71 Overwhelmed Quotes for When You Need a Break

Feeling like you might just go insane if you have to add any more to your to-do list?

You might be a little overwhelmed.

It’s an awful feeling when your task pile has turned into a task Kilimanjaro – and it’s becoming all too common in our always “on” time is money world.

So, if you’re feeling like you’re about to be swallowed up by an unrelenting tide of work and responsibilities, then we’ve got some juicy overwhelmed quotes to treat yourself to.

Why Read Overwhelmed Quotes

The word “overwhelmed” doesn’t really do the emotion justice.

When you’re truly neck deep in a flood of tasks it can feel like you’re engaged full throttle in a pile of quicksand, and not only are you not making progress, you start to feel like you’re actually going backward.

In most human beings, this quickly leads to burnout, it can lead to feelings of depression and can start to sap the spark out of life.

In these cases, it’s good to take a step back and have a break, because nobody's state of overwhelm is the same.

You might be a business owner wondering how you’re going to maintain your business in today’s let alone keep it growing at a healthy pace. You might be wondering how you’re supposed to find the time to see your family and keep up with the demands of a job that wants every second of your day.

There’s no shortage of reasons why anyone could feel overwhelmed (it probably happens to more people than we realize), but sometimes the only way to not sink into your pile of tasks faster is to stop and think things through.

So, in today's post, we’ll be providing you with some “overwhelmed quotes” to chew on, and hopefully, they can help give you the mental space to decide what you’re going to do next.

71 Overwhelmed Quotes for When You Need a Break

1. “The law of centrifugal force seems to be as true for the human condition as it is for the Newtonian mechanics. The faster our lives spin, the more things tend to fly apart.” – Richard Paul Evans
2. “At some stages of your life you will deal with things and at others you are overwhelmed with misery and anxiety.” – Nigella Lawson
3. “I'd spent the preceding twenty days swirling in a paralyzing vortex of loud sounds and bad smells, overwhelming stimuli, and confusing social norms, and I'd had just about all I could take.” – Tracey Garvis Graves
4. “You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.” – Timber Hawkeye
5. “Getting knocked down in life is a given. Getting up and moving forward is a choice.” – Zig Ziglar
6. “Anxiety happens when you think to have to figure out everything all at once. Breathe. You’re strong. You got this. Take it day by day.” – Karen Salmansohn
7. “Being overwhelmed means that your life or work is overpowering you. Regain control by clarifying your intentions, setting realistic expectations and focusing on your next step.” – Daphne Michaels
8. “A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.” – Lysa Terkeurst
9. “What is coming is better than what is gone. Let this belief aim you in the direction you need to go.” – Karen Salmansohn
10. “He who does not contemplate the future is destined to be overwhelmed by it.” – H. G. Wells

11. “If you’re overwhelmed by the size of a problem, break it down into smaller pieces.” – Chuck Close
12. “Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” – Paulo Coelho
13. “Make sure your worst enemy is not living between your ears.” – Laird Hamilton
14. “Even the rope of steel breaks once overwhelmed with too much tension; how much more flesh and blood? Everybody has a breaking point, so do not push too much.” – Dr. Lucas D. Shallua
15. “Sometimes you just need to be selfish and take care of you. If they love you, they’ll understand.” – Robert Tew
16. “Listen, there are other things in life besides the day-to-day, all of this is great but really, it's going nowhere… It seems like I don't have time to do anything. I'm stuck… I do a million things and nothing comes out…” – Dominique Goblet
17. “Don’t be overwhelmed . . . take it one day and one prayer at a time.” – Stormie Omartian
18. “I feel so much that it is hard for me at times to feel anything at all.” – Mary Kate Teske
19. “There is a fine line between challenging yourself and overwhelming yourself.” – Brittany Burgunder
20. “How can we appreciate anything fully when overwhelmed with too much?” – Ally Condie

21. “Don’t give up now. Chances are your best kiss, your hardest laugh, and your greatest day are still yet to come.” – Atticus
22. “I had a dream that I was being drowned in a flood and I realized it was a flood of people.” – Ellen Burstyn
23. “The biggest mistakes I’ve ever made are when I’ve been rushed. If I’m overwhelmed, I slow down. It’s more effective.” – Kirsten Gillibrand
24. “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.” – Abraham Lincoln
25. “Mindfulness is the best way to be with our suffering without being overwhelmed by it. Mindfulness is the capacity to dwell in the present moment, to know what’s happening in the here and now.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“Mindfulness is the best way to be with our suffering without being overwhelmed by it. Mindfulness is the capacity to dwell in the present moment, to know what’s happening in the here and now.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

26. ″It’s been said a million times that the most important things aren’t things. But if we’re not careful, it seems, many of us find ourselves overwhelmed by all the stuff we have to manage.” – Shauna Niequist
27. “No one expects perfection, except when they do, which is always.” – Kelli Russell Agodon
28. “If you ever feel overwhelmed, take on another project.” – Roy Halston Frowick
29. “Keep it simple and focus on what matters. Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed.” – Confucius
30. “In a busy and overwhelming world – Let’s do simplicity.” – Wendy Tomlinson

