2015 overwhelm survey - the results

OVERWHELM SURVEY RESULTS

http://kellyexeter.com.au/coping-with-overwhelm

In the middle of 2015 I ran a survey on overwhelmas research for my second book

How to Say No(and make room for more ‘hell yeah’ in your life).

These are the results of that survey :)

DEMOGRAPHICS

GENDER SPLIT

1737 total respondents

1661 || 96%Female

Male 76 || 4%

AGE SPLIT


840 || 48%35-44

401 || 23%45-54

328 || 19%25-34

146 || 8%55+

22 || 1%18-24

THE QUESTIONS (AND THEIR ANSWERS)

In the past year, how often have you felt completely overwhelmed? (ie had that feeling of ‘not being on top of life’)

Q1


687 || 40%soMe oF tHe tIMe

128 || 7%all oF tHe tIMe

13 || 1%neVer

128 || 7%HardlYeVer

786 || 45%a lot oF tHe tIMe

What has been the PRIMARY cause of this overwhelm?(Choose one only)

Q2


453 || 26%

385 || 22%

366 || 21%

307 || 18%

38 || 2%

188 || 11%

WorKload In JoB/BUsIness

tHe tendenCY to oVer-CoMMIt

MaJor stressFUl lIFe eVents

WorKload In tHe HoMe

KIds’ aCtIVItIes

otHer

When you’re feeling overwhelmed,what’s the main way this manifests outwardly?

Q3


646 || 37%

599 || 34%

259 || 15%

131 || 8%

102 || 6%

IrrItaBIlItY

CoMproMIsed Mental HealtH

WItHdraWal Into selF

anGer

otHer

On average, how many hours per day do you currently spend on activities that would be considered ‘me time’ (reading, having a quiet cup of tea, exercising, relaxing etc)

Q4


104 || 6%

847 || 49%

530 || 31%

162 || 9%

94 || 5%

0

0-1

1-2

2-3

3+

In your opinion, what single thing would have the greatest effect in lowering the amount of overwhelm you experience?

Q5


497 || 29%

371 || 21%

314 || 18%

280 || 16%

280 || 16%

More ‘Me‘ tIMe

a Better aBIlItY to saY ‘no’

otHer

redUCed WorKload In JoB/BUsIness

redUCed WorKload at HoMe

IN SUMMARY

92%

52%

of respondents are feeling overwhelmed at least some of the time

of respondents are feeling overwhelmed more often than not

THE MAJOR CAUSE

iRRiTAbiliTy And COMpROMiSEd MEnTAl HEAlTH

of their overwhelm varies greatly but the resultis the same for most:

WHEn iT COMES TO ‘ME TiME’

55%

29%

of respondents get one hour or less per day

of respondents identified getting more ‘me time’ as the single thing that would have the greatest effect in reducing their feelings of overwhelm

lET’S TAlK AbOUT ‘ME TiME’It sounds like an indulgence - but really, should we be

looking at ‘me time’, ie: time to ourselves to have a quiet cup of coffee, do some reading, relax and watch tv or

exercise as an ‘indulgence’?

With that in mind, isn’t it insane that 55% of the respondents to this survey get less than one hour of

‘me time’ a day?

but that’s not even the worst of it ...

Here’s what people said in response to the question

“Finish this sentence: when I’m not feeling stressed out and overwhelmed

I have more time for ...”

“pursuing creative activities like singing, playing, recording, drawing

and cooking.”

When i’m not feeling stressed out and overwhelmed i have more time for ...

“Enjoying life.”


“Enjoying the little things and being present for my kids.”


“Connecting with my kids, pursuing hobbies.”


“Fun.”


“being in the moment and taking notice of what’s happening

around me.”


“Having fun and being in the moment with my kids and husband - laughing,

being silly and wasting time.”


“being in a happy space with my family.”


“Everyone, including me.”


“Everything, as less time fretting and stressing means more time for

everything else.”


“My friends and family as well as doing things that feed my soul.”


“doing what i love, what makes me happy, simply relaxing by chatting to a loved one, reading a book or simply

doing nothing.”


“Fun, frivolity and spontaneity.More time to be the person

i like being.”


“To just breathe and to just be.”


“being a giver: a giver of my time, my listening, my support and my

love. if i am in my happy place i have abundantly more capacity to give.”


WHAT dO All THESE AnSWERS HAVE in COMMOn?

They show that when we’re not stressed and overwhelmed, we have more time to be the best version of ourselves we can be

WHO bEnEFiTS FROM US bEinG OUR bEST SElVES?

Every. Single. Person.we come into contact with over the course of a day.

imagine a world full of people who have the time and space each day to

be their best selves ...

i’d like to live in that world ...wouldn’t you?

Why then aren’t we making the reduction of overwhelm in our

lives a major priority?

it’s a question worth asking i reckon :)

Thanks so much for looking through the results of my survey on overwhelm. Hopefully they’ve made you think! And if you’re currently drowning in overwhelm, hopefully you’re

now looking for ways to beat it!

if you’d like some help with that,you might enjoy the below:

drowning in life? Here are 7 things that will help nOW

The real reason you just can’t say no and how it’s ruining your life

What’s the *primary* cause of your overwhelm?

is your overwhelm just a really bad habit?

3 ways i manage the mental overwhelm caused by my inner ‘planner’

EnJOy!

http://kellyexeter.com.au/coping-with-overwhelm

http://kellyexeter.com.au/why-you-cant-just-say-no

http://kellyexeter.com.au/cause-of-overwhelm

http://kellyexeter.com.au/is-your-overwhelm-just-a-really-bad-habit

http://kellyexeter.com.au/manage-inner-planner

2015 overwhelm survey - the results

Health & Medicine