The Five P’s Of Overwhelm (and How to Cap It)

Overwhelm is often a warning sign of stress overload that, if unaddressed, can lead to burnout a far more severe, disabling state. Managing overwhelm effectively can help prevent the progression to burnout. Mental Health UK’s 2025 report found that 91% of UK adults experienced high or extreme levels of stress in the past year.

Overwhelm doesn’t strike out of nowhere; it builds slowly, eating away at energy and focus until you feel paralyzed or stuck. When stress piles up, I check in with the Five Ps of Overwhelm. These five areas—People, Purpose, Place, Planning, and Procrastination are often the hidden roots of overwhelm.

People

There are two types of people around you: Radiators or Drains. Radiators exude warmth and lift you up; Drains do the opposite and weigh you down. Being around the wrong people drains our energy and leaves us feeling isolated, lacking connection, and both cause stress to rise quickly. When relationships don’t align, overwhelm grows quickly. Missing your “right people” makes you feel unsupported research shows that social support buffers stress and significantly reduces anxiety and depression.

Simply reaching out to family or friends can boost mood and resilience. Make a list of three supportive people and arrange meaningful contact this week, but more importantly, evaluate your need to be around the drains those people that are feeding your sense of overwhelm. Keeping a journal is a good way to raise your awareness of the people who are your radiators and those who are your drains. Reflecting and recording our feelings empowers us to make space for our radiators.

Purpose

Having a life purpose is like setting the destination in your GPS it gives you direction, a place you are heading. This helps you navigate your path through life; it assists in making choices. When you know where you are going, there is much less chance you will get lost. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there, and there may not be somewhere you want to be. When you feel like what you’re doing has no direction or connection, overwhelm grows stronger. Evidence shows that having a life purpose is associated with lower depression and anxiety and protects against chronic stress. It makes it easier to choose what serves us and let go of what does not.

Maybe you don’t know your purpose yet, but everyone has one. I remember being asked what mine was before I was clear on it, and right there in that moment, I felt overwhelmed it felt huge having to come up with a purpose, a definition for my life. I wouldn’t be without it now; it is my constant direction and guide, like a compass, enabling me to make choices with ease. If it does fit my purpose, I can just say no without guilt or worry.

Creating a purpose statement takes time and reflection, but it is time well invested. Start by writing a journal keep it simple. Every day, just note what brought you joy and what brought you pain. Over time, you will be able to see what you value; make these things your destination. Purpose gives life direction. Without it, you drift no compass, no clarity. That’s when overwhelm finds its way in.

Place

Where you are the environment, the place plays a bigger role than you think. The wrong place, whether physical, emotional, or social, feeds disconnection, which in turn leads to a feeling of overwhelm. When we feel safe and secure, we often use the phrase “I feel at home here,” and when we want to make people feel welcome, we say “make yourself feel at home.” Of course, these are just figures of speech; you might not feel at home at home, and you most definitely need to act if that is the case. I am sure you have also said, “I am just not in the right emotional space” I know I have.

Whether physical or emotional, a place is something we can change. We can remove ourselves from the place we are in. Now, if it’s a job or your home, that might not be a quick fix and might be something that you have to change over time. Short-term fixes can be as simple as getting outdoors in nature research shows that this lowers both the physical and psychological impact of stress.

There have been times when I have been overwhelmed and declared I just need to nest, which usually results in a tidying mission. I thought it was just me, but research shows that cluttered spaces can overwhelm the brain’s ability to focus and process information, leading to more confusion and tension. Housework might not be your first thought when it all feels too much, but it improves mental clarity, supports better sleep, and provides a feeling of being more in control. When you don’t feel “at home” in your environment, overwhelm intensifies.

Planning

Poor planning, no planning at all, and winging it every day leaves you spinning your wheels but going nowhere. It creates chaos; uncertainty grows without structure. Clear planning reduces uncertainty, and less uncertainty means less overwhelm. Having a plan is like having a mini purpose. Like I said previously, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. Without a plan, though, you won’t know you have arrived because you never knew where “there” was you will just be somewhere that’s different to where you were before. Keep repeating this and there is no sense of accomplishment most importantly, no end point, no sense of arrival, and no sense of accomplishment or achievement.

