How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed Using Neuropsychology Tools

A client I’ll call Angelica is a 50-year-old high school teacher. For the first time in her long career, she’s faced criticism and pushback from parents for how she teaches her U.S. government classes. She covers topics such as the separation of powers, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and their relevance to current events. Teaching sections on civil rights laws has led to meetings with raging parents who accuse Angelica of “indoctrinating” their children with “radical leftist woke ideology,” among other emotionally charged labels.

Source: Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

“I keep counting the days, weeks, months, and years until I can retire. For the first time in my life, I feel afraid to teach. I used to joke around with the students and other teachers. Now it’s so overwhelming,” she said. Angelica cried, “These parents accuse me of indoctrinating their kids when I’m just teaching civics. It’s so disturbing!” she cried.

Anyone can feel overwhelmed during times of great upheaval. Facing external pressures can feel paralyzing. However, neuropsychology offers valuable tools to help you regain control and improve your well-being.

Understanding Your Adaptable Brain

The human brain is built to adapt to changing social environments. In a process called neuroplasticity, your brain can learn, grow new neural connections, and generate a variety of structural and chemical changes to help you cope with stress. But here lies the paradox. Our brain is built to handle stressors and adapt; however, excessive stress can inhibit neuroplasticity, learning, and growth (Davidson et al., 2012).

As social animals, we respond well to feeling safe in our community. In times of social and political upheaval, our threatened sense of safety can leave us feeling unmoored, confused, and overwhelmed. Angelica felt frightened and confused about how to teach after unfair accusations and attacks from parents.

Your Beliefs Matter

Our bodies respond to our beliefs about stress. If you believe that a stressor is severe, that belief can cause your cortisol levels to rise. Chronically elevated levels of cortisol can cause physical and mental health problems (Gabrys et al. 2019).

Studies show that we can change our cognitive appraisal, or our beliefs about stress, and cope more effectively (Palamarchuk et al., 2021). While most political upheaval remains outside of our sphere of control, we can learn to control our responses to it.

Angelica kept mentally repeating things like, “I’m sick and tired of this. This is overwhelming. I can’t take it!” I shared how repeating these defeating phrases acts as a form of self-hypnosis, adding to her misery and stress. I encouraged her to substitute phrases like, “I can learn how to cope better with these angry parents. I can take better care of myself. I can ask for help and support.”

Changing her cognitive appraisal from “I can’t handle this” to “I can learn how to cope better” helped her feel more empowered.

Neuropsychology Tools to Relieve Stress

Decades of research have shown that we can manage stress more effectively when we learn to lower our nervous system arousal (Marko, et al., 2018). Much of the feeling of being overwhelmed stems from a deficit in coping skills. We feel at the limit of what we can handle. Then, when we repeat to ourselves, “I can’t handle this,” we cement the idea, amplifying the stress.

Our flexible brain can learn how to cope with anything. It might help to start with that idea. “I can cope.” You may not know how yet, but aiming your mind toward the possibility that you can cope is a radical, life-affirming idea. And it works.

I encouraged Angelica to try these evidence-based ways to lower her nervous system arousal. Feel free to try these methods yourself:

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

One of the best gifts you can give yourself that will keep on giving for the rest of your life is the gift of meditation.

Researchers compared the before-and-after MRI brain scans of novice meditators who completed eight weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training. Subjects' reductions in perceived stress were reflected in changes in the amygdala, the brain's threat-sensing center.

Stress Essential Reads

Use This 4-Step Approach to Find Balance & Rediscover Joy

Crisis-Dependent Function Begets Exhaustion-Dependent Rest

These findings suggest that alterations in brain regions associated with stress can occur within as little as eight weeks of mindfulness meditation training. MBSR courses are available at universities, medical centers, and online, making them easily accessible to most people.

Many of my clients meditate daily using mindfulness apps downloadable on their smartphones. These apps offer more affordable options for most people to start a daily meditation practice.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a form of psychological treatment that aims to help clients change unhelpful ways of thinking and behaving. It’s based on several core principles:

• All thoughts are distortions or interpretations of reality.
• Psychological distress is caused, in part, by these distortions of thinking.
• Learned patterns of unhelpful behavior also cause psychological pain.
• These patterns of thinking and behavior can be identified and changed to improve functioning and well-being.

In a large-scale study of CBT in adults, improvement ratings from both patients and therapists were high, with levels of symptom relief commonly exceeding 90% (Velten et al., 2025).

If you feel overwhelmed, consider consulting a therapist trained in CBT. Many therapists can offer online support if you don't live near a therapy clinic. You can also find help from CBT workbooks at your local library or bookstore.

One of the best indicators of mental health is mental flexibility—the capacity to examine things from different perspectives. You can exercise that mental muscle with CBT strategies. Another advantage of CBT is that it provides symptom relief quite quickly.

Social Support

The National Cancer Institute defines social support as “a network of family, friends, neighbors, and community members that is available in times of need to give psychological, physical, and financial help." Throughout the lifespan, it’s vital to remain open to building and maintaining relationships with others.

When we feel overwhelmed, trusted loved ones can help ease the pain, assist us in brainstorming solutions, and offer a broader perspective on the problem. Therapists, religious communities, service clubs, and community centers also remain valuable sources of support.

Studies have shown that social support reduces physiological stress and promotes healthier functioning (Ozbey et al., 2007).

I asked Angelica about available support at her school. “My principal is really understanding, but he’s under a lot of pressure too,” Angelica said. “Other teachers are afraid to talk about it at all. I have good friends outside of school I can talk to,” she said.

Author Maya Angelou said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” Angelica sought support, reframed her catastrophic thoughts, started meditating, and changed her attitude. Soon, she felt on solid ground, encouraging her students and joking with her colleagues again.

To find a therapist near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.