31. “When you’re feeling overwhelmed or your body is giving you signs that you’re overdoing it,: stop,breathe, and remember one thing: everything can wait.” – Alexis Jones
32. “Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.” – Ann Landers
33. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” – Mark Twain
34. “I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and threw them out the window in disgust.” – Henry David Thoreau
35. “The challenge in my life really is keeping the balance between feeling creatively energized and fulfilled without feeling overwhelmed and like I’m in the middle of a battlefield.” – Amanda Palmer
36. “The problems look too big for us to tackle. We say to ourselves, “What can I do? I’m just one person.” One person is a start. One person can act and make a change by helping another.” – John C. Maxwell
37. “Most people get overwhelmed by the insignificant decisions of their lives. I’m urging people to minimize the time spent on these when they’re not critical to their most important goals.” – Robert Pozen
38. “Life can be magnificent and overwhelming—that is the whole tragedy. Without beauty, love, or danger it would almost be easy to live.” – Albert Camus
39. “Why do so many people do nothing? I think it’s because most of us look at the evils and injustice around us, and we become overwhelmed.” – John C. Maxwell
40. “Man has a limited biological capacity for change. When this capacity is overwhelmed, the capacity is in future shock.” – Alvin Toffler
41. “When it hurts—observe. Life is trying to teach you something.” – Anita Krizzan
42. “I had so many troubles, I just couldn’t think!” – Dr. Seuss
43. “I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.” – Frida Kahlo
44. “Some days you will feel like the ocean. Some days you will feel like you are drowning in it.” – Lora Mathis
45. “Every kid needs one place they can escape to when life gets to be too much.” – Lisa Fipps

46. “Don’t allow the fear to overpower you, allow love to overpower you.” – Shree Rajneesh
47. “Sometimes we can focus so much on nothing that we make it a big something of nothing” – Ricky Maye
48. “I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.” – Jennifer Yane
49. “What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.” – Pearl Bailey
50. “As I have gotten older and wiser, I discovered there are six things that I really loved about my job. Payday, lunchtime, quitting time, vacation time, holidays and of course, retirement.” – Tom Goins
51. “When I feel like I’m getting overwhelmed, I take a break from my phone and social media to regroup.” – Skai Jackson
52. “If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.” – Elon Musk
53. “You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.” – Steve Maraboli
54. “I know God will not give me anything that I can’t handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.” – Mother Teresa
55. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott
56. “Just doing nothing and having those still moments is what really rejuvenates the body.” – Miranda Kerr
57. “I often think I can’t do this anymore but then I realize what choice do I have?” – Justin Blaney
58. “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” – Helen Keller
59. “Burnout is nature’s way of telling you, you’ve been going through the motions your soul has departed.” – Sam Keen
60. “No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
61. “When you’re feeling overwhelmed in business, one smart idea can beat the biggest Super Bowl ad.” – Courtney Love
62. “Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who will never allow us to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness.” – John Calvin
63. “Sound character provides the power with which a person may ride the emergencies of life instead of being overwhelmed by them. Failure is… the highway to success.” – Og Mandino

Sound character provides the power with which a person may ride the emergencies of life instead of being overwhelmed by them. Failure is… the highway to success.” – Og Mandino

46. “If we don't see a failure as a challenge to modify our approach, but rather as a problem with ourselves, as a personality defect, we will immediately feel overwhelmed.” – Tony Robbins
47. “When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate.” – Ann Landers
48. “Life can be magnificent and overwhelming—that is the whole tragedy. Without beauty, love, or danger it would almost be easy to live.” – Albert Camus
49. “Most everyone I know feels frazzled and overwhelmed most of the time.” – Kyle De Young
50. “Sometimes when you’re overwhelmed by a situation – when you’re in the darkest of darkness – that’s when your priorities are reordered.” – Phoebe Snow
51. “He who is silent is forgotten; he who does not advance falls back; he who stops is overwhelmed; out distanced, crushed; he who ceases t grow becomes smaller; he who leaves off, gives up; the condition of standing still is the beginning of the end.” – Henri Frederic Amiel
52. “If you’re overwhelmed, lost, or like you life is out of control, do whatever you can that matters to someone else or ever did to you… it might not help, but it certainly won’t hurt.” – Ingrid Weir
53. “When you do nothing you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.” – Maya Angelou

Final Thoughts on Overwhelmed Quotes

Feeling overwhelmed can make you feel like you’re moving through quicksand with dumbbells attached to your feet. Sometimes a few comforting quotes can nudge you gently back onto dry land again.  However, at other times, it’s not what’s happening to you but what you do with it that counts.

Thankfully there are resources out there that can help you no matter what situation you’re in, here’s one for you right here – how to deal with feeling overwhelmed with life: 7 steps.

And if you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:

• 35 David Goggins Quotes for Living a Purposeful Life
• 63 Brené Brown Quotes on Vulnerability and Daring Greatly
• 95 Self-Confidence Quotes to Create Inner Strength and Happiness

Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success.