Why You’re Still Exhausted and What Real Peace Feels Like
- pamelahorton
- Dec 17, 2025
- 6 min read
If your body is tired, your mind overwhelmed, and your emotions on edge, you’re not alone and it’s not all in your head.
I didn’t expect the news that came earlier this week. It was the kind of update that drops straight into your gut. A family member in crisis, life-altering grief, and a weight that made my chest tighten and my breath catch. If you’ve ever felt like your body responded to sorrow before your mind had time to catch up, you’re not alone. I want to share what happened next not as a formula, but as a testimony.
My nervous system responded before my mind could catch up. A familiar dread swept in; tight shoulders, racing thoughts, the quiet panic of overwhelm. Almost without thinking, I reached for food, an old reflex from earlier seasons of survival. When I realized what I was doing, I turned to what I knew would help, the practiced, neurobiological strategies I’d relied on to calm my body. But even then, I stopped short of what I needed most, and that was to bring my emotions to God.
And in that still, strained moment, I heard the gentle whisper I’ve come to recognize: “Come to Me.”
This wasn’t just stress. I was dysregulating and He met me there.
I didn’t ignore the call. I didn’t reach for a to-do list or social media. I didn’t muscle through. I opened the Word. I sat. I breathed. I let Scripture wash over me and gave it all to the One who holds it all.
And slowly, miraculously, peace came.
What followed wasn’t just spiritual calm. It was a full-body reset.My breath deepened. My shoulders relaxed. My thoughts softened. My soul remembered something essential:
I only need Jesus.
When His Presence Does What Nothing Else Can
Not just spiritually, but physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Let me be clear: I am not and will never be the person who tells you to ignore your emotions. This isn’t about spiritual bypassing, ghosting your inner experience, or forcing positivity.
This is about honoring your emotions without letting them take over the driver’s seat.
God gave us emotions. God has emotions. We are made in His image and in His kindness, He invites us to bring those emotions back to Him, raw, real, and unedited.
But unlike ours, God's emotions are never reactive, unstable, or manipulative. They flow from His holy character and perfect wisdom. His feelings reveal His deep engagement with His creation and His relational nature.
Our emotional lives are a reflection, though fractured by sin, of His.
Emotional Maturity and the Mirroring of God's Heart
True emotional regulation is part of spiritual maturity.
It involves learning to love what He loves, to grieve what grieves Him, and to rejoice in what brings Him joy.
We live in a world full of overwhelm. While no single number can capture the extent of nervous system dysregulation, research paints a sobering picture.
Chronic stress and dysregulation
70–80% of primary care visits are stress-related
Over 75% of adults report moderate to high stress
Chronic stress disrupts the nervous system’s balance, making it harder to rest, focus, or feel safe in your own body
Trauma and PTSD
70% of adults globally have experienced trauma
6% meet PTSD criteria annually in the U.S.
Trauma is one of the leading causes of nervous system dysregulation
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
60% of adults report at least one ACE
16% report four or more
The higher your ACE score the higher your statistical chance of suffering from a range of psychological and medical problems like chronic depression, cancer, or coronary heart disease.
I had 7 out of 10, that I diligently worked through to heal.
Interested in knowing yours?
Neurodivergence and mental health
Over 20% of U.S. adults live with a diagnosable condition
ADHD and autism often involve significant regulation challenges
A conservative estimate:At least 50–70% of adults experience emotional or nervous system dysregulation. If you’ve felt this, you’re not alone.
An Invitation to Shalom. Peace that Restores the Whole Person
In my walk with Jesus, I’ve come to see:
He didn’t just invite us into belief.
He invited us into Himself.
Into relationship.
Into safety.
Into rest.
Even among Christians, many live conformed to the world’s emotional overdrive (Romans 12:2), tied to performance, productivity, and perfection.
Jesus calls us into something radically different: a life of rest, not rush; of peace, not pressure.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”—Matthew 11:28 (NLT)“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”—Matthew 11:29–30 (NLT)
In Greek:
Weary (kopió): to labor to the point of exhaustion
Burdened (pephortismenoi): weighed down with pressure and expectation.
Jesus is not merely offering poetic encouragement. He is extending a neurobiological invitation, a loving invitation to wholeness; spirit, mind, and body; to return to shalom. In Scripture, shalom is more than peace as the absence of conflict; it is the presence of completeness, health, harmony, and rest. It's when all parts of our being, spiritual, emotional, and physical are rightly ordered under God's loving rule. This kind of peace doesn’t just soothe the soul; it stabilizes the nervous system. In shalom, your body finds safety, your mind finds quiet, and your heart finds rest in Him.
Where Science Meets the Savior
When we’re near someone safe and grounded, our nervous system begins to mirror theirs.
This is co-regulation and God designed us for it.
In the presence of safety:
The vagus nerve activates
The parasympathetic system (rest/digest) engages
Cortisol (stress hormone) levels decrease
Breathing deepens
Heart rate slows
Muscles release
The body shifts from survival to safety
Jesus offers this.
He doesn’t wait until we find the right people.He is the Safe Person.
For the anxious.For the shutdown.For the ones still learning how to rest.
The Enemy’s Strategy: Disrupt Peace at the Root
Scripture reminds us that the enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy not just spiritually, but holistically. He often works to wear down our bodies as well as our spirits.
If he can keep your body dysregulated, draining your strength, disrupting your hormones, fragmenting your focus he can keep you trapped in cycles of fear, fatigue, and emotional chaos.
He doesn’t need to destroy your life.He only needs to keep your body stuck in survival mode, fight or flight, freeze or fawn.
You Were Made for More Than Survival
God created your body to respond to threats, but not to live in constant alarm.
That’s why Jesus offers rest not as an idea, but as a way of life.
You were not made to live anxious, inflamed, or burned out.
You were made to live grounded in His presence, anchored in peace, walking in divine strength, and fulfilling your calling with clarity and joy.
The Invitation Still Stands
No matter your history or diagnosis, your wiring or your wounds,you are invited into the healing presence of Jesus.
Not into a method.Not into a moment.
But into a Person.
In His presence:
Your mind can quiet
Your body can soften
Your heart can exhale
Your soul can be restored
A Moment to Reflect and Receive
“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.”—Psalm 4:8 (NLT)
This verse reflects the beautiful integration of spiritual trust and physical regulation, offering both emotional security and physiological calm in God's presence.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”—Psalm 34:18 (NLT)“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You.”—Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”—John 16:33 (NLT)
Journal prompts
Where are you noticing signs of dysregulation in your body, thoughts, or emotions?
What temporary comforts are you reaching for instead of Jesus’ rest?
What would it look like to bring your full self into His presence today?
Where might He be inviting you to release, surrender, or be still?
Ready for support?
If this message stirred something in you. If you’re longing to experience peace in your body, clarity in your mind, and rest in your spirit, I want you to know you don’t have to walk that journey alone.
I offer holistic biblical coaching for high-achieving professionals, ministry leaders, and neurodivergent believers who are ready to step out of survival mode and into Spirit-led resilience, regulation, and renewal.
Whether you're navigating burnout, emotional overload, trauma healing, or simply longing for deeper wholeness, I would be honored to come alongside you.
➞ Learn more or book a free discovery call: https://calendly.com/coachpamelahorton/holistic-biblical-coaching-discovery-call
➞ Prefer to start quietly? Just send me a message. I'm here to listen.
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