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When things feel too much

April 01 2026

Motivational words to remind you that it’s ok to feel overwhelmed, bring things back to basics and continue on the path of progress. By Karla Ortiz 

It can be hard to think about your own needs when they feel like too much. Sometimes it feels like you need everything at once, housing, money, stability, purpose. Because it’s all tangled together, you don’t even know what you’re asking for anymore.

You might hear yourself thinking “I need too much. I don’t even know what I need,” while around you, there are people who want to help. People offering support, plans, pathways. People saying they can help you find work, start training, join a project, or connect to a community. All of it may be well-meant, but when you’re already overwhelmed, it can feel like pressure rather than care.

This is a letter from one of those people.

I’ve worked with young people experiencing homelessness across central, north and east London, and the biggest thing I’ve learned is this: listening changes everything. Not just listening to answers but listening to uncertainty; listening to frustration; listening to the moments when someone says, “I don’t know,” and really means it.

Because when you’re dealing with housing insecurity, stress and survival, being asked big questions about your future can feel unfair. How are you meant to plan five years ahead when you’re not sure what next week looks like? How do you talk about careers or goals when your energy is going into getting through the day?

Sometimes the hardest part of asking for help isn’t pride or fear, it’s confusion. Not knowing why you need help, or what accepting it might mean. Will it come with expectations? Will it disappear if you struggle? What happens if you say yes and then can’t keep going? These are real concerns, especially when you’re young and still figuring out who you are, what you care about and what feels safe.

School is a small world. London is not.

London is a city of nearly nine million people. It’s full of opportunity, movement, creativity and possibility, but it also carries pressure. Trying to imagine a livelihood here can feel impossible, especially when you’re already carrying so much.

If you ask me whether all of this is too much, my honest answer is: yes, it is.

And when something is too much, the only thing that really helps is breaking it down.

Not a career. Not a future. Sometimes not even a year.

Sometimes it’s a month. Or a week. Or a single conversation.

When people talk about employment, training, or “next steps,” they often skip over the barriers that make those steps hard to take. Not just qualifications or experience, but mental health, physical health, confidence, fear, paperwork, past experiences and exhaustion. These aren’t excuses. They are realities. Ignoring them doesn’t make them disappear, it just makes people feel like they’re failing.
That’s why it’s okay if the big questions don’t feel answerable yet. “What do you want to do?” “Where do you see yourself?” “What’s the plan?”

Maybe those questions can wait.

Maybe the first question is simpler and kinder: What feels possible right now?

Not what should be possible. Not what looks good on paper. Just, what feels manageable in this moment.

Your voice matters in these conversations. Not for a report that gets written and filed away, but because this is your life. Many people want to help you build it but help only works when it moves at your pace, respects your choices and leaves room for doubt.

There will be disappointments. That’s real. Support doesn’t always work the way it should. Systems fail. People make mistakes. Good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes. It’s okay to name that, too.

But even in those moments, when everything feels stalled or pointless, there is often one small thing that can be done. One conversation. One question. One step that doesn’t fix everything but makes the ground a little steadier.

You don’t have to know everything. You don’t have to decide your future all at once. You don’t have to be ready before you’re ready.

Sometimes, one small thing is enough to start.

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April – May 2026 : Working together

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