Old Grateful™ by Lori Heinsman

Old Grateful™ by Lori Heinsman

Life is overwhelming.

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Aug 20, 2025
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Is overwhelm a stage of grief?

(It’s not.)

Reflecting upon the last two weeks, my common feeling is overwhelm about everything and not for reasons that make sense.

The Cleveland Clinic’s article on the five stages of grief provides helpful input and context, such as noting that the stages may not appear in an ordered sequence.

Based on the article, overwhelm falls into the depression stage … and that’s fair. Grief feels hopeless and depressing.

Yet, haven’t I been holding myself together by staying grounded and spending a lot of time outside? YES, which is how I managed to develop a nice poison ivy rash.

Ahhh, overwhelm, you’re relentless.

I considered posting a photo of my neck and hands covered in bumps, but nah, you don’t want to see all that … instead, I offer a stock photo of a poison ivy plant which is actually quite beautiful and shiny from the oils that cause this unfortunate and OVERWHELMING rash.

green plant on selective focus photography
Poison ivy photo by James Whitney on Unsplash

The rash will clear up long before Aunt Linda’s celebration of life at the end of the month. Right?

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