2015 Overwhelm Survey - the results

In the middle of 2015 I ran a survey on overwhelm
as 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 :)

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%
HARDLY
EVER
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

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 result
is 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!

2015 Overwhelm Survey - the results

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2015 Overwhelm Survey - the results