Understanding Overwhelm: Why We Need to Talk About It in Schools

Overwhelm. It’s a word that comes up again and again in classrooms, staff rooms, and homes, but one that’s often left unspoken.

So many students experience overwhelm daily. They feel it in their bodies, in their minds, in the way their thoughts speed up or their energy drains away. But they don’t always recognise it for what it is. They might describe it as tiredness, stress, or “just not feeling right.”

The signs are there: fatigue, irritability, frustration, withdrawal, difficulty concentrating, yet they often go unnoticed or misunderstood.

Why Don’t We Talk About This?

In many schools, conversations about mental health are improving, but overwhelm still carries a kind of quiet taboo. Perhaps it’s because acknowledging it feels uncomfortable. Perhaps it challenges the illusion that our school communities should always be thriving, high-achieving, and emotionally steady.

But life and learning don’t work that way. We all exist in imperfect communities. We all carry stress, pressure, and moments of uncertainty.

The danger comes when students believe that feeling overwhelmed is something to hide, or worse, something to be ashamed of.

Recognising the Signs

Overwhelm looks different for every student. For some, it’s constant busyness. For others, it’s disengagement. It might be the quiet student who suddenly becomes withdrawn, or the one who always seems on edge.

Helping students recognise these signs to pause and name what they’re feeling is often the first step toward change.

Why Awareness Matters

At Counsel Clouds, we believe managing overwhelm isn’t about doing less; it’s about understanding more. It’s about helping students see what’s happening beneath the surface of stress, so they can respond with clarity rather than collapse.

Through our Managing Overwhelm series, we aim to bring this topic into the classroom in a low-stakes, low-pressure way. Each audio episode and tutor resource is designed to spark reflection and offer calm, practical tools students can use in daily life, including breathing exercises, reframing thoughts, and finding moments of stillness.

Building Healthy Habits, Not Perfection

Our goal isn’t to eliminate stress. Some stress is a natural part of growth. What matters is helping students build habits that allow them to manage it, recognise when they’re reaching their limits, rest when they need to, and know that it’s okay to ask for help.

When we normalise conversations about overwhelm, we make space for honesty, empathy, and resilience.

A Small Step Forward

Schools have the power to shape not just what students know, but how they feel about learning and about themselves. By giving students the language and tools to understand overwhelm, we’re not just addressing stress — we’re helping them develop lifelong skills for emotional balance.

You can explore a sample episode and our tutor resources via our website.

👉 https://www.counselclouds.com/overwhelm

Because when students learn to understand their emotions, they also learn how to move through life with more awareness, compassion, and calm.