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Living in the 21st century brings challenges and pressures previously unknown. The slow lowly steam engine has been replaced by supersonic jets and rockets that orbit the earth at incomprehensible speeds.

As individuals we have accelerated the pace to keep up. Life seems like a constant marathon. Overwhelmed describes how many of us frequently feel. Individual depression is on the rise. Not everyone wants to or should be on the fast track.

Do you experience any of the signs that suggest you should slow down? Do you feel irritable or edgy on a regular basis? Are you impatient with your spouse or the kids? Do you wake up at night with butterflies in your stomach thinking about all you have to do? Do you have frequent headaches, body aches and/or muscle tension? Do you overeat to calm yourself or skip meals to save time? Are you always in a rush? Do you feel overwhelmed and tend to burst into tears for no apparent reason?

If you answer positively to two or more of these questions it is time to reevaluate your priorities. You’re driving in the fast lane with a jalopy. You must either change your direction, your pace or invest in a more efficient vehicle, metaphorically speaking.

The first step in a solution involves deep soul-searching. What in your life is truly most important? Which part of each day really deserves your best? Is it your family, job, another obligation? What about something just for you? What aspects of your life will continue even if you move them from high to low maintenance on the priority list? Is there anyone who can help and support you?

Start a list that helps you answer these questions. Review and revise it as you add and subtract items. When it feels right make whatever changes will put your priorities in a more appropriate order, one that fits your personality, life style and values.

Feeling overwhelmed is a common complaint. Even making a list that will decrease your stress can seem like too much to do. Here’s one way to handle it. Stop, recognize the sense of being overwhelmed, take a few deep breaths to feel centered, then release any tension you notice. Choose one task that calls to you and focus completely on accomplishing it. If your mind runs ahead to the next job bring it back to the present. With consistent practice we can train our minds to stop torturing us.

The primary reason we become overwhelmed is because in our minds we are trying to accomplish everything at once. Thoughts race and turn into anxiety, we lose focus and efficiency, which feeds the anxiety. We fumble, scurry back and forth and get frustrated, mostly with ourselves. Consciously focusing on one task at a time makes an amazing difference. At the end of the day more has been accomplished with less fatigue.

This is a form of mindfulness that keeps us centered no matter how fast the rest of the world is moving. It fosters inner peace, decreases tension and displaces the hopelessness of being overwhelmed. You might wish to experiment with applying mindfulness to your new priority list.

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Elinor Stanton is a psychiatric nurse practitioner on Marco Island. She has 30 years of experience as a therapist in private practice and with a large health maintenance organization in Boston. Send comments and questions to etseven@aol.com or call 394-2861. Visit her Web site at http://www.etseven.net.