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Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety
You are definitely not the only person on the planet to wrestle with anxious feelings. Billions upon billions of people battle garden-variety stress and anxiety every day. Everyone, to varying degrees, worries.
Jesus Christ is a sympathetic high priest who understands us, and He knows we are prone to worry. He is so thoughtful and kind that His last sermon to the disciples (and us) was dedicated to the subject of anxiety.
Prepare to discover 12 anxiety relievers from Jesus Christ that will get to the root of your anxiety problem and give you the tools you need to replace your anxious thoughts with profound, settled, hopeful joy. Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety isn't like most Christian self-help books that promise to fix your "stinkin' thinkin'."
You will not be regaled with stories of fellow nail-biters who struggle with anxiety.
You will not be told to imagine puppy dogs and rainbows when you start feeling nervous.
You will not be encouraged to simply exchange negative thoughts for positive thoughts.
God's Word will not only fix your anxiety, it will literally change you into the person that God created you to be.
Jesus Christ is a sympathetic high priest who understands us, and He knows we are prone to worry. He is so thoughtful and kind that His last sermon to the disciples (and us) was dedicated to the subject of anxiety.
Prepare to discover 12 anxiety relievers from Jesus Christ that will get to the root of your anxiety problem and give you the tools you need to replace your anxious thoughts with profound, settled, hopeful joy. Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety isn't like most Christian self-help books that promise to fix your "stinkin' thinkin'."
You will not be regaled with stories of fellow nail-biters who struggle with anxiety.
You will not be told to imagine puppy dogs and rainbows when you start feeling nervous.
You will not be encouraged to simply exchange negative thoughts for positive thoughts.
God's Word will not only fix your anxiety, it will literally change you into the person that God created you to be.
205 pages, Paperback
First published August 8, 2016
50 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Todd Friel
45 books82 followersTodd Friel is an American radio and television host, Christian author, and evangelist.
Friel is the host of Wretched with Todd Friel, a talk radio and television show, broadcast on FamilyNet. Wretched Radio is a daily show broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio. It was created as a replacement for The Way of the Master Radio, which was also hosted by Friel. In addition to broadcasting, Friel has spoken at churches, festivals, seminars, and youth groups throughout the United States. Friel hosted Talk the Walk on KTIS, then it moved to KKMS in 2001.
Friel is the host of Wretched with Todd Friel, a talk radio and television show, broadcast on FamilyNet. Wretched Radio is a daily show broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio. It was created as a replacement for The Way of the Master Radio, which was also hosted by Friel. In addition to broadcasting, Friel has spoken at churches, festivals, seminars, and youth groups throughout the United States. Friel hosted Talk the Walk on KTIS, then it moved to KKMS in 2001.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 31, 2017
When life seems to be one constant stress problem, what do you do? The book 'Stressed Out - A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety' may be able to help. While Todd Friel acknowledges that stress and anxiety can certainly have medical causes and need medicinal treatment, in Stressed Out, Todd invites the reader to consider another cause and 12 anxiety relievers based on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in John 14.
It took me about 12 chapters to finally comprehend the point, and start to understand how to apply what I was learning. I've decided that I need to re-read the book to gain a better understanding of the first chapters that weren't as clear to me.
The book is well-organized and easy to read. Scriptures are printed in the book, so I didn't have to keep stopping to look up references. One of my favorite features was the Grace Gem excerpts at the end of each chapter - they helped to drive home the points of each chapter.
I would recommend this book to everyone, whether they think they are stressed out or not.
It took me about 12 chapters to finally comprehend the point, and start to understand how to apply what I was learning. I've decided that I need to re-read the book to gain a better understanding of the first chapters that weren't as clear to me.
The book is well-organized and easy to read. Scriptures are printed in the book, so I didn't have to keep stopping to look up references. One of my favorite features was the Grace Gem excerpts at the end of each chapter - they helped to drive home the points of each chapter.
I would recommend this book to everyone, whether they think they are stressed out or not.
