How to Recover After a Tough Day: Addressing Emotional Overwhelm

When you’ve had a rough day and feel emotionally exhausted or overwhelmed by the events, it’s important to learn how to bounce back. Reaching out to a trusted friend can help you process your feelings and release some of that emotional weight. But there’s more to it than just venting. Identifying the root causes of your emotions and thoughts can be incredibly helpful in understanding why you feel the way you do. Sometimes, what overwhelms us is just a symptom of a larger, underlying issue.


Here’s a question to ask yourself:

Is this thought or emotion out of proportion to the situation I’m in? If the
answer is yes, it might suggest that there’s more going on beneath the
surface—something deeper than the immediate issue at hand.


We all carry a personal story, one that’s shaped by various experiences—what I’ll refer to as “wounds.” These are the things in our past that have hurt us, and when we encounter situations that remind us of these wounds, we often react in ways that feel out of place for the current moment. For example, I was recently listening to a song that reminded me of a past relationship, and I found myself feeling a mix of anger and sadness about how things ended. In that moment, I realized there were both symptoms and a deeper wound at play.


Once I identified and addressed the emotional reaction, I was able to continue with my day, feeling more at peace and even joyful. Of course, some wounds are much more serious—what we would call trauma. These require deeper healing and more intentional work. Trauma is complex and often involves emotions and memories that need professional support to navigate.


But for many of us, the emotional overwhelm we experience may not stem from trauma, but from smaller wounds that still need attention. The same principle applies: we need to ask ourselves whether our emotions are truly in proportion to the current situation or if they’re rooted in past experiences that have not yet healed.

So, the next time you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, ask: Is this emotion out of proportion to what’s happening right now? It could be a sign that there’s some healing to be done from past wounds, and acknowledging that is the first step toward moving forward.