Shifting Culture Ep. 359 Sara Billups Returns - Spiritual Practices to Calm Anxiety in Your Body, the Church, and Politics
Oct 31, 2025
Sara Billups, a Seattle-based writer and cultural commentator, discusses her book, Nervous Systems, exploring the pervasive anxiety in our lives, churches, and society. She delves into Ignatian spirituality and 'holy indifference' as tools to find peace and presence. Sara highlights the difference between fear and anxiety, how to support mental health in families, and the importance of community care. She encourages a non-anxious posture in society, blending joy with suffering, and offers practical tools for managing worry.
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Church Conflict Springs From Underlying Anxiety
- Church conflicts and cultural hot-button issues often flow from an underlying river of anxiety that silos and divides people.
- Cynicism and distrust amplify demands for ideological conformity rather than service to those in need.
Discern Feelings With Time And Community
- Take bodily feelings seriously but hold them lightly by pausing, praying, and consulting trusted friends for discernment.
- Test interior impressions with time and community rather than acting instantly on raw emotion.
Taking A Child's OCD Seriously Changed Everything
- Sara recounts her son’s diagnosis with moral OCD and how taking his experience seriously changed their family response.
- Finding a therapist and language shifted chaos into a manageable plan and reduced isolation.
