yet you still find yourself experiencing thoughts and feelings rooted in past experiences. You may understand that the past is behind you, but the emotions it left behind can still affect how you feel and respond to situations today.
Together, we can explore what's contributing to your stress, work through the emotions and pressures you're carrying, and help you develop a calmer, more balanced way of responding to life's challenges.
How is anxiety showing up for you?
Anxiety can show up in many different ways. You might experience constant worrying, overthinking, difficulty making decisions or a feeling that you always need to be in control.
You might recognise yourself in one or more of these:
Anxiety & Worry
Your mind doesn't seem to switch off. You worry about what might happen, replay conversations or find yourself constantly anticipating problems.
Overthinking
You analyse everything, go over decisions repeatedly and struggle to trust your own judgement. Even small decisions can feel exhausting.
Self-Doubt & Confidence
You question yourself, worry about getting things wrong or hold yourself back because you're afraid of judgement, rejection or failure.
Dating & Relationships
You feel anxious about dating, rejection or relationships, or notice familiar emotional patterns repeating themselves.
Procrastination & Feeling Stuck
You know what you want to do, but something seems to get in the way of taking action. You might put things off, feel unable to move forward or struggle to understand what's holding you back.
Together, we can explore what's contributing to your anxiety, gently work through the feelings and patterns behind it, and help you find a calmer, more confident way forward.
Overwhelm when everything feels too much
Sometimes, life can feel like too much to manage. You might have so many things on your mind that you don't know where to start, or feel as though you're constantly trying to catch up without ever getting ahead.
Even simple tasks can feel overwhelming when you're mentally or emotionally overloaded. You might find yourself shutting down, putting things off or feeling frustrated with yourself for not being able to do more.
You might recognise yourself in one or more of these:
Too Much on Your Plate
You're juggling work, family, relationships and everyday responsibilities, and it feels as though everyone needs something from you. There's little time or space left for yourself.
Feeling Mentally Overloaded
Your head feels full of thoughts, tasks, worries and decisions. You struggle to concentrate, organise your thoughts or work out what needs your attention first.
Unable to Get Started
You have things you need or want to do, but you feel stuck. The more you think about everything that needs doing, the harder it becomes to take that first step.
Emotional Overload
Your feelings seem closer to the surface than usual. You might feel tearful, irritable, frustrated or unable to cope with things that wouldn't normally affect you as much.
Feeling Pulled in Every Direction
You feel torn between competing demands and other people's expectations. You might find it difficult to say no, set boundaries or give yourself permission to slow down.
Together, we can gently untangle what's feeling too much, work through the emotions beneath the overwhelm, and help you find a clearer, calmer way forward, one step at a time.
I'm Maxine, an EFT practitioner specialising in stress, anxiety and overwhelm.
Stress, anxiety and overwhelm can affect far more than how you feel. They can influence the decisions you make, the opportunities you take, your relationships and your ability to enjoy life.
When these feelings become difficult to manage, you may find yourself avoiding situations, holding back from things you want to do, or feeling as though your world is gradually becoming smaller and robbing you of the richness of life.
And while it can be tempting to try to think your way out of anxiety, stress or overwhelm, this is often easier said than done. When you're feeling stressed, anxious or under pressure, your thoughts can become harder to manage. You might overthink, anticipate problems, struggle to make decisions or find it difficult to see things from a different perspective. Trying to calm your thoughts down doesn't necessarily mean you can.
This is where EFT can help.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), also known as tapping, offers a practical way to work with the thoughts, feelings and physical sensations associated with emotional distress. By focusing on what's troubling you while gently tapping on specific points on the body, EFT can help reduce the intensity of difficult emotions and support a greater sense of calm.
When those feelings become more manageable, it can be easier to think clearly, gain perspective and respond differently to the situations you're facing.
Why I chose EFT
I discovered EFT when I was looking for a tool to help clients who wanted to change their behaviours around food. What I found was something far more powerful and far-reaching than I had anticipated.
I saw how EFT can help people work with the emotional intensity, urgency and sense of being out of control that can accompany certain eating behaviours. But more importantly, I found an approach that could be applied to many other areas of life, including anxiety, stress, self-doubt and the patterns that keep us feeling stuck.
This changed the way I understood behaviour change. So often, people already know what they want to do differently. They understand their patterns, recognise the consequences and have spent considerable time thinking about what they should do. Yet understanding something intellectually doesn't always make it easy to change.
This is why EFT became central to my work with clients. It offers a way to explore and work through the emotional responses that can keep us stuck, particularly when we've tried repeatedly to think, reason or push our way towards change without getting the results we hoped for.
My aim is to help you better understand what you're experiencing, work through difficult feelings at a pace that feels manageable, and find new ways of responding to life's challenges, with greater calm, clarity and confidence.
My Background
I have an MA in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh and spent two years studying acting at ALRA in London, followed by several years working as an actor. I later qualified as a Personal Performance Coach with The Coaching Academy and went on to become a certified NLP practitioner and Advanced EFT Practitioner. I also hold a Certificate in Counselling Skills from the University of the West of England.