July 27, 2017
This book helped me so much. It definitely takes a different approach to anxiety, and goes to the real heart of the issue.
August 1, 2016
First sentence: If you go to a medical doctor with a sprained toe and tell him your elbow hurts, you will get a prescription, some exercises, and a nifty elbow brace, but your toe will not get the help it needs. The same thing is true for your emotions.
Premise/plot: When is anxiety a sin? And when is anxiety not a sin? Todd Friel addresses both kinds of anxiety in his newest book. First, he addresses two kinds of anxiety that are not a sin. Organic anxiety is something malfunctioning in your body that is causing your emotions to be out of sorts. He insists there is no shame in organic anxiety, and, believers should not feel guilty for something they cannot help. It is not a sin to grieve, to mourn, to cry, to be sad, to be disappointed. There is a time and place for these darker emotions. And dark emotions are not necessarily sinful.
From chapter four on, Todd Friel only addresses the anxiety that is a sin. He first stresses that it is indeed a sin. He then proceeds to say that the fact that it is a sin is great news for us. Because the Bible tells us exactly what to do with sin, and, in fact does more than that. Believers joined in Christ and filled with the Spirit have the POWER to overcome sin. The cure for anxiety is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not to be misunderstood, the cure for anxiety is a person--Jesus Christ Himself.
Chapters five through sixteen focus on twelve anxiety relievers taken straight from Scripture.
Chapters seventeen and eighteen focus on the application. How can you apply Scripture to your life? How can you take this great news and make it yours?
My thoughts: While I am glad that Todd Friel acknowledges organic anxiety, I wish he was even more informed. I wished he would go where few go in Christian circles--THE GUT. I think there is still widespread ignorance of how influential the GUT is in terms of how our brains work and our emotions. The GUT definitely plays a HUGE role in what we think and how we feel. If your gut is anything less than healthy, there's a good chance that your brain is less than healthy as well. My advice to Christians and non-Christians is the same: BECOME AS INFORMED AS YOU CAN BE in terms of your guts. The more you know about how your body actually works, the better. You need to know about serotonin. You need to know about leaky gut. If leaky gut is your problem, the changes you make in your life may do a great deal to relieve your anxiety and other health issues. Health issues that you may think of as being completely unrelated to one another. It doesn't help that doctors can be just as uninformed or misinformed as you and me. It may take some research for you to find the answers you need. (In our lives we're so tempted to treat the symptoms as if the symptoms are the main thing, the main issue--to ignore the fact that the symptoms are an indicator of a root problem. Why keep treating the symptoms and perhaps add more symptoms through side effects when what you need is to find the root cause?!)
But I am glad that he doesn't necessarily link disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder to spiritual failure.
Here is one of my favorite quotes: "You are not your brain. Your brain is not what makes you, you. You are a spiritual being with a body." (14)
And here is another good one: "Your anxiety should scream at you, 'You need help with your thinking.' God's response to your cries is, 'I am ready, willing, and able to fix you.' (22)
Most of the book, however, does approach anxiety with the 'it-is-a-sin' approach. Todd Friel writes, "If we do not submit to the Word and agree with God that our anxiety is a sin, then we will not be helped. God resists the proud, but He offers grace to the humble (James 4:7)." (27)
Essentially, the cure involves getting to know God. It isn't just focus more on God and less on yourself, though that is tempting to equate. Is the God you believe in and trust in the God revealed in the Bible? God cannot be known apart from the Bible. And if you don't know the God of the Bible, if you do not know how he has revealed himself, or, who he has revealed himself to be, then you don't know God. If your God is a God of your imagination of your own creation, then your faith may be misplaced faith. And it is only faith in the true God, the God that is I AM, that can save you from yourself, save you from your anxiety. How can you trust a God you don't know?
Know your Bible. Not just in order to accumulate facts. But read your Bible to KNOW A PERSON. See the Bible for what it is--the Word of God, the LIVING word of God. With the very Spirit of God as your teacher, counselor, guide--the path and the light for the path--you can be confident that whatever happens, God is FOR you and not against you.
