are we always overwhelmed and never just whelmed?

transitive verb
1:  to turn (as a dish or vessel) upside down usually to cover something :  cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect
2:  to overcome in thought or feeling :  overwhelm <whelmed with a rush of joy — G. A. Wagner>

intransitive verb
:  to pass or go over something so as to bury or submerge it