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Today we’re talking about something that affects so many of us, especially this time of year: the connection
between anxiety, overwhelm, stress, panic,
and feeling stuck.
Because here’s the truth:
These aren’t only felt emotionally. Anxiety drains our energy. Stress creates fatigue. It steals motivation. And all of this keeps us stuck in the same patterns.
You may not think of yourself as “stuck.”
But if you’ve been waking up tired, if your mind seems to be constantly racing
or looping, if you feel overwhelmed by normal tasks, or if you find yourself
thinking “Why am I so unmotivated? ?”… then chances are, your nervous system as
been living in a heightened state of stress for a long time.
And when that
happens?
The body gets tired.
The mind gets foggy.
Motivation disappears.
And all of life begins to feel like survival mode.
And sometimes like
we are just going through the motions.
So today we’re going to talk about why this happens…
why we stay stuck…
and how we can gently begin moving forward again.
But before we dive in, I want to tell you something that I’m very excited
about that is coming soon!
Announcement: 2-Day Online Teaching
Experience
I am hosting a special 2-Day Online Mini-Learning Retreat designed
specifically for women who are tired, overwhelmed, anxious and just need a
simple, peaceful reset before we go straight into the December holidays and
into the new year.
This is a chance to get:
- a preview of
the Faith & Soul Care LifePoints™ learning experience starting in
January
- 4 practical and
evidenced based tools you can use immediately – these I
have not taught about in depth before
- And you can use
these specific strategies to help you get through the holidays with more
peace, clarity, energy, and sense of purpose.
Two of those tools include:
1. Mini “Pour-Outs”
A short, doable daily practice where you release stress, worry, or emotional clutter bit by bit to the Lord before it piles up.
These are small, but they are powerful. And those who sign up will receive a
.pdf copy of the most recent brand new journal I designed that contains
28 of these mini-mental declutter prompts – so anytime you feel like you need to
do a little mental clutter release – you will have a simple prompt ready to go,
2. Another example we will learn is a
simple evidence-based brain exercise
This one helps you focus your thoughts for just a few moments in a very
specific way.
It sets your mind up to:
- set a simple
personalized goal
- and then
literally trick your brain into being highly motivated to complete
that goal
It’s evidenced based… but I also promise you, it’s painless and it’s
simple.
Just 30 seconds to a minute, and the effect adds up beautifully and your
motivation gets reset.
These two strategies alone can help you make it through this holiday
season with more calm, more clarity, and more of a sense of purpose.
If you want to join the 2-day experience, here is the sign-up link.
Alright, now let’s go deeper into why we feel stuck in the first place.
[You may listen to these post on the Faith & Soul Care podcast wherever you get your podcasts:]
1. Anxiety + Overwhelm Create Real
Fatigue (Not Laziness)
Anxiety isn’t just an emotion… it’s a full-body state of coping.
When your brain perceives anything as stressful, uncertain, or
overwhelming, it activates your nervous system. And over time, that constant
activation causes:
- exhaustion
- brain fog
- emotional
heaviness
- irritability
- low motivation
- and sometimes
even a feeling of “I don’t care anymore”
Now it is important that you understand that his is NOT laziness.
None of this is weakness.
That is your body trying to protect you.
And this is why so many, especially many Christian women, say or think
things such as:
“I know I should feel more motivated…
I know I should feel grateful…
I know God must have more for me…”
It’s because your nervous system is doing exactly what it does when it’s
been overwhelmed too long: It starts running on conservation mode, slowing
everything down to conserve energy.
And when your body is exhausted, you’re also more vulnerable to something
else:
false beliefs.
False beliefs like:
- “God must be
disappointed because I can’t seem to get it together.”
These false beliefs act like invisible walls that block us from moving
forward.
And this brings me to an example I want to share…it’s a true story…
The Goldfish Story
Researchers once put a goldfish in a medium-sized fish bowl and inserted
a clear glass divider in the middle. The fish kept trying to swim across, but
each time - bump, bump, bump - it hit its head on that clear, transparent glass
wall.
Eventually, the fish learned, “I can’t go over there. I cannot move past
this spot in the middle of my fish bowl.”
Then the researchers removed the glass divider from the fish bowl.
But the fish?
It never even tried to swim to the other side again.
The barrier was gone.
But the belief remained.
That is what happens with us too. We have beliefs that are no longer true
- and those beliefs may have been true in the past or served a purpose in the
past - but they are no longer true. But we keep swimming in the same place – even
when freedom is readily available and the barrier is gone.
2. Anxiety Pushes Us Into Autopilot
(Living by Default)
Another major reason we get stuck is because anxiety trains our brain to
live in default mode.
Here’s a great example—you might have done this one.
Have you ever been driving to a different or new appointment or
destination… maybe an appointment at a new doctor’s office?
But your brain is used to your normal Wednesday routine?
And without realizing it, you drive right to your regular Wednesday place?
You park the car and think, “Why am I here? What did I do? This isn’t
where I meant to go!”
That’s autopilot. Your brain ran the old pattern because it requires less
energy.
And emotionally, spiritually, and mentally, we do the same thing.
We default back to what’s familiar:
- familiar stress…
gets routed into
- familiar habits…
which come from
- familiar
thought patterns…
- …and so we stay
in a default, familiar survival mode
We don’t have to live in default mode. But we do have to notice when it’s
happening. We have to take time to reflect and look into ourselves, and what we
are defaulting to, and why. Then we learn the strategies to break free.
3. We Don’t Realize That Small,
Simple Shifts Can Change Everything
Most people assume that getting “unstuck” requires big life change, and
they have to choose to make the change in a big way. For example, we think we
need to get a new job, a new schedule, re-set
all our priorities, or develop a new framework for living.
But that’s not how the brain works. The brain actually responds better
to:
- small,
- consistent,
- intentional.
shifts.
It brings to mind Psalm 119:105. This reminds us of how God guides us and
moves us forward. It also reveals how He designed our brain to process and move
forward:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
That ancient hand-held lantern only lit the next step.
Not the whole staircase.
Not the whole year.
Not the whole life plan.
Just the next, intentional step.
Getting “unstuck” happens one small shift at a time…
One false belief replaced with truth…and then another, and then another…
One small moment of a calming practice…
One short prayer poured out…and written down,
One tiny goal set with a new motivational practice of intention.
These small adjustments get the “cog-wheels” going again -
Small steps become a big transformation.
4. We Try to Do It Alone
And finally, so many women remain stuck because when we do set big goals
and decide to change things – we do it mostly alone.
But Scripture tells us, in Ecclesiastes 4:9–10, it says:
“Two are better than one… and if either falls, one can help the other up.”
When you try to push through being overwhelmed alone, or getting yourself
unstuck - it’s like trying to push a very heavy trunk packed with bricks up and
over a hill. It’s really hard and maybe nearly impossible to do alone.
But when someone comes alongside you -
even just one person - the load becomes lighter. And when a small group comes alongside you, movement becomes
faster and easier. The support from others makes all the difference in being
able to successfully movd the weight up and over the hill.
And when a community surrounds you, cheering you on, praying for you, and
speaking life over you?
Everything changes.
So How Do We Get Unstuck?
Inside the upcoming LifePoints™ Learning Cohort (starting in January 2026),
we work through this deeply. Until then, here are the four foundational pieces:
1. Calming the nervous system
Releasing stress, restoring energy, calming the mind, time for stillness with
the Lord
2. Identifying false beliefs
And replacing them with realistic thoughts and God’s truth, gently, one
at a time.
3. Taking one small purposeful step
Not an overhaul. Just the next right step.
4. Doing all of this together, not
alone
Support is the secret ingredient. Community accelerates the process and
the healing.
But also remember:
You don’t have to wait until January.
Join the 2-Day Online Experience
If you want to start feeling better this month, and
if you want help getting through the holidays with more peace, or
if you want a taste of the transformation that is possible…
Join the 2-Day Online Teaching. It will be Dec 8-9, 2026 at Noon CST (with
an extended replay available).
You’ll get:
- the mini
pour-out technique and the journal pages for it
- instruction in
the simple brain based motivation exercise
- and two more
simple and effective tools to help you navigate and finish the month of
December feeling more joyful and purposeful
The 2 day training is also a “jump start” preview which may help you
decide to commit to the full January 12 week cohort.
Find the sign-up link in the show notes or right here on the blog.
I am excited for this; I am excited for you and for us! I would love to
walk with you through this.
Bye for now,
Sherry Elaine
2 Day Peace Reset Learning Experience- Sign Up/Registration for Dec 8-9, 2026: https://sherryelaine.com/2days
Email Notification List for the 12 week LifePoints(tm) Learning Cohort beginning January 2026: (scroll down a bit for email form): https://sherryelaine.com/books