“Feeling Overwhelmed” Quotes: Profound Quotes That Promote Peace

Work deadlines, family obligations, social commitments, household chores—the endless list of tasks and priorities that many of us juggle can easily create a feeling of overwhelming stress. While occasional stress is a natural part of life and can even be helpful at times, feeling overwhelmed by stress can be uncomfortable and disruptive. 

When you’re feeling overwhelmed, there are a variety of tools and strategies that can help, and sometimes, a little bit of humor can go a long way. 

In fact, research has shown that laughter can have both short- and long-term benefits, including:

• Soothing tension
• Stimulating your heart and lungs
• Improving your mood 

To help you cope with feelings of immense stress, we’ve pulled together an assortment of quotes—ranging from funny to profound—about stress, worry, and finding peace. Reading through these quotes when you’re feeling overwhelmed by life may help to relieve a bit of the stress and promote a sense of calm. In online therapy, you’ll have other tools for managing your mood and emotions. 

Funny and insightful quotes for when you’re feeling overwhelmed

When you’re feeling overwhelmed, quotes that are funny or profound—or both—may help you release some of that stress, see your situation things from a new perspective, or simply have a moment of joy. Read on for a collection of quotes from comedians, actors, authors, and other public figures that offer a mix of humor and wisdom about stress and finding relief:

• “For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.” – Lily Tomlin
• “Reality is the leading cause of stress for those in touch with it.” – Jane Wagner
• “Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” – Dale Carnegie
• “Relax. No one else knows what they’re doing, either.” – Ricky Gervais
• “We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of pie.” – David Mamet
• “If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person.” – Seneca
• “I was a little excited, but mostly blorft. ‘Blorft’ is an adjective I just made up that means ‘completely overwhelmed but proceeding as if everything is fine and reacting to the stress with the torpor of a possum’. I have been blorft every day for the past seven years.” – Tina Fey
• “A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.” – Lysa TerKeurst
• “In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.” – Fred Rogers
• “Don’t believe every worried thought you have. Worried thoughts are notoriously inaccurate.” – Renee Jain
• “When I’m in social situations, I always hold onto my glass. It makes me feel comfortable and secure, and I don’t have to shake hands.” – Larry David
• “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
• “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you’ll make one.” – Elbert Hubbard
• “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” – A.A. Milne
• “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
• “Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace.” – Robert J. Sawyer

Further support for managing stress

Funny quotes can help normalize stress and offer moments of relief, but sometimes when you feel overwhelmed, you need more. 

Therapy can be an effective way to:

• Learn stress management skills
• Cope with feelings of worry
• Overcome feelings of fear

Stress is a natural part of life, but therapy can offer tools to help reframe challenging situations, and to decrease the negative effects of stress.

However, some people with busy schedules who are already feeling stressed and stretched thin may find it difficult to make time for something like therapy. In these situations, online therapy can be a useful option: with online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp, you can have sessions wherever you have internet, which can make it easier to slot into hectic schedules. 

In addition, a growing body of evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of online therapy for a range of concerns, including stress. For instance, a 2018 randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) for chronic stress, and it concluded that “a relatively short ICBT is indicated to be effective in reducing stress-related symptoms.”