Some days are diamond, some days are coal. (same material {carbon} depends what you do with it) CBT is limited if you are just too tired to handle the load. If you are so tired you can't think straight there is little you can do other than avoidance or acceptance. So you can still have crappy days even with coping skills. Talking agitation and anxiety not panic. It does get better with time. It depends on what type of overload. Some stuff can't be changed to positive, like a dog barking and barking for no reason. Hard to tune that out, but some people manage.
You can try the question, "why is this bothering me?"
A note on tired, fight or flight is more likely to be there when you are tired as a survival skill. So the other question you have to ask is, "is it necessary to be this vigilant?"
So what can you use as a distraction from the overload?
I don't get this very much anymore but at one time nothing moved without me noticing. This can be a good thing around machinery but is not so good in a busy mall.
Then there are the side effects of the overload which in my case are raised blood pressure and mild head aches.
My solution is music I like, ear protection, Atenolol and Tylenol. And cut the caffeine for that period.
Everyone is different so you need your own personal coping skills.
I'm fine right now so I'm going to make a coffee. Some people can do this balancing act without even thinking, I have to work at it a bit. Especially if fight or flight wants to react.
After a few hours of running my saw mill I will be more prone than if I was just mowing the lawn. A feeling of accomplishment and knowing it will be there is a big help. (14 cakes)
Davit.
Ps, At the junction of every synapse is a guard that decides if the information is worth passing on. CBT teaches them what is, medication just puts them to sleep. But medication works faster.