I love that Friel does address the sovereignty of God and also our sanctification. Neither subject is particularly popular these days. But both are essential for understanding the Christian life.
I would definitely recommend this one.
Premise/plot: When is anxiety a sin? And when is anxiety not a sin? Todd Friel addresses both kinds of anxiety in his newest book. First, he addresses two kinds of anxiety that are not a sin. Organic anxiety is something malfunctioning in your body that is causing your emotions to be out of sorts. He insists there is no shame in organic anxiety, and, believers should not feel guilty for something they cannot help. It is not a sin to grieve, to mourn, to cry, to be sad, to be disappointed. There is a time and place for these darker emotions. And dark emotions are not necessarily sinful.
From chapter four on, Todd Friel only addresses the anxiety that is a sin. He first stresses that it is indeed a sin. He then proceeds to say that the fact that it is a sin is great news for us. Because the Bible tells us exactly what to do with sin, and, in fact does more than that. Believers joined in Christ and filled with the Spirit have the POWER to overcome sin. The cure for anxiety is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not to be misunderstood, the cure for anxiety is a person--Jesus Christ Himself.
Chapters five through sixteen focus on twelve anxiety relievers taken straight from Scripture.
Chapters seventeen and eighteen focus on the application. How can you apply Scripture to your life? How can you take this great news and make it yours?
My thoughts: While I am glad that Todd Friel acknowledges organic anxiety, I wish he was even more informed. I wished he would go where few go in Christian circles--THE GUT. I think there is still widespread ignorance of how influential the GUT is in terms of how our brains work and our emotions. The GUT definitely plays a HUGE role in what we think and how we feel. If your gut is anything less than healthy, there's a good chance that your brain is less than healthy as well. My advice to Christians and non-Christians is the same: BECOME AS INFORMED AS YOU CAN BE in terms of your guts. The more you know about how your body actually works, the better. You need to know about serotonin. You need to know about leaky gut. If leaky gut is your problem, the changes you make in your life may do a great deal to relieve your anxiety and other health issues. Health issues that you may think of as being completely unrelated to one another. It doesn't help that doctors can be just as uninformed or misinformed as you and me. It may take some research for you to find the answers you need. (In our lives we're so tempted to treat the symptoms as if the symptoms are the main thing, the main issue--to ignore the fact that the symptoms are an indicator of a root problem. Why keep treating the symptoms and perhaps add more symptoms through side effects when what you need is to find the root cause?!)
But I am glad that he doesn't necessarily link disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder to spiritual failure.
Here is one of my favorite quotes: "You are not your brain. Your brain is not what makes you, you. You are a spiritual being with a body." (14)
And here is another good one: "Your anxiety should scream at you, 'You need help with your thinking.' God's response to your cries is, 'I am ready, willing, and able to fix you.' (22)
Most of the book, however, does approach anxiety with the 'it-is-a-sin' approach. Todd Friel writes, "If we do not submit to the Word and agree with God that our anxiety is a sin, then we will not be helped. God resists the proud, but He offers grace to the humble (James 4:7)." (27)
Essentially, the cure involves getting to know God. It isn't just focus more on God and less on yourself, though that is tempting to equate. Is the God you believe in and trust in the God revealed in the Bible? God cannot be known apart from the Bible. And if you don't know the God of the Bible, if you do not know how he has revealed himself, or, who he has revealed himself to be, then you don't know God. If your God is a God of your imagination of your own creation, then your faith may be misplaced faith. And it is only faith in the true God, the God that is I AM, that can save you from yourself, save you from your anxiety. How can you trust a God you don't know?
Know your Bible. Not just in order to accumulate facts. But read your Bible to KNOW A PERSON. See the Bible for what it is--the Word of God, the LIVING word of God. With the very Spirit of God as your teacher, counselor, guide--the path and the light for the path--you can be confident that whatever happens, God is FOR you and not against you.
