Beware of This Huge Temptation That Keeps Moms in Survival Mode

It’s sneaky and subtle. And it’s disguised as rest. But it’s likely the very thing that’s stealing your peace.

Today, I’m going to show you exactly what this temptation is, how to recognize it in your daily life, and what to do instead — so you can step out of constant overwhelm and into the peace and presence of God.

And if you’re already feeling like, ‘That’s me — I’m constantly in survival mode and I don’t know how to get out’ — just know, I’ve been there, and I don’t believe God wants you to stay there.

The Temptation to “Do Nothing”

Let’s start with the temptation itself…

Because it doesn’t look like sin per se. It looks like scrolling. Like zoning out. Like collapsing on the couch with a soft sigh and a screen.

I remember a season where, every time the house got quiet, I would grab my phone, sit on the couch, and just scroll. I’d tell myself, “I just need a second to do something mindless.” But an hour later, I was more overwhelmed than before. The kids would wake from naps or it would be time to go to bed and all I had to show for my time was going down some weird TikTok rabbit hole, and my heart felt even more tired.

The Truth About “Doing Nothing”

The temptation to “do nothing” is a lie dressed up as rest. But this kind of nothing isn’t Sabbath rest. It’s just numbing.

It looks like rest… but it actually drains you. It promises peace… but leaves you more anxious. It feeds your overwhelm instead of healing it.

When we check out emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, we aren’t resting — we’re escaping. And Satan loves that. Because when a mother is numb, she’s ineffective. She’s disconnected from her children, distant from her purpose, and unavailable to God.

What I’m suggesting is something much more intentional.

This is the Kind of “Doing Nothing” That Steals Your Peace

But there is another kind… and it changes everything.

Both are technically “doing nothing”… but only one leads to peace.

Why Numbing Keeps You in Survival Mode

You Can’t fight a spiritual battle with emotional avoidance.

Science tells us that when your nervous system is dysregulated, your body stays stuck in fight, flight, or freeze — this is often what people call “living in survival mode.”

And spiritually, the enemy loves to keep moms either super busy or super disconnected — both lead to living in survival mode — because both keep us from hearing God.

True peace isn’t found in zoning out. It’s found in the presence of God.

But if your body is stuck in survival mode, it’s hard to feel that presence — I know because I’ve been there. I’ve been that born-again Christian that felt so far from the Lord and even further from exhibiting the fruit of the spirit and I had no idea why.

I read the Bible and still felt anxious. It’s not because I didn’t love God or was a “bad” Christian — it’s because my body was stuck in a stress loop.

You need to slow down, regulate your body and renew your mind so your heart can actually receive Him.

What to Do Instead (and How to Start)

The key to peace Isn’t productivity — it’s presence.

What changed everything for me was realizing that peace doesn’t begin with my kids’ behavior, my to-do list, or my routines. It begins with my mind.

When I learned how to truly take captive my thoughts and reset my body I began to renew my mind as it says in Romans 12:2 — and everything shifted.

Whenever I start to feel like I’m losing control of the day. When everything feels like too much and if one more thing happens I’m just going to lose it… I just stop and do nothing.

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is sit on the floor with your kids, let them crawl all over you, breathe deep, and just be there.

No agenda. No checklist. Just presence.

Literally do nothing — not zoning out, but tuning into your children.

When you feel the urge to run away from life and escape… just sit. Right there. On the kitchen floor. In the rocking chair. With God. With your children.

Give yourself permission to intentionally — do nothing. Let your body be still so your soul can breathe and you will begin to see clearly what really matters.

This kind of stillness may look like doing nothing… but it is everything.

I kind of look at it as a holy resistance to the chaos.

Your flesh is going to resist this. You’re going to think no way, there’s too much to do. Or let me just finish chopping this onion and I’ll stop. Then before you know it after the onion is chopped, it dawns on you that the laundry also needs started and you totally forgot to text your friend back and then all of a sudden you’re on Instagram and don’t even know how you got there.

So resist the urge to keep doing, and just do nothing.

Even 5 minutes of this kind of stillness resets your dopamine baseline. Constant stimulation — from social media, noise, tasks — raises your dopamine to such heights that things that should be life-giving — like watching your children play, or reading a good book — begin to feel dull.

But when you do nothing — truly nothing — for a short time, your dopamine levels begin to normalize and your nervous system can relax.

And suddenly, reading to your children feels rewarding again. Holding your baby feels sweet again. Quiet chores become worship again as you reflect on how the Lord has blessed you.

That’s why inside my free workshop From Survival Mode to Peace-Filled Homemaking in 7 Days, I show you how to calm your nervous system using practical tools, lower your stress response, and reconnect with your God-given role as a mother.

Why This Brings Peace

Peace isn’t the absence of chaos and trials. It’s the presence of God within the chaos and trials of life. That’s why it’s called the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Have you ever felt this? I know I have.

During a season when my life felt like it was falling apart — when, by all accounts, I should have been a wreck — I experienced a deep, unshakable peace.

But why?

Because it became so glaringly obvious that what I needed to do was choose to connect with those I love and to prioritize my relationship with the Lord and so I did.

When you choose connection instead of checking out or frantically getting it all done…

You’re not just allowing your body to regulate, but you’re turning your home into a sanctuary.

This is what resets the tone of your household.

Your presence — anchored in God’s presence — becomes the peace that transforms everything.

And all you need to do is … nothing.

How to Hold Onto Peace When the Storm Hits

Peace doesn’t depend on your circumstances — it depends on Who you’re rooted in.

There was a time when everything seemed to fall apart before 9 a.m.

A child would wake up sick. A teething baby. A broken washing machine. And it all felt so heavy — that lump in my throat and pressure rising in my chest, like I was about to snap at any moment, but I felt that all the time — that feeling never went away.

Since finally escaping the bondage of survival mode, I have resilience.

A thousand things can happen in a day and I feel peace. I know Who to turn to and I have the clarity and urge to actually turn to the Lord.

And in those moments — not after the chaos ends, not after I got a break, but right in the thick of it — I feel peace wash over me.

Because I didn’t reach for my phone. I didn’t try to fix everything. I didn’t shut down.

I just breathe. And I remembered: He is with me. My body can relax enough to actually feel the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit working in and through me.

This is How You Hold Onto Peace

This is how you hold onto peace. Not by controlling your circumstances — but by staying rooted in the presence of God.

Isaiah 26:3 says “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

This kind of peace isn’t a reward for when you finish your to-do list. It’s not the absence of noise, mess, or stress.

It’s the gift of His presence in the middle of your everyday life.

So when the storm hits — when the tantrums come, or the break you thought you were going to get falls through, and you feel that lump in your throat — don’t reach for your phone. Sit down on the floor, snuggle your children, pray and do nothing for a while.

Because both are technically “doing nothing”… but only one leads to peace.

A Gentle Invitation to Real Rest

The temptation to numb out will always be there… but peace is found in the presence of God, not in your phone, or in another show.

You don’t need to hustle your way out of survival mode — but you do need to be intentional about renewing your mind and restoring your body.

Inside the Transformed Homemakers Society, I walk with you through the daily practice of stepping out of survival mode by learning how to actually be still, regulate your body, and mother from a place of peace.

If you’re tired of living in survival mode and feel like you’d like a catalyst for transforming your life, I’d love to invite you into my workshop using the link below.

It’s always such a joy to have you here.