Sabbath as a Mental Health Practice: Rest, Identity, and Breaking the Productivity CycleChaz Becker and co-host Jesse Ojeda discuss Sabbath as both a spiritual discipline and a practical weekly mental health practice, framing it as a rebellion against American productivity and consumerism. They explore how linking identity to performance fuels anxiety, comparison, burnout, and depressive states, and describe Sabbath as a way to decouple worth from output, step off the “hedonic treadmill,” and reduce fight-or-flight living. Jesse highlights benefits like biological rest, lowered cognitive load, renewed intrinsic motivation, deeper social connection, and value-based recalibration, while noting these practices reshape desires over time rather than in one attempt. Chaz shares personal burnout and depression tied to work, then offers practical guidance: slow your pace, do enjoyable, non-compulsive activities, stop when it becomes hurried, and start with a few hours if a full day isn’t possible.00:00 Sabbath for Mental Health01:17 Productivity Culture Problem05:00 Identity Beyond Performance09:19 Comparison and Anxiety Spiral14:31 Chaz Burnout Story21:13 Practice Changes Desires22:57 Mental Health Benefits27:02 How to Sabbath Practically33:01 Start Small and Ask Us36:09 Wrap Up and Goodbye

How the Holy Spirit Interacts with Mental Health | Storyed Podcast (Chaz Becker & Jesse Ojeda)Chaz Becker and Jesse Ojeda introduce the Storyed podcast and explore how the Holy Spirit influences mental health. They begin by clarifying who the Holy Spirit is—God’s personal presence who indwells believers, regenerates them, and empowers sanctification—emphasizing that mental health growth is not a quick fix but a long process of transformation in partnership with the Spirit. Jesse adds language from Scripture and tradition (pneuma/ruach), contrasts evangelical discomfort and charismatic over-spiritualization, and warns against weaponizing the Spirit to dismiss mental or physical struggles. They discuss balancing spiritual practices with embodied realities, using Elijah’s despair and God’s provision as an example of holistic care. Chaz shares how discipleship shaped his dependence on the Spirit and recommends Storyed’s coping skills course to connect emotions and the body while inviting the Spirit into healing.00:00 Welcome and Catching Up00:55 Today’s Big Question01:32 Who Is the Holy Spirit04:33 Spirit as Advocate and Companion09:28 Discipleship and Spirit Empowerment14:48 Traditions and Spiritual Bypassing18:45 Elijah and God’s Care21:52 Embodied Mental Health and Slow Healing30:00 Practical Next Steps and Closing

Why Christians Can’t Overlook the Nervous System (Fight, Flight, Freeze & Fawn)On the Storyed Podcast, host Chaz Becker and Jesse Ojeda discuss why Christians shouldn’t overlook the nervous system in discipleship and emotional health. They explain the nervous system as the body’s signaling system, distinguishing voluntary and involuntary processes and focusing on the autonomic nervous system’s two branches: the sympathetic system (activation/fight-or-flight) and the parasympathetic system (rest-and-digest). Jesse connects nervous-system responses to Lazarus and Folkman’s coping model, describing how stress appraisals trigger coping and physiological activation. They expand beyond fight and flight to include freeze (shutdown, numbness, dissociation) and fawn (appeasing, people-pleasing, boundary blurring), often shaped by past experiences. Chaz shares a practical parenting example of using coping skills to regulate and respond calmly, and they emphasize God’s care and healing for embodied patterns through practical tools like mindfulness and emotion surfing.00:00 Psychology Meets Faith00:25 Why Nervous System Matters02:05 Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic04:56 Coping Appraisal Model08:07 Fight Flight Freeze Fawn10:59 Freeze and Fawn Explained15:25 Modern Stress and Discipleship19:41 Parenting Trigger Example24:13 Hope and Healing in Christ28:16 Practical Coping Skills33:15 Wrap Up and Thanks

What Is a Neural Pathway? Neuroplasticity, Spiritual Formation, and Slow ChangeChaz Becker and Jesse Ojeda discuss what a neural pathway is—routes neurons use to send signals that shape behaviors, emotions, and underlying beliefs—and why the topic is increasingly used in Christian contexts. They explain neuroplasticity as the brain’s capacity to change over time, emphasizing that new pathways form as a result of repeatedly choosing new behaviors and beliefs, not before, and that the process is often oversimplified and slow. Connecting psychology with faith, they describe spiritual formation as taking steps of faith by the Holy Spirit, with biological rewiring as a byproduct, referencing Romans 12 and the tension between flesh and Spirit. They encourage realistic expectations, consistency, and community support, recommending committing to one practice for three months and inviting a friend to join.00:00 Welcome and Setup00:35 What Is a Neural Pathway01:45 Why It Matters for Faith04:53 Neuroplasticity Takes Time07:45 Agency and Spiritual Practices09:25 Holy Spirit and Formation12:31 Locus of Control Explained15:58 Romans 12 and Renewing Mind17:40 Expectations for New Habits20:06 Habit Stacking Example26:16 Slow Change and Culture28:27 Community and Three Months30:33 Final Wrap Up

Why “Just Pray More” Is Terrible Advice: Spiritual Bypassing, Presence, and Real EncouragementChaz Becker and Jesse Ojeda discuss why telling someone to “just pray more” or “have more faith” can be harmful, even when well-intended, because it often functions as spiritual bypassing—using spiritual platitudes to sidestep the emotional reality of someone’s pain. They describe how this response can feel like a brush-off, increase shame, and create distance instead of relational closeness. They contrast bypassing with examples like the Good Samaritan and Job, emphasizing that truth must be offered with proximity, listening, validation, and community. Chaz breaks down encouragement as helping someone enter a state of courage, which requires knowing their situation closely rather than offering quick fixes. They also explore discomfort, fear, and countertransference as reasons people avoid sitting with others’ suffering. Chaz shares a personal story of being laid off the day before closing on a home while his wife was six months pregnant, and how members of his church supported him by praying with him, sitting with him, and creating space rather than offering platitudes. The episode closes with a call to slow down, self-reflect, and rely on the Spirit to be present and loving when others share vulnerability.00:00 Welcome + Today’s Big Question: Why “Just Pray More” Can Hurt01:04 Jesse’s Church Experience: Platitudes in Youth Group & Small Groups03:15 Chaz’s Take: Feeling Brushed Off, Unloved, and “Less Than”05:43 Defining Spiritual Bypassing (and Why It Rarely Helps)08:09 Good Samaritan: The Emotional Sidestep vs. Entering the Mess10:58 When Truth Lands Wrong: Job, Proximity, and Praying *With* People12:13 Real Encouragement = Putting Someone Into Courage15:06 Why We Bypass: Discomfort, Fear, and the Need for Self-Reflection17:42 Countertransference: When Their Pain Triggers Yours (and What to Do)23:16 A Real-Life Example: Losing a Job Before Closing on a House28:36 Closing Challenge: Slow Down, Take Inventory, and Be a Vessel of Jesus

Welcome to The Storyed Podcast. A space where faith, theology, psychology, and spiritual practice meet real human experience.

Here, we talk about how stories form us. How our brains, our beliefs, and our relationships are constantly writing us and how God meets us right in the middle of it all.

We’ll explore the intersection of Christian spiritual formation and mental health. And teach you practices that help us live more abundant stories and transformed lives.