She Strengthens

One in three women report ‘decision fatigue’ in 2025 polls—here’s your 10-minute reset.

It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Decision fatigue. Like you’re just a little tired of picking what to watch on Netflix. But it’s so much deeper than that. It’s the mental and emotional exhaustion that comes from making an estimated 35,000 choices a day in a world that feels more complex and demanding than ever. For women especially, who often carry an invisible load of planning, worrying, and caring, this fatigue can become a constant, low-grade hum of overwhelm.

I know that hum. I remember standing in the grocery store, staring at two brands of pasta sauce, and feeling… nothing. Then, a wave of panic. I couldn’t choose. My brain just shut down. It wasn’t about the sauce. It was about the hundreds of other decisions I’d already made that day, the weight of a polarized world, and the feeling that I was constantly falling short. In that moment, I realized I hadn’t just been “quiet quitting” my job—a term we’ve all heard for doing the bare minimum to not get fired. I was starting to quiet quit my own life.

Quiet quitting your life is that subtle, subconscious retreat you make when you have nothing left to give. It’s not a big, dramatic exit. It’s a slow fade. It’s doing the bare minimum for your health, your relationships, and even your faith, not because you don’t care, but because you can’t care anymore. You’re running on empty.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Let’s talk about what this really looks like, why it’s happening to so many of us right now, and how we can find our way back—not just to coping, but to a life of true, God-given rest.

The 7 Signs You’re Running on Empty

Burnout isn’t a single bad day or a stressful week. It’s a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion. It creeps in slowly, convincing you that this is just what adult life feels like. But it’s not. See if any of these signs feel a little too close to home.

Let’s break these down.

1. Deep, Unshakeable Exhaustion: This isn’t the kind of tired that a good night’s sleep can fix. It’s a bone-deep weariness. One woman described it as her “pop out of bed” becoming a “slow drop and thud.” You wake up already feeling behind, and the 8-hour workday feels like 80. Vacations offer only temporary relief before the exhaustion crashes back in.

2. Pervasive Cynicism & Detachment: You start feeling disconnected from things you used to love. Your job feels pointless. Friendships feel like a chore. You become irritable with coworkers, friends, and family over the smallest things. One person shared that joyful activities, like playing with their infant daughter, suddenly felt like an obligation. This isn’t you being a bad person; it’s a defense mechanism. When you’re drained, your heart protects itself by detaching.

3. A Fading Sense of Accomplishment: You feel like nothing you do makes a difference. You’re plagued by self-doubt and a sense of incompetence. Even when you complete a task, there’s no satisfaction. This is a cruel trick of burnout: it drains your energy and then blames you for being unproductive.

4. Brain Fog & Wandering Mind: Trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, and that paralyzing inability to make simple decisions are classic signs. Your mind feels like it has too many tabs open, and none of them are loading properly. This is the decision fatigue we started with, and it seeps into every area of your life.

5. Social Hibernation: You find yourself actively avoiding people. You cancel plans, ignore texts, and retreat into isolation. It’s not that you don’t love your friends; it’s that social interaction requires energy you simply don’t have. Burnout convinces you that being alone is easier, but it thrives in the isolation it creates.

6. Unexplained Physical Pains: Your body keeps the score. Burnout often shows up physically before we recognize it emotionally. Frequent headaches, stomach problems, muscle aches, and getting sick more often are your body’s check-engine light flashing, warning you that your immune system is weakened by chronic stress.

7. Spiritual Numbness: For people of faith, this can be the most confusing and painful sign. Prayer feels heavy and performative. Reading your Bible feels like a chore. Worship songs don’t connect. You feel distant from God, wondering if you’ve done something wrong. This isn’t a sign of a weak faith; it’s a sign of a weary soul. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and that includes pouring out your heart to God.

The 2025 Pressure Cooker: Why We’re All So Tired

If you’re nodding along to that list, it’s crucial to understand this isn’t just a personal failure. We are living in a cultural pressure cooker, and the heat was turned up high in 2025. Your burnout is a predictable response to an unsustainable environment.

