There are many decisions that you must make throughout the course of a day. Whether you’re deciding what clothes to wear, which activities to do, or which people to see, life consists of constant decision-making at pretty much every moment.
Although you can make choices and plans for your life, no one can ever be prepared for the unexpected. When these unexpected situations add up, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and anxious and feel as if life is out of control.
1. Therefore, we often seek control whenever we can.
2. Feeling as if your life is out of control comes from the anxiety of not having access to the driver’s seat of your life. People have no idea when disaster may strike for them and for how long, so it produces fear that triggers all types of emotions like sadness, frustration, and anger.
The best way to handle this is by finding different ways to be content with the unknown. Of course, it can be easier said than done and is a constant process but is worth doing.
This article discusses reasons why you might feel like your life is out of control and offers tips on how you can cope with those feelings.
Reasons Why You May Feel Like Your Life Is Out of Control
There are plenty of reasons why you may feel like your life may feel out of control, the following are a few:
Stress
A lot of anxiety and overwhelming feelings can be caused by stress coming in at every corner. Which can make a person can feel overloaded with the pressures of having to keeping everything together for their, job, finances even family—it starts to pile up.
Stress can be toxic and it’s easy for it to make life feel likes it going out of control, so it’s important to try and manage your stress.
3.Health
People often worry about both their mental and physical health, especially when they have a health condition or are susceptible to getting one. Then, there’s the chance of health issues suddenly making an appearance.
There are a lot of health issues that are out of one’s control. They can be due down to environmental factors, genetics or even by chance. It is a scary thing to have to be constantly concerned about not just your health but also the health of your loved ones.
Health can be a very stressful aspect of life but then stress can trigger many health issues. It can be difficult to not worry and wonder about health but vital for you to not worry too much.
You can only really focus on what is in your control—taking the appropriate precautions with your health, engaging in wellness practices, and remaining optimistic.
4.Relationships
All the different relationships that you have in your life can begin to feel overwhelming. Although you may be grateful for these relationships, it doesn’t mean they won’t take a toll on you at times.
Whether you’re busy being a parent, spouse, friend, caretaker, etc., every relationship comes with a different set of obligations. Relationships carry responsibilities, compromise, and sometimes require taking on other people’s feelings and problems. It can also be stressful for you when a loved one is going through a difficult situation themself.
It is important to have relationships in your life, but these relationships cannot consume your life, especially not to the point where it’s affecting your mental health.5
Additionally, if you find yourself in a toxic relationship (with a partner, friend, or even family member), this could cause you to feel like your life is spinning out of control especially when all attempts to mend the relationship have failed.
National Crises
The combination of living through a pandemic and witnessing natural disasters and social injustices has been overwhelming for everyone.
It’s important to find ways to process everything that is going on in the world because constantly hearing of tragedies can not only become disheartening but can produce feelings of defenselessness, anxiety, fear, and even anger.6
Work
There are times when a person’s job consumes all their time, and it seems just like it’s taking over their entire life. which can make them become very overwhelmed by what they have to get done inside and outside of the workplace.
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Sometimes you can fall into a need to constantly keep busy and be productive, but a healthy balance is key., such as.
Tragedy
If you’ve experienced a tragic life event (e.g., a death in the family, job loss, etc.) you might be feeling extremely overwhelmed. When tragedy strikes it is often sudden or abrasive, producing a lot of overwhelming emotions. Since these kinds of situations are out of your control, you may feel helpless and lost.
Additionally, tragic events typically produce painful emotions that can stay with you long after the event has passed. The experience of a tragedy may feel like an attack that you didn’t see coming or couldn’t prevent. In fact, one of the most common traumatic experiences is the sudden death of a loved one, and this type of trauma is cited as a major leading cause of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).8
Regardless of the nature of the tragic event, it’s common to experience a flood of varying emotions, and it might seem as if it’s too difficult to cope with them.
In being overwhelmed by such uncontrollable circumstances, you may feel like you have no control over your own feelings and your response to the tragedy.
What to Do When Life Feels Out of Control
There are a few steps below that may be useful when life starts to feel out of control.
Pause and Take a Break
It’s important to take a break every now and then. It’s perfectly OK to take some time for yourself to meditate, destress, and practice self-care.
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Try to Change Your Perspective
Rather than viewing your life as “out of control,” it may help to take an “it is what it is” perspective for the time being.
This does not mean accepting poor treatment. Instead, it just means letting go of needing control; letting go of a need to control everything can life lead to greater life satisfaction.3
Take Control of Things You Can Change
Even though people may not have control of everything in their lives, they do still have control of some things. Work on changing the things in life that you do have control over, like going to the gym a bit more, eating fewer sweets, or removing a toxic person from your life.
Even if it is the littlest of things, it can help in establishing a sense of control and optimism in your life.2
Be Confident in Your Life Decisions
Sometimes life can feel like it out of your control when you’re constantly worrying and wondering if you are making the right choices in your life. With the things you have control over, you tend to want to make sure you want to get it right, almost perfect even—but not everything will be perfect.
Take pride in what you created for your life and, if you’ve made a few bad decisions, you can learn from them, and move forward. These mistakes may foster personal growth and wisdom.
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In suffering comes resilience and determination to seek greater opportunities for your life. So, it is important to remember that whichever paths you decide to take in life, try not to worry too much about how things will pan out.
Try to also be appreciative of challenging situations in your life because they push you to keep going and brought you to better times.
Talk it Out
It is beneficial to talk about how you feel overwhelmed and stressed. Whether it be with a loved one or maybe seek professional expertise from a therapist, it can be helpful to have someone with whom you can voice your worries and concerns to. They can help you deconstruct any feelings and sort them out accordingly.
Pick Up a Hobby
Hobbies can take your mind off things you can’t change. Whether it be going for a daily walk, or reading a book, hobbies may help you feel like an escape from life’s challenges.
Hobbies, in a way, act as a reminder that you do hold the steering wheel to your life all the time since it’s you who decides how to spend your free time.
Think Positively
Try to think positively. Life won’t always feel the same way you feel now, it will get better if you believe that it will.4 Practice focusing on what is going well in your life and aim to be thankful for the things you do have.
It’s also important to remember that sometimes you must take the bad with the good sometimes. Do your best to appreciate challenging situations in your life because they can foster so personal growth.
