Emotionally Stuck? 3 Practices to Help You Move Forward

By Nicholas DeYoung

There are seasons in life when everything feels like it’s moving, but you’re not. The world spins on. Deadlines arrive. Relationships continue. The calendar fills. But inside, something feels sluggish, disconnected, or just plain numb. You might not be falling apart, but you’re certainly not thriving. You’re in a holding pattern, emotionally grounded while life demands you fly.

This feeling of stuckness can look different for everyone. For some, it’s a subtle disinterest in things that used to bring joy. For others, it’s irritability or over-functioning or trying to stay busy so you don’t have to sit still with what’s underneath. Sometimes it shows up as exhaustion that no nap or vacation can fix. Other times, it’s the quiet conviction that your life is full… but somehow missing something essential.

And yet, being stuck emotionally doesn’t always mean something is wrong. Often, it’s the soul’s whisper that you’ve reached the edge of something familiar and the beginning of something deeper. God sometimes uses seasons of discomfort to pull us into a more honest, more spacious relationship with him and with ourselves.

In a world that urges us to hustle our way through pain or bypass hard emotions with spiritual clichés, choosing to stop and reflect is a radical act of courage. These three practices can help you move forward, not by forcing progress, but by opening space for the Spirit to work within you.

Get Honest with Yourself and with God

Emotional stuckness often reveals itself not through dramatic breakdowns but through quiet disconnection. You go through the motions. You say the right things. But something inside is turned down, held back, or shut off. This is where honesty becomes holy.

We often learn early—especially in Christian spaces—that strong faith looks like confidence and clarity. But in reality, Scripture gives us a far messier, more compassionate picture. From Job to Jeremiah, from the Psalms to Jesus in Gethsemane, the spiritual life is filled with raw prayers and sacred wrestling. The invitation is not to perform but to be real.

When was the last time you were fully honest with God—not just about your sins or needs, but about your confusion, fatigue, or frustration? When was the last time you let your journal or your prayers hold the full weight of your emotional reality, without editing?

Here’s a practice: write a “no-filter” prayer. Sit with a pen and paper and begin, “God, here’s what I’m really feeling…” Don’t correct yourself. Don’t add qualifiers. Let your pain speak in your own voice. Afterward, don’t rush to fix it. Just imagine God receiving your words with tenderness, like a parent drawing close to a weeping child.

Honesty opens the door for healing. Until we name what’s true, we can’t be fully present to what God is doing in us. Emotional honesty isn’t a detour from the spiritual journey, it is the journey.

Pay Attention to What’s Beneath the Surface

So often we treat emotions like distractions to be avoided instead of invitations to be explored. But beneath every repeated reaction—every withdrawal, burst of anger, wave of apathy, there’s a deeper story unfolding.

One of the gifts of coaching and spiritual formation is learning how to listen to your life. Emotions are messengers. When we slow down and get curious, they can lead us to surprising places. Sadness may point to unmet needs. Anxiety may uncover a fear of disappointing others. Frustration might signal that you’ve said yes too often when you meant no.

The challenge is that many of us were never taught how to sit with our internal world. We learned to suppress, distract, or power through. But transformation doesn’t come through avoidance. It comes through awareness.

Think of your life like a garden. What’s growing on the surface, your habits, choices, and emotional responses, has roots beneath the soil. If you want different fruit, you have to tend to what’s underneath.

Try this exercise: when you notice a recurring emotional reaction, pause and ask:

What just got triggered in me?
Where have I felt this before?
What story am I telling myself in this moment?

These simple questions can lead to profound insights. Maybe you’re not lazy but you’re afraid of failing. Maybe you’re not angry at someone else, you’re grieving something you’ve lost. As you name what’s true, the Spirit begins to untangle the knots.

This is not about overanalyzing everything or navel-gazing endlessly. It’s about becoming the kind of person who lives with greater awareness, compassion, and freedom. Jesus didn’t just come to forgive your sins—he came to heal your soul.

Take One Grace-Filled Action

Sometimes the hardest thing about being stuck is that we think we need a grand breakthrough to move again. We imagine we need to change careers, rework our whole spiritual life, or figure out the next five years. And because that feels overwhelming, we do nothing.

But the way forward is usually smaller and gentler than we think. It doesn’t begin with a leap. It begins with a step.

In coaching, we talk about the “next faithful action.” It’s the simplest thing you can do that moves you just one step closer to wholeness. It might be setting a boundary you’ve been afraid to name. It might be clearing your calendar for an hour of solitude. It might be calling a friend and saying, “I’m not okay, and I don’t want to hide it anymore.”

Grace-filled action doesn’t come from pressure or perfectionism. It comes from love. Not every decision has to be forever. Not every plan has to be complete. Sometimes God just asks for your yes to the very next thing—and promises to meet you there.

And don’t underestimate the power of movement. Even a small step can shift your emotional momentum. It reminds your heart that change is possible. That your story isn’t over. That healing is still unfolding.

So take a breath. Ask God, “What’s the next right thing?” And trust that forward is forward, no matter how slow it feels.

Being emotionally stuck is not a flaw in your faith. It’s not a sign that you’re failing. It’s part of being human. In fact, it might be a hidden grace—an invitation to deeper presence, fuller honesty, and gentler rhythms.

Spiritual maturity doesn’t mean you always feel inspired or certain. It means you keep showing up. It means you learn to listen when your soul is speaking. It means you trust that God is not disappointed by your weakness but drawn to it.

If you’re in that place now, spinning wheels, walking in circles, or just feeling spiritually foggy, know this: you are not alone. So many of us are navigating these same spaces. And the Spirit of God is still present, still faithful, still whispering hope into the quiet corners of your heart.

You don’t have to figure everything out today. You don’t have to rush toward resolution. But you can take a small step. You can be honest. You can listen to what’s stirring beneath the surface. And you can act in grace, not guilt.

You were not created to live on autopilot. You were made for depth, beauty, presence, and peace. When the noise of the world or the weight of your own story feels like too much, remember this: God meets you exactly where you are—and walks with you toward where you’re going.

You are not stuck forever. You are being invited into something new.