Post-Election Stress is Real

No matter which side you’re on, the constant, polarized political climate creates a baseline of chronic stress. For many, especially women, the aftermath of an election isn’t just political; it’s deeply personal. Studies show women report higher levels of post-election anxiety, stress, and even hopelessness. The uncertainty around issues like healthcare and equality creates a sense of threat that drains our emotional reserves daily. When the world feels unstable, it’s exhausting just to hold yourself together.

The Broken World of Work

The endless debates around the 4-day workweek are a massive public admission: the way we’ve been working isn’t working. While pilot programs show that a shorter week can reduce burnout and improve well-being for some, the debate itself highlights a deeper problem. For many, especially in service industries, a compressed schedule just means more intense pressure and stress crammed into fewer days. The problem isn’t just the hours we work; it’s the culture of constant availability and the pressure to perform that has left us feeling depleted.

The Gen Z Rebellion: #SoftLifeChallenge

Out of this pressure cooker, a powerful counter-narrative has emerged, especially on platforms like TikTok. The #SoftLifeChallenge is more than an aesthetic; it’s a conscious rejection of hustle culture. It’s a movement, particularly resonant with Gen Z faith communities, that champions a life of peace, ease, and intentionality over constant striving. It’s about setting boundaries, prioritizing well-being, and refusing to believe that your worth is tied to your productivity. This trend isn’t about being lazy; it’s a desperate cry for a more sustainable, humane way to live. It’s a secular echo of a deep, spiritual truth: we were not made to run on empty.

Your 10-Minute Emergency Reset

Okay, so you’re burned out, and the world is crazy. What can you do right now? When you’re in that grocery store, staring at the pasta sauce and feeling the panic rise, you need a first-aid kit for your soul. These aren’t long-term cures, but they are vital tools to stop the downward spiral.

Here are five simple, science-backed resets you can do in 10 minutes or less.

1. The “Be Still” Breath Prayer: Deep breathing is proven to calm your nervous system. Let’s make it a prayer. Find a quiet spot, close your eyes, and for 3-5 minutes, breathe in slowly to the count of four while thinking, “Be still,” and breathe out slowly to the count of six while thinking, “and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). This anchors your anxious mind to the truth of God’s sovereignty.
2. The Gratitude Refresh: Burnout narrows your focus to everything that’s wrong. To fight this, take 3 minutes. Open a notebook or the notes app on your phone and list three specific things you’re grateful for right now. Not big things. The warmth of the sun on your face. The taste of your coffee. The friend who sent a funny meme. Gratitude physically rewires your brain to look for the good.
3. The Worship Music Shift: Music has a direct line to our emotions and can lower stress hormones. Create a 3-song “Emergency Reset” playlist of calming worship music. When you feel overwhelmed, put in your earbuds and let the truth of the lyrics wash over you. Let God minister to your spirit when you don’t have the words to pray.
4. The Nature Walk Notice: Get outside for 10 minutes. Don’t listen to a podcast or make a call. Just walk and engage your five senses. What do you see? Notice the details on a leaf. What do you hear? The birds, the traffic. What do you feel? The breeze on your skin. This practice, called mindfulness, pulls you out of the chaotic swirl of your thoughts and into the present moment of God’s creation.
5. The Compassion Connection: Burnout makes us incredibly self-focused. The quickest way out of your own head is to step into someone else’s world. Take 5 minutes to send a text to a friend, not to vent, but simply to ask, “Hey, I was just thinking of you. How are you really doing?” Shifting your focus outward fosters connection and reminds you that you’re part of a larger community.

From Self-Care to Soul-Care: A Biblical Worldview on True Rest

The world’s solutions to burnout—self-care routines, bubble baths, the #SoftLifeChallenge—are not bad things. They can be helpful. But they often fall short because they operate on a faulty premise. They are all about self-care, which focuses on what we do to manage our energy and feel better.

The Bible offers something deeper: soul-care. Soul-care is about what God does in us when we stop trying to manage everything and finally surrender to Him.

This is the heart of a biblical worldview on rest. In a culture that glorifies hustle, rest is a radical act of faith. God rested on the seventh day not because He was tired, but to establish a holy rhythm for His creation. When we honor the Sabbath—when we truly stop our work, our striving, our worrying—we are making a powerful declaration: “God, You are in control, and I am not. You are my source, not my own effort.”

This is what authentic Christian living 2025 looks like. For a generation drowning in digital noise and relentless expectations, the spiritual discipline of Sabbath is not an outdated rule; it is a lifeline.

Jesus gives us the most beautiful invitation out of burnout in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

He doesn’t say, “Try harder to relax.” He says, “Come to me.” He offers to trade our heavy, crushing yoke of burnout for His yoke, which is custom-fit for us by grace. Rest isn’t something we achieve; it’s something we receive when we come to Him.

5 Rhythms to Reclaim Your Life from Burnout

Moving from burnout to wholeness is a journey. It’s about replacing the rhythms of hustle and depletion with new, life-giving rhythms of grace and dependence. Here are five practical ways to start.

1. Embrace Rest Without Guilt. Start practicing Sabbath. It doesn’t have to be a full 24 hours at first. Start with a “Sabbath hour.” Turn off your phone. Put away your to-do list. Do something that truly delights your soul and connects you with God—not something “productive.” Take a walk, paint, read a novel, play music. The goal is to practice releasing control and simply enjoy being His child.
2. Refuel Your Spirit Daily. This is about connection, not a checklist. Instead of rushing through a Bible reading plan, try meditating on a single verse each morning. Write down a verse from Psalm 23 and carry it with you. Read it throughout the day. Let it sink deep into your spirit. Start your day with a simple surrender prayer: “Lord, order my steps today. I give you my plans, my worries, my energy.”
3. Set Godly Boundaries. Burnout is almost always a boundary issue. We overcommit because we’re people-pleasers or we’re afraid of missing out. Frame saying “no” differently. It’s not selfish; it’s good stewardship. Your time and energy are finite gifts from God. Saying “no” to a good opportunity might be necessary to protect your “yes” for the best things God has for you.
4. Find Your People (For Real). Burnout thrives in the dark corners of isolation. God designed us for community. You need to find safe people you can be honest with. This means moving beyond surface-level Sunday morning conversations. Join a small group. Be brave and invite a trusted friend for coffee and share that you’re struggling. Let the body of Christ be what it was meant to be: a support system that carries each other’s burdens.
5. Serve from Overflow, Not Emptiness. So many of us burn out trying to serve God from a place of depletion, driven by guilt or a need to prove ourselves. But that’s not the gospel. The biblical model is to be filled by God first—to receive His love, His grace, and His rest. Your first and most important ministry is to sit at Jesus’ feet. Service should be the natural, joyful overflow of a soul that is well-cared for by the Savior.

Your Invitation to a Better Story

If you’ve read this far, chances are your soul is tired. You’ve felt the weight of decision fatigue. You’ve recognized yourself in the signs of quiet quitting your own life. You’ve felt the pressure of a world that never stops demanding more.

Here’s the good news: your story doesn’t have to end in burnout. Jesus is standing here, right now, with an open hand. He says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

The world offers a fragile peace, one dependent on circumstances, productivity, and self-care checklists. Jesus offers a resilient peace, a deep soul-rest that holds you even when the world is chaotic.

The choice isn’t to try harder to rest. It’s simply to accept His invitation.

You were not created for burnout. You were created for abundance, for joy, and for a deep, life-giving connection with your Creator. It’s time to stop quiet quitting your life and start living the one God designed for you.

Let’s Talk About It

I’d love to hear from you. Let’s continue this conversation on social media.

• Which of the 7 signs of ‘quiet quitting your life’ hits closest to home for you? Share in the comments—you’re not alone. 👇 #GenZFaith #Burnout
• What’s your go-to ’10-minute reset’ when you feel overwhelmed? Let’s build a toolkit together! #ChristianLiving2025 #MentalHealth
• How do you practice Sabbath in a 24/7 world? I’m looking for real-life ideas! 🙏 #BiblicalWorldview