Overwhelmed by Claudia Hammond – Review
By Helen Johnston
When we’ve finished scrolling on multiple social media platforms, flicked through multiple TV streaming channels, listened to multiple podcasts and been bombarded by news alerts, it’s no wonder our brains are screaming for some peace and quiet. And I haven’t even mentioned emails and messaging apps.
For anyone who’s ever thought there’s just too much stuff coming at us these days and who longs to be able to shut it all out, or at least some of it, then know that you’re not alone.
Overwhelmed is how many of us are feeling as we battle to keep up with the avalanche of information, entertainment and, let’s face it, sheer dross we’re being fed every minute of the day.
There’s much talk now about banning phones for children but there are plenty of adults who could do with a break from that addictive shiny screen as well. And I include myself in that. Yes, I’ve weaned myself off several social media platforms and haven’t missed them one bit but I’m still looking at the news far too much. Force of habit as a journalist I suppose, but I fully understand why some people avoid the news altogether.
So how does Claudia Hammond of Radio 4’s All In The Mind deal with 21st century life? Well, firstly she surprised me by saying ‘overwhelm’ has become a noun for the younger generation, as in “I’m feeling a lot of overwhelm.” Really? That’s a new one on me. I’m firmly of the verb generation, I’m feeling overwhelmed already.
Her book is divided neatly into three parts – Acceptance (stress is a part of life); Next Steps (what to do about it); and The Bigger Picture (we’re all in it together). Hammond has done her research – 21 pages of references prove that – and the book is written in an easy-to-follow style. As a psychologist, she clearly knows her stuff and is keen to share her advice on coping with stress and burnout.
Hammond is a psychology lecturer and a Visiting Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Sussex, along with being an award-winning broadcaster and author. It’s overwhelming just to think of her workload.
“People-pleasing can cause burnout”
She’s realistic about stress and acknowledges that it’s part of all our lives to some degree or another and she knows how annoying false positivity can be, you know that friend who keeps saying everything is fine when really you just want someone to agree that yes, it’s all getting too much.
She has useful advice for those of us who keep putting things off, imagining that somehow we’ll tackle a task when we’ve got more time, even though we never have more time. She says it’s a case of managing our emotions rather than our time, which made sense to me.
I also agreed with her advice on how to stop the news from overwhelming us because it seems to be a never-ending tale of woe leading us to become “trapped in an inescapable doom loop”. She doesn’t agree with news avoidance, which can lead to us becoming ill-informed about what’s going on around us, but instead she suggests limiting ourselves to a set amount of time to consume the news.
Hammond knows it’s too simplistic to blame smart phones for everything but does acknowledge that seeing what everyone else is doing on social media can lead to a sense that we’re not living up to other people’s standards. She warns that people-pleasing can cause burnout and that we should decide for ourselves what gives our life meaning rather than bowing to external pressures.
The chapter on how to worry less contains sage advice, such as turning ‘what ifs’ into ‘so whats?’. We’re all guilty of imagining the worst from time to time, and this advice reminded me of when a worried Piglet was nervous of walking in the wood with Winnie the Pooh because ‘supposing a tree fell down when we were underneath it?’ ‘to which Pooh replied ‘supposing it didn’t?’
Hammond also says how important it is to rest and take breaks which can actually increase productivity by reducing stress and anxiety. Good advice for anyone who feels guilty if they’re not busy all the time. Take time to pause and smell the flowers.
This is a useful book to have on the shelf and dip into whenever that feeling of ‘stop the world I want to get off’ comes on. And while you’re reading it you can’t be doom scrolling, or trying to keep up with the group chat, or answering another email. What a calming thought.
‘Overwhelmed’ by Claudia Hammond is published by Canongate
Helen Johnston has been a journalist for more than 30 years, working for regional and national news organisations. She began her career on a weekly paper in Lincolnshire and then worked for daily papers in Yorkshire before going freelance and working for national organisations, including the Daily Mail and Take A Break magazine. Helen has also been teaching journalism for 15 years and is currently a lecturer at the University of Salford where she teaches multimedia journalism and media law. She has enjoyed making the move into online journalism and now specialises in travel, theatre and book reviews.
