Coping with Overwhelm During Religious Deconstruction
When gaining access to new information about religious beliefs becomes too much
It’s okay to go slowly. Your brain can only take in so much at a time, and it often absorbs new information in small pieces over time. Taking breaks and saving material for later is not avoidance—it’s self-regulation. This is especially important if learning begins to feel overwhelming or interferes with your ability to function in daily life. Knowing when to turn off a podcast or close a book is a skill, not a failure. Practicing ways to return your body and mind to a calmer state is an essential part of the process.
As you take in new information, it can help to pause and check in with yourself. Is your body tense? Has your mood been completely taken over by what you’re consuming?
Your body still needs nourishment, movement, fresh air, and breaks from difficult material. You can’t live in heavy content; you can only visit.
You don’t need every coping skill—just a few that work for you.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers many practical grounding and coping skills that can help when you feel overwhelmed. Some of these strategies may seem simple or unnecessary at first, but what matters most is finding a pace that both your body and your mind can tolerate. Sometimes the mind wants to keep going—learning more, connecting dots, searching for answers—while the body is signaling that it needs rest.
DBT Skills for Deconstruction
ACCEPTS: A Tool for Emotional Overload
ACCEPTS is a breakdown of several helpful ways to reset once your emotional tank is overflowing. If you find yourself being unable to calm down or plug back into the present moment of your life, try a few of these tips and see what works for you. Sometimes we need to “come up for air”.
TIPP Skills for Immediate Relief
TIPP includes activities to work directly with your nervous system. If your physical body is activated or giving you the feeling of panic/anxiety- these are some steps to take for immediate relief. TIPP utilizes Temperature, Intense Movement, Paced Breathing and Progressive Muscle Relaxation.