I love that Friel does address the sovereignty of God and also our sanctification. Neither subject is particularly popular these days. But both are essential for understanding the Christian life.
I would definitely recommend this one.
December 11, 2016
"Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety" by Todd Friel is a hard-hitting book. It's designed to help the you overcome anxiety, yes. But Friel isn't concerned with making you feel good. His goal is to increase your love for God and your desire to glorify Him. In desiring to glorify God more, he reasons that you will find more joy in your life. He begins by exploring your issue, your thinking, your anxiety, and your God. Friel explores how non-organic anxiety is a sin issue and that you can live like a non-Christian (in regards to anxiety) while being a Christian. That truth stung. Then he looks in great detail at how Jesus addressed his anxious disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. The book finishes with some approaches to apply what you've learnt reading the book. This is a good, honest book, but I really struggled to like it early on. At times, it stressed me out. It was just too real. Some of the best parts of "Stressed Out", as they should be, were the numerous Bible verses. I found some of the language a bit old school and the writing excerpts from 'dead, old guys' at the end of each chapter varied greatly in usefulness. Also, if you're looking for a step-by-step guide, you may wish to look elsewhere. That said, the book is like Aslan. Good, but not tame. Highly recommended for anxious Christians of all stripes.
8/10
8/10
October 8, 2019
A good, biblical, easy to read practical tool for any follower of Jesus who happens see his/her heart be gripped by the nagging onslaught of anxiety, stress, and worry. Friel's style of writing is more simplistic, which I believe could be of great help to your common reader. He offers specific biblical truths to help one combat the issue of anxiety in the heart. I liked it and believe it would be helpful for anyone to read.
March 7, 2021
Really good. Todd has mastered the KISS method and has a good sense of humour. I'm not totally on board with his nouthetic counselling mindset but this book has some bittersweet truth. His main argument: anxiety is primarily a sin problem, not a medical one (primarily) (I said primarily, not only) (alright let's keep going) and God not only wants to help you with your anxiety, but has the means and the power to do so. Read your Bible.
January 7, 2021
A back-to-fundamentals kind of book, but easy reading. Tons of verses and references, lots of practical application, and plenty of witty and lighthearted words between the hard-hitting parts. It was what I needed to hear this year, definitely worth the read and eventually a reread.... especially the last few chapters.
May 31, 2025
It's not a comprehensive treatment of anxiety, but it is a truly encouraging book. There is a video curriculum companion with short, supplemental videos for small groups. The videos are highly engaging and the perfect length for launching group discussions. I led a group through this a number of years ago, and I remember one of my group members saying it was her favorite study that we had done.
October 19, 2017
Excellent and really easy to read study reagarding anxiety from a biblical perspective. One of the best books I’ve read this year - writing style may not be to the taste of some but the biblical references are top notch and are easy to understand. Highly recommended.
July 9, 2021
A great Read to Defeat Anxiety
This was a wonderful read…concise, to the point and loaded with Scripture. I have suffered with anxiety a good portion of my life and this book really helped me see this problem in a much different light. I cannot recommend it more.
This was a wonderful read…concise, to the point and loaded with Scripture. I have suffered with anxiety a good portion of my life and this book really helped me see this problem in a much different light. I cannot recommend it more.
January 21, 2018
Glad I read
Todd Friel writes a comprehensive and truthful destroyer of anxiety. I'm on my way to tackling other spiritual battles with my Bible. Thank u Todd.
Todd Friel writes a comprehensive and truthful destroyer of anxiety. I'm on my way to tackling other spiritual battles with my Bible. Thank u Todd.
February 1, 2018
Highly recommend. It is a reset of sorts to get our thinking back to God and not ourselves
October 20, 2022
Fantastic!
January 12, 2024
Excellent reminder that God is control of everything! We have no reason to worry. All written in only a way Tod can express humor & teach about God
June 19, 2025
Friel uses so much Scripture that you are filled with truth.
Very enjoyable read.
Very enjoyable read.
December 15, 2020
most helpful book on anxiety I've read
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews