To completely overpower or overcome someone emotionally or physically, leaving them unable to cope or respond.
From 'over-' + 'whelm' (to turn over or submerge, from Old English 'hwelfan'). The word originally meant literally drowning or submerging, then evolved to describe emotional flooding around the 1600s.
When you feel 'overwhelmed,' your brain's prefrontal cortex (the thinking part) literally gets shut down by amygdala activity (the emotion part)—so you're not just emotionally flooded, you're temporarily unable to think clearly. It's why panicked people sometimes freeze or make bad decisions.
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