Now, I know for some the very thought of planning can feel overwhelming. Something as simple as a list of things you wish to achieve in a day putting them on paper gets them out of your head and crossing them off gives a sense of satisfaction. It’s a double win. Breaking down big tasks and setting goals is known to reduce stress and anxiety whilst boosting wellbeing.

Checking whether you have a clear plan often reveals a lot about why you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Procrastination

Procrastination, or as I like to call it, overwhelm paralysis it’s that point where inaction seems the only choice. However, inaction is an action, and procrastination is a cycle that locks overwhelm in place. The more you delay, the larger tasks loom; the larger they loom, you delay, and soon procrastination spirals into guilt, which feeds overwhelm. We become paralysed. Without action, this leads to increased stress and burnout.

Recognizing procrastination as part of the problem, not just “laziness,” is key to breaking its grip. When it shows up, don’t allow it to take root. A Swedish study found higher procrastination predicted worse outcomes nine months later, including higher depression, anxiety, stress, worse sleep, more disabling pain, and greater loneliness, showing procrastination both signals and sustains overwhelm. It may seem like it’s not a problem now, but this research shows that the impact can be much longer term.

When you feel the urge to procrastinate, pause and notice your thoughts, then choose a tiny first step forward. It can be as small as a 5-minute task to divert your attention. Once diverted, you will often find that your initial commitment of 5 minutes becomes much more, in the same way that 5 minutes of scrolling becomes an hour of doom scrolling.

CAP the Overwhelm

The good news is that overwhelm doesn’t have to win. Once you’ve identified the Five Ps, you can CAP the Overwhelm.

C: Compassion 

Start with self-compassion. Overwhelm doesn’t mean you’re broken; it means you’re human—your body is telling you that you need to act. Be kind to yourself. Instead of piling shame onto stress, compassion creates the breathing space you need to move forward. 

Take time for yourself—a simple short walk, spending time with your radiators that you have identified, even a bath. Choose something that feels like a simple treat. Reward yourself; don’t punish yourself further.

A: Awareness 

Shine a light on what’s really happening. Awareness turns overwhelm into something you can name and therefore manage. Try journaling at the start and end of every day—you can just record a voice note. Journaling is quite simply you having a conversation with yourself about how you’re feeling, and you know you best. Which of the Five Ps is at the root: People, Purpose, Place, Planning, or Procrastination? Simply becoming aware of the cause is often enough to shift the pressure.

P: Planning 

Planning is both a trigger and a cure. Planning restores a sense of control, which is usually the first thing overwhelm steals. Once you’ve noticed what’s fuelling your overwhelm, step back and create a simple, realistic plan. Break big stressors down into manageable next steps. Use daily planners or to-do lists, revisit priorities regularly, and adjust plans with self-kindness when setbacks happen.

Final Thoughts

Overwhelm is sneaky. It grows out of disconnection from People, Purpose, Place, Planning, or Procrastination. But you don’t have to stay stuck. By remembering to CAP the Overwhelm showing yourself Compassion, building Awareness, and refocusing through Planning you give yourself the tools to reset and move forward with clarity and calm.

Integrating People, Purpose, Place, Planning, and Procrastination check-ins and practicing Compassion, Awareness, and Planning offers a practical, science-backed route to reducing overwhelm and building sustainable well-being. Regularly applying these exercises helps buffer stress and supports resilience, with research showing improved physical, emotional, and functional health outcomes.

*1 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1330720/full
*2 https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/purpose-in-life-less-stress-better-mental-health
*3https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4607089/
*4  https://www.verywellmind.com/how-mental-health-and-cleaning-are-connected-5097496
*5  https://cogbtherapy.com/procrastination-los-angeles
*6   Associations Between Procrastination and Subsequent Health Outcomes Among University Students in Sweden | Public Health | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network
*7 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10653232/