Have you ever reached for something — a drink, a pill, a buzz — just to take the edge off? You're not alone, and there's no shame in admitting it. In this honest, no-judgment conversation, Terri pulls back the curtain on the complicated relationship between anxiety and the quick fixes we reach for when we just want to feel better — from alcohol and THC to prescribed benzodiazepines like Ativan.

Drawing from her own personal experience and years as a nurse, Terri shares what she's seen — and lived — when it comes to chasing calm through substances. The hard truth? The buzz wears off. The euphoria fades. And the anxiety? It's still there, waiting.

This episode isn't about labeling your choices as good or bad. It's about asking a deeper question: Are you managing your anxiety, or just escaping it for a while?

If you're ready to stop dulling the noise and start doing the deeper work, this episode is your starting point.

📍 Visit anchorednotanxious.com for resources to help you manage anxiety, overwhelm, and worry — because friend, you deserve more than temporary relief.

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

Moses spent 40 years running from fear before he ever heard from a burning bush.

And honestly? I think that's more relatable than we realize.

Because most of us don't leap from crippling anxiety straight into unshakeable trust in God. We wander through the fear territory first. We doubt. We run. We try to figure it out on our own — and we end up in Midian like Moses.

But here's what I love about Moses's story: it wasn't over. The learning territory came after the fear. And that's where something beautiful started to grow.

In this episode, I'm unpacking Moses's journey through three territories — Fear, Learning, and Growth — how you can move from Plan A (the anxious response) to a Plan B (the belief response).

Because automatic trust isn't a realistic goal for most of us. But a gentle redirect? That's something we can practice. 💛

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

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One evening as I lie in bed overwhelmed by everything happening in the world around me, these words rested on my mind: Terri, you weren't meant to bear these burdens. These are mine.

Can I just say — sometimes we don't even realize how much we're carrying until we're completely buried under it.

Jesus never meant for us to hold the weight of what we cannot control. And yet here we are, scrolling, absorbing, grieving for things far beyond our reach — and wondering why our joy is absent.

This episode hits so close to home for me. I want to walk you through a simple but powerful practice: setting a daily intention. It's not a self-help buzzword, friend — it's a prescription for your mind, body, and spirit.

Intention References:

https://simplish.co/blog/daily-intentions

https://www.calm.com/blog/setting-intentions

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

You want an anxiety reducer at your fingertips, right? But how does this happen? Listen to this 4 minute episode as I explain exactly what you can do so you've got the tools in that moment of panic, intense anxiety, or invasive worry.

You can do this!

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

If you've ever found yourself pre-mourning an ailing pet who's still alive, you're not imagining things—you're experiencing anticipatory grief. 

And if you've had someone tell you that losing your dog "can't compare" to losing a human? I'm so sorry. Grief is grief, and there are no qualifiers. 

In this episode, I'm sharing my story of losing Bosco during one of the loneliest seasons of my life, and why pet parents carry a unique kind of burden that most people don't understand. 

You'll learn why anticipatory grief actually happens and practical ways to care for yourself through one of the hardest goodbye you'll ever make. 

Whether you're watching your fur baby decline or still processing a loss from years ago, this conversation will meet you with the validation and tools you need. 

https://therapyforpetpeople.com/blog/coping-with-anticipatory-grief-pet-loss

https://www.dvm360.com/view/understanding-anticipatory-grief-in-pet-owners

https://www.lapoflove.com/blog/pet-loss-support/how-to-deal-with-anticipatory-grief

https://www.aplb.org/anticipatory-grief/

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

When anxiety hits hard, have you ever wished Jesus would just speak out loud or sit beside you? You're not alone. Even the disciples struggled when Jesus said He was leaving—until He promised them the Holy Spirit as their Counselor. 

But what does that actually mean for managing anxiety today? In this episode, I explore how the Holy Spirit functions like a professional counselor: listening, revealing truth, redirecting, and interceding when you’re overwhelmed. 

If you've been treating the Holy Spirit like a distant concept instead of an active presence, this conversation will change how you approach your hardest days.

Scripture References (NIV, NLT):

John 14:27, Romans 8:6b, Romans 8:26-27, Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

Listen to Sue share stories from her book, Never Alone: Stories of Connection & Invitation. With stories from her life, Sue illustrates the purpose and power of connection. You can have eyes and ears for the people who cross your life path, extend an invitation, and let God reveal the purpose as you connect with them. 

Sue's Favorite Relaxing Recipes:  https://view.flodesk.com/pages/60db7ed16b275532b755c224

and

30 Conversation Starters from one of Sue's books: 

https://welcomeheart.myflodesk.com/v6wwjwq7hp

Amazon link for Sue's Book, Never Alone: Stories of Connection & Invitation

https://www.amazon.com/Never-Alone-Stories-Invitation-Connection/dp/B0FXTMGTXJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13KZ54J6N12U8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.w0CCeGU8sedwWqqUakeG7A.QcVbSRncQvGkIpor4zmdyAEicHnoDZbmDcTuSELQ7Ao&dib_tag=se&keywords=never+alone+sue+donaldson&qid=1769178979&sprefix=never+alone+sue+%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-1

Find Sue on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/suemooredonaldson/

Sue's Website

https://welcomeheart.com/

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

Living with a chronic condition means navigating the unpredictable terrain of high-energy days and low-energy days. One morning you wake up ready to conquer your to-do list, and the next, a simple shower leaves you depleted. This fluctuation doesn't just affect your body—it impacts your mental and emotional wellbeing, often triggering anxiety and discouragement.

In this episode, we explore the connection between low activity tolerance and anxiety, and I share a practical, clinical tool to help you manage your energy wisely. You'll learn how to create an Activity Tolerance Planner that honors both your capabilities and your limitations, using evidence-based strategies like the talk test to assess your exertion levels.

Whether you're living with fibromyalgia, MS, heart failure, COPD, or another chronic condition, this episode offers you permission to find contentment in what you can do while extending grace to yourself for what's beyond your reach today. Because a high-energy day needs as much careful attention as a low-energy one.

Download the free Activity Tolerance Planner

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

What if trust isn't about getting what you want when you want it—but about learning a path that never becomes a dead end?

In this episode, I use the imagery of a nature trail to explore what it means to truly trust God when you're waiting, when answers haven't come, or when the outcome isn't what you prayed for. We'll walk through the three movements of trust. 

This isn't a pep talk about positive thinking. It's an honest conversation about the growth that happens in the waiting, and about believing that God's eyes search for our hearts—not our religious performance.

If you're standing at a signpost with arrows pointing toward worry, overthinking, and "what if" scenarios, this episode offers you a different direction. 

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

Monster fires in the California mountains consume everything in their path. It takes only a spark to start a raging blaze. What if there was something like fire that could consume your worry just as an actual fire consumes anything in its path? Something that would scare it into silence?

There is—if you're willing to be reckless and ruthless.

God’s Word gives us examples of women and men who were reckless and ruthless, in a way that brought them closer to God. 

How do you ignite a reckless, ruthless faith fire? Listen to this episode and discover what you need as fire starter to get a blazing faith and trust. 

Jeremiah said the Word of God is like a fire in his heart that cannot be contained. (Jeremiah 20:9) This is what I pray for you: A fire in your heart that burns with trust in God.

Get The Anchored Life twice-monthly email. You can include Jesus in each day for reassurance, wisdom, hope, identity, transitions, and as a spiritual, emotional, and mental rescue remedy. It’s about hard days and staying anchored in faith. 

Your story matters to me and I answer every email. Go to [email protected]

Visit Anchored Not Anxious. It's help, hope and resources designed for you

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140