Random Februrary Freak Out (or is it?)

There is something about this time of year that causes certain areas of my brain to implode and makes everything seem 5 billion times more overwhelming than it is. There is just too much to do and my learning curve is getting worse and worse the older I get.

There's income tax filing, FAFSA filing, deadlines, budgets, book releases, graduation, marketing, taxes (right. I already mentioned those. Still haven't done 'em.), reading these stacks of books for review, meal planning, grocery shopping, taxes . . . (yeah, those are still there), cold weather, really cold weather, (btw: who ordered this cold weather, making everyone stay in this house so much when I need to be working, or, at the very least, prepping my taxes?) --what can I say? numbers freak me the crap out.--, and a host of things I need to learn to be a successful independent author; things that I just can't seem to make time to learn because . . . it's cold, it's February, I'm trying to finish the most stubborn and convoluted book I've ever written, and I'm utterly overwhelmed.

My procrastination habits and excuses ("But I must finish the book! I can't attend to that other stuff right now!") are only adding to the crazy. I'm practically inhaling chocolate these days, and my increased caffeine consumption (via both coffee and Dr. Pepper) is not helping to ease me through the final stages of writing this book during February's annual freak out, instead, it's providing:

• Nightly anxiety attacks.
• Lack of sleep due to anxiety (and caffeine perhaps?)
• Feelings of being overwhelmed and mildly freaked out. 
• Nibbling habits that prove I would make an excellent chain smoker, were I open to adding cancer sticks to my collection of bad habits (thankfully, I'm not quite there. Yet.)

But am I doing anything proactive to counteract it?

Err... nope. I have to finish the book, remember??? THERE'S NO TIME (okay, there is probably time. But there's a pronounced lack of motivation.)

*bangs procrastinating head on desk and avoids doing tax prep for another day*

I'm "attending" a webinar this afternoon concerning one of many items I have put off learning about due to its residency on my I-CANNOT-LEARN-ONE-MORE-THING-CUZ-MY-BRAIN-REACHED-CAPACITY-PRIOR-TO-TURNING-FORTY list of things that so overwhelm me about this business. Honestly, just the thought of facing all I do not know about this subject (and so many other subjects!) makes me want to grab my hair at the roots and curl into the fetal position until Spring--assuming I can finish this convoluted book in the fetal position, you understand. For the book must be finished.

Is it cabin fever . . . or the natural result of avoidance? Is it a sign that complete insanity is only a snowball's throw away? I hope not (although my children might argue that the proverbial crazy stone hit its mark a while ago.) 

What overwhelms you to the point of succumbing to a random (or increasingly regular) freak outs?