In Episode 5 of The Holy Unraveling, therapist and host Silvia Farag explores how the stories we tell ourselves quietly become the lens through which we see everything. From overthinking and self-criticism to spiritual guilt and fear, our thoughts don’t stay in our heads, they become how we live.

Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), neuroplasticity (yes, “neurons that fire together wire together”), and a faith-centered lens, this episode breaks down:

• why negative thoughts feel so convincing
• how thoughts → feelings → behaviors form powerful cycles
• the difference between perception and perspective
• how distorted thoughts affect our relationship with God
• and how to gently interrupt these patterns without shame or forced positivity

If you struggle with anxiety, overthinking, spiritual self-criticism, or feeling “behind” in life or faith, this episode offers clarity, compassion, and practical tools to help you begin telling a truer story.

There is a quiet narrator most of us live with all day long — one that explains, interprets, and predicts before we’ve had time to breathe.

In this episode, we explore how negative thought patterns form, why our brains cling to them, and how they quietly shape our emotions, behaviors, and spiritual life. This is not about “thinking positive,” but about becoming aware — because awareness is where both healing and faith begin.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why Your Brain Repeats Negative Thoughts
How neuroplasticity works — and why familiar thoughts feel true, even when they aren’t.

The CBT Triangle Explained Simply
How thoughts create feelings, feelings drive behaviors, and behaviors reinforce beliefs.

Perception vs. Perspective
Why emotions are real but not always reliable narrators of truth.

A Gentle Practice to Create Space from Your Thoughts
A simple, compassionate tool to help you notice your thoughts without being consumed by them.

Key Takeaways

• You are not your thoughts — you are the one noticing them
• Neurons that fire together wire together, but new pathways can be formed
• Negative thoughts are often protective, not personal failures
• Awareness, not perfection, is what begins change
• God is not asking for flawless thinking — He invites discernment and trust

Referenced Concepts

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Neuroplasticity
• Thoughts → Feelings → Behaviors
• Logismoi (Orthodox understanding of intrusive thoughts)

Support the Podcast
Share with a friend • Leave a review • Send to someone who needs gentle encouragement today.
Your support helps reach the ones who won’t walk into a therapy office… but desperately need hope and healing.

Connect with Silvia:
Instagram: @silviafarag25
Facebook: Silvia Farag

https://www.christiancenterforcounseling.com/

Thank you for listening and don't forget to subscribe.

“Holy Obedience: Moving With God When You’re Still Afraid”

In this episode, Silvia explores the gentle, relational kind of obedience, not legalism, not pressure, but the kind that frees us from fear and draws us back to who God created us to be.

Following Episode 3 (“Is it God or Fear?”), this episode answers the next big question:

“If I know it’s God… why is obedience still so hard?”

What You’ll Learn

1. What Holy Obedience Really Is

Not punishment or perfection — but trust in motion, rooted in love.

2. Why Obedience Feels Scary

Psychology meets faith as Silvia breaks down:

• how the nervous system clings to the familiar
• why fear masquerades as wisdom
• how trauma + attachment shape your “yes”
• why overthinking is self-protection

Your struggle isn’t rebellion, it’s wiring.

3. The Orthodox Heart of Obedience

Scripture + Church Fathers show obedience as freedom and communion, not control.

4. Practical Tools to Move With God

• Micro-step obedience
• The Three-Voice Check
• Somatic prayer for regulation
• Acting without overthinking
• Attachment-safe obedience
• Parts work (“who inside me is afraid?”)
• Identity-based obedience (“I am His”)

A Personal Story

Silvia shares the fears and resistance she faced launching this podcast — and how obedience became a place where God untied old knots of perfectionism, doubt, and spiritual pressure.

Key Quotes

• “Obedience is trust in motion.”
• “Your fear protects you from discomfort, not danger.”
• “God doesn’t rush or shame — He invites.”
• “You don’t need the whole staircase. Just the next inch.”
• “Obedience heals the places where love once felt unsafe.”

Perfect If You…

• second-guess God’s nudges
• feel stuck or scared to move
• wrestle with anxiety or perfectionism
• are healing from trauma or church hurt
• long for a gentle, embodied, Orthodox-rooted faith

Sources

Desert Fathers • Anxiety science • Vagus nerve • Attachment theory • IFS parts work

Support the Podcast

Share with a friend • Leave a review • Send to someone who needs gentle encouragement today.

Your support helps reach the ones who won’t walk into a therapy office… but desperately need hope and healing.

Connect with Silvia:
Instagram: @silviafarag25
Facebook: Silvia Farag

https://www.christiancenterforcounseling.com/

Thank you for listening and don't forget to subscribe.

Anxiety loves to disguise itself in spiritual language, calling itself “discernment” or “lack of peace.”
But the fruit tells the truth.

In this episode of The Holy Unraveling, Silvia unpacks one of the most common questions she hears in both therapy and faith conversations:

“How do I know if this feeling is fear or discernment?”

You’ll discover how to tell the difference between fear and the Holy Spirit so you can stop second-guessing every decision and finally walk in peace.

You’ll Learn

• What God’s voice sounds like vs. what anxiety sounds like
• Why anxious people often confuse overthinking with “discernment”
• How anxiety is passed down in families (Harvard research shows it can be learned behavior)
• The nervous-system connection, how psychology and faith work together
• A simple grounding exercise to calm your body so you can hear God
• Why God leads with peace, not pressure

Practices Mentioned

✅ Box Breathing (4-4-4-4 Method) for quick emotional reset
✅ 3-3-3 Grounding Rule to stop spiraling in anxious thoughts
✅ Journaling Practice separating what’s in your hands vs. what’s in God’s hands

• Philippians 4:7 “The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
• Galatians 5:22 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…”

Free Worksheet “Is This Anxiety or Discernment?” PDF Message me on Instagram @silviafarag25 to receive your free copy (yes, still #techchallenged ).

Spread the Word: If this episode helped you hear God more clearly:

• Share it with a friend who’s overthinking their calling.
• Post your takeaway in your Instagram stories and tag @silviafarag25. I love hearing what resonated.
• Don’t forget to follow + rate the show so you never miss new episodes.

Connect with Silvia:
Instagram: @silviafarag25
Facebook: Silvia Farag

https://www.christiancenterforcounseling.com/

Thank you for listening and don't forget to subscribe.