Overwhelmed During Meditation? Here’s How to Find Peace Amid the Chaos

Meditation is meant to be peaceful, yet for many, it can feel anything but. The moment you sit down, you might find yourself bombarded by thoughts, overwhelmed by physical sensations, or simply drowning in the sheer amount of meditation techniques and information out there. Instead of feeling calm, you feel lost. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many of my meditation students faced the same challenges before coming to me.

One of my students, Martin, described how meditating made him hyper-aware of every sensation in his body—his heartbeat, his breathing, even the feeling of his organs inside him—until it became unbearable. Tara, on the other hand, felt completely overwhelmed by the flood of thoughts in her mind, as if meditation amplified the noise instead of quieting it. Simon struggled with a different kind of overwhelm: the sheer amount of information available about meditation made it impossible to know where to start. And Morgan had absorbed so much knowledge about different meditation techniques that she became paralyzed by uncertainty, constantly questioning which was the “right” way to meditate.

If you resonate with any of these experiences, know that this is a normal part of meditation. Overwhelm is not a sign that you’re doing something wrong—it’s simply a sign that your mind is active and engaged. The good news is that meditation itself holds the key to overcoming overwhelm.

Why Meditation Feels Overwhelming

Meditation is often depicted as a serene practice, but in reality, it requires directly engaging with difficult aspects of the mind. This can feel intense for several reasons:

• The flood of thoughts – When you stop distracting yourself with external stimuli, your mind may seem louder than ever. This happens because the default mode network (DMN)—the brain’s background activity responsible for wandering thoughts—becomes more noticeable in stillness.
• Heightened bodily awareness – Practices like Vipassana and body scan meditation focus on sensations, which can sometimes make people hyper-aware of their physical state. Neuroscientists have found that heightened interoception (awareness of internal body signals) can lead to discomfort if not approached gently.
• Too much information – There are hundreds of meditation techniques, apps, and teachings available. While variety is beneficial, it can also create decision fatigue, making it hard to commit to any single approach.
• Sensory overload – For some, meditation increases sensitivity to sounds, bodily sensations, and emotions. The amygdala, the brain’s emotional processing center, can become overactive when meditating, making everything feel more intense.

So, how do we work through these challenges?

Practical Ways to Overcome Overwhelm During Meditation

1. Start Small: One Breath at a Time

When everything feels like too much, simplify. Instead of worrying about technique or perfection, start with just one breath. Take a slow, mindful breath. Let it be everything. If the mind wanders, bring it back to the next breath. This reduces the feeling of overwhelm by giving the mind a single, simple focus.

2. Observe the Nature of Overwhelm Itself

If your thoughts are racing or your bodily sensations feel overwhelming, try stepping back and observing them as they are. Ask yourself:

• What does this state of overwhelm feel like?
• Where do I sense it in my body?
• Can I watch it without engaging with it?

By mindfully observing the overwhelm itself, you create distance from it, allowing it to settle naturally.

3. Reduce External Stimuli

The ancient yogic practice of Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) teaches us to limit unnecessary sensory input. A modern approach to this might be:

• Spending time away from digital devices.
• Meditating in a quiet, natural environment.
• Engaging in calming activities like gentle stretching before meditating.
• For Martin, gentle neck rotations, eye movements, and even tapping techniques helped release tension before meditating, reducing the overwhelm caused by bodily sensations.

4. Let Go of the Need for More Information

If you’re overwhelmed by the vast amount of meditation techniques out there, take a radically simple approach: stop trying to figure it all out. Meditation isn’t about choosing the “perfect” technique; it’s about consistently showing up.

For Simon and Morgan, having a teacher to guide them made all the difference. Instead of overanalyzing which meditation to do, they trusted in my experience and allowed me to curate a structured approach for them—one meditation per week, tailored to their needs. This removed the stress of deciding and let them focus purely on experiencing meditation.

5. Work with a Meditation Teacher

One of the most powerful ways to overcome overwhelm is to work directly with a teacher—not just watching a pre-recorded video, but actually having a live, 1:1 session with someone who understands your specific challenges.

By trusting me to lead them, my students no longer have to question every step or worry about whether they’re practicing the “right” meditation. They let go of the burden of figuring everything out and simply allow themselves to meditate.

This is also backed by neuroscience—working with an experienced meditation teacher can help regulate the nervous system, reducing the stress response and making meditation feel more effortless.

The Key Takeaway

Yes, meditation can feel overwhelming at times. But you don’t have to engage with that overwhelm. You don’t need to analyze every thought, feel every sensation, or master every technique. All you need to do is take one simple step—one breath, one moment of stillness, one act of trust.

And if you’re struggling, you don’t have to do it alone. I specialize in helping people like you move past the overwhelm and into a meditation practice that actually feels peaceful. If you’d like to experience this firsthand, book a private meditation lesson with me here:

I’d love to help you find clarity amid